From the perspective of the ownership and operation mode of cross-border B2C platforms, B2C cross-border e-commerce platforms can be divided into three types: third-party intermediary, self-built and self-operated, and mixed.
A third-party intermediary cross-border B2C platform refers to a platform established by a third-party cross-border e-commerce enterprise other than the buyer and seller, and cross-border e-commerce sellers use third-party websites for online sales. Platforms such as eBay, AliExpress, and Wish are all third-party intermediary platforms, and the platform itself does not sell its own products.
A self-built cross-border B2C platform refers to a website platform set up by an enterprise to directly provide products to overseas consumers. The more well-known cross-border e-commerce B2C platforms in my country include: Lightinthebox (www.lightinthebox.com), Strawberrynet (www.strawberrynet.com), Milanoo (www.milanoo.com), Dinodirect (www.dinodirect.com), etc. Most of these companies are traders who purchase goods from suppliers and sell them on their own platforms to earn the difference. At present, with the continuous development of cross-border e-commerce, more and more manufacturers are directly setting up B2C platforms to provide services to consumers, which is the so-called M2C model.
Hybrid means that the platform not only directly sells the products it owns, but also opens up the sales rights to other sellers, allowing other sellers to enter and sell products. Amazon, Walmart, etc. are typical hybrid platforms.