Do auction formats matter in eBay auctions?

Identifying Demand in EBay Auctions

This paper presents assumptions and identification results for eBay type auctions. These results are for private value auctions covering three major issues; censoring bias, auction heterogeneity and dynamic bidding. The first section of the paper presents two identification results for second price open call auctions with private values and unobserved participation (eBay type auctions). The sec...

Internet Auctions Case Study: eBay

Last-minute bidding in eBay charity auctions

Consumers are frequently presented opportunities to purchase products that are linked to charitable causes, green production, or fair trade practices. In Elfenbein and McManus (forthcoming) we demonstrate that consumers are willing to pay a premium for these items by analyzing a hand-matched data set of identical items sold in charity and non-charity auctions on eBay. This premium may occur bec...

Gradual bidding in eBay-like auctions∗

This paper shows that in online auctions like eBay, if bidders can only place bids at random times, then many different equilibria arise besides truthful bidding, despite the option to leave proxy bids. These equilibria can involve gradual bidding, periods of inactivity, and waiting to start bidding towards the end of the auction bidding behaviors common on eBay. Bidders in such equilibria impl...

Online Auctions: Evidence from Ebay Motors

While the possibility of adverse selection is present in many transactional settings, online auctions appear to be especially susceptible to the problem. Unlike buyers in most traditional settings, online auction shoppers are physically unable to inspect the products for sale and must rely on pictures and descriptions provided by the seller. If buyers cannot distinguish quality until after the ...