In commerce, a third-party source means a supplier (or service provider) who is not directly controlled by either the seller (first party) nor the customer/buyer (second party) in a business transaction.[1] The third party is considered independent from the other two, even if hired by them, because not all control is vested in that connection. There can be multiple third-party sources with respect to a given transaction, between the first and second parties. A second-party source would be under direct control of the second party in the transaction.[2]
In information technology, a third-party source is a supplier of software (or a computer accessory) which is independent of the supplier and customer of the major computer product(s).
In e-commerce, 3rd party (3P) source refers to a seller who publishes products on a marketplace, without this marketplace to own or physically carry those products. When an order comes in, a 3P seller has the item on hand and fulfills it. An example of 3P sellers are merchants participating in Amazon's FBM program.[3]
- ^ "Glossary". Rise Research Institutes of Sweden. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
- ^ "Definition - third party", Yale.edu, 2011, web: YLic Archived 2011-05-14 at the Wayback Machine, states: "not directly involved in the transaction".
- ^ "Online Sales and Its Sellers (1P, 2P, 3P)". GeekSeller. 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2019-06-01.