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A typical chain of events happens when a new customer comes to a Web site for the first time. Customer and supplier - that's [the] business - have to agree on conditions, which can be as simple as making sure they see a link to [the] standard terms before they go any further. Then the customer has to find what they want to buy and pay for it - pretty much all they'll see of the system. A business needs to have returns and refund, tax declaration, stock management and problem resolution systems. If it can't sketch out these processes and how they relate to each other, it is not ready to think about putting them online.

Once the plans are clear, there are many options for implementation. At one end of the spectrum, the business can buy in developers and write everything from scratch. At the other, it can hang out its shingle on eBay and run its entire business using a Web browser and PayPal from an Internet café. This might seem hopelessly amateurish compared to places like Amazon.com, but a whole subculture of small businesses have sprung up supporting this approach and it has much to commend it in terms of low risk, low outlay and initial cash flow.

All this seems pretty straightforward to any business that wishes to get into the act but the problem is that Information technology and e-commerce law is in turmoil. For many years, the legal community ignored the Internet and its potential for world-wide communications. Now there is a panic to regulate every aspect of it. All of this creates many dilemmas for those seeking to compile a form of statutory regulatory system. back

Read article - Ecommerce is not confusing