According to the platform operation mode, cross-border e-commerce platforms can be divided into third-party open platforms, self-operated platforms and hybrid platforms.
(I) Third-party open platforms
Open platforms provide network infrastructure for cross-border enterprises and open businesses in various links and processes such as commodities, stores, transactions, logistics, evaluation, warehousing, marketing and promotion. At the same time, the platform takes the collection of sellers’ commissions and value-added service commissions as its main profit model. Open platforms exist more as management and operation platform providers, integrating platform service resources and sharing data to serve both importers and exporters. Representative companies include AliExpress, Dunhuang.com, Global Sources, Alibaba International Station, etc.
The threshold for entry into third-party open platforms is relatively low, and they can provide abundant traffic resources. They are the first choice for small and medium-sized cross-border e-commerce and new cross-border e-commerce sellers, but they also face many restrictions when entering the platform. For example, sellers who enter the platform must operate and promote according to the requirements of the platform, and must participate in various promotional activities of the platform. At the same time, the sellers’ funds will also be restricted by the platform’s payment cycle policy. For sellers with special product positioning who need personalized operation and promotion, large cross-border e-commerce platforms cannot meet the personalized needs of sellers. In addition, e-commerce platforms will charge part of the transaction commission according to sales, which limits the profit space of sellers, etc.
(II) Self-operated platforms
Self-operated e-commerce builds an online platform to uniformly produce or purchase, display products, and trade online, and deliver products to end-consumer groups through logistics distribution. The platform integrates supplier resources to purchase goods at a lower purchase price, and then sells the goods at a higher selling price. Self-operated platforms mainly use the price difference of goods as a profit model. Representative companies include LightInTheBox, DX (Dealextreme.com), FocalPrice, Milan.com, and Dalong.com.
Self-operated platforms are different from other open e-commerce platforms. They are not easily troubled by the problems of different product sources and uneven product quality of open e-commerce platforms. Self-operated platforms attract, manage and sell various brands of goods by tailoring procurement standards that meet their own brand appeals and consumer needs. They highlight the reliability of their own brands with many reliable brands as support points, and build the platform itself into a very valuable brand. In order to ensure consumers’ satisfaction with key aspects of online transactions, self-operated platforms will formulate systematic commodity access standards and brand introduction principles to raise the threshold for product entry, thereby regulating the integrity of e-commerce export market and product quality issues under the Internet environment.
(III) Hybrid Platforms
The so-called hybrid platforms are platforms that are both self-operated and allow sellers to be stationed, such as Amazon, Newegg, Walmart, etc.