Final answer:
Direct sales via manufacturer websites for products like laptops represent a significant portion of e-commerce, facilitated by companies' reputations and service guarantees, similar to L.L. Bean's online sales approach. It is part of globalized trade patterns in production and distribution.
Step-by-step explanation:
Customers who purchase computer laptops from manufacturer websites are engaging in a form of direct sales. This online shopping experience is part of the electronic commerce, or e-commerce, industry which allows consumers to buy goods directly from producers without the need for intermediaries. Such transactions are increasingly common in today's globalized economy, with companies like L.L. Bean relying heavily on website sales for their revenue, overcoming the challenge of imperfect information through strong reputations for quality and customer service guarantees.
Moreover, this mode of commerce represents just one facet of complex global assembly lines, where production and support services, like those provided by Apple, are internationally distributed. The outcome is a highly integrated and interconnected model of production and distribution that caters to a global market.