What is E-commerce?
Electronic commerce is that particular type of commerce that does not require the physical and simultaneous presence of seller and buyer, but takes place entirely on the Internet. It also takes the more common name of e-commerce.
Types of E-commerce:
Electronic commerce is generally classified into three macro-categories, which are distinguished by the subjects involved in the sale:
B2C trade:
Business to consumer: the parties to the negotiation relationship are a professional operator of electronic commerce and a final consumer.
B2B trade
Business to business: the sales process involves two companies or e-commerce professionals.
B2A trade:
Business to administration: e-commerce relationships concern businesses and non-commercial entities.
Methods of sale and types of products in electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, then, can also be classified on the basis of the methods with which the sale takes place and the type of products marketed.
In this regard, in detail, a distinction is made between indirect or off-line electronic commerce and direct or online electronic commerce.
The first type involves the purchase of products chosen from a catalog that can be viewed on the internet, which describes all the characteristics and methods of delivery or payment. Once the order has been placed, the product is shipped using traditional channels.
On-line electronic commerce, on the other hand, is characterized by the minimization of human intervention and the impossibility of guaranteeing performance in the absence of information technology.
Electronic commerce: consumer rights
The consumer who buys through e-commerce is a consumer in all respects. Therefore, the provisions of the consumer code apply to it.
Consequently, even those who buy goods on the internet have a period of fourteen days to withdraw from the contract without having to provide any reasons and without having to incur specific costs. In fact, the right of withdrawal provided for contracts concluded at a distance or negotiated outside the business premises operates.
Conclusion of the telematic contract
However, the time of conclusion of the electronic contract is regulated in a particular way, from which the aforementioned term runs and which coincides with the communication of the receipt of the acceptance by the provider of the recipient's order. In this regard, it should be noted that Article 13 of Legislative Decree number 70/2003 establishes that "Unless otherwise agreed between parties other than consumers, the provider must, without undue delay and electronically, acknowledge receipt of the recipient's order containing a summary of the general and particular conditions applicable to the contract, information relating to the essential characteristics of the good or service and a detailed indication of the price, means of payment, withdrawal, delivery costs and applicable taxes ".