According to Baidu, its first batch of 10,000 contracted customers of its e-commerce platform were able to enjoy the C2C services from 8pm, September 25, 2008, marking the opening of Baidu's C2C platform after one year's preparation.
Operated under the domain name of mall.baidu.com, the platform will reportedly be an independent platform. However, because of the platform is not formally opened, it will currently use the second-tier domain name of Baidu.
Starting from 8pm, September 25, 2008, users of Baidu's C2C platform are able to decorate their online shops and upload their products after they activate their Baifubao account, a newly launched online payment platform of Baidu, and finish the real-name registration.
Li Mingyuan, general manager for Baidu's e-commerce business, said that the development of Baidu's online trading platform is in accordance with the company's schedule and the entry of the first batch of contracted customers means all the preparations for the opening of the platform are ready.