Mikhail I. Melnik

Does a Seller's eCommerce Reputation Matter? Evidence from eBay Auctions

With internet commerce, a buyer cannot directly examine the product and so must rely upon the accuracy and reliability of the seller in deciding whether and how much to bid. In this setting, the sellers reputation can become an important factor in the bid. This paper examines the impact of the sellers reputation on the willingness of buyers to bid on items sold via internet auctions, using a 1999 mint condition U.S.

Seller Reputation, Information Signals, and Prices for Heterogeneous Coins on eBay

5 gold coin whose average price was

The Choice of Opening Prices on Ebay

32.73. The empirical results show that the sellers reputation has a positive, statistically significant, but small impact on the price. Copyright 2002 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

How Seller and Product Characteristics Impact Promotion on eBay

In online commerce, a buyer cannot directly examine the product and has to trust the seller for the product description and delivery. The reputation of the seller (and other information signals on the quality of the product) can therefore affect the buyers willingness to pay. However, while the impact of reputation on willingness to pay for homogeneous goods has been examined, its impact on heterogeneous goods (where there is more uncertainty about product quality) is largely unknown. This paper examines the effects of reputation in online auctions, using U.S. silver Morgan dollar coins in “Almost Uncirculated” condition that are sold on eBay. Empirical results indicate that a sellers overall reputation has a positive impact on a buyers willingness to pay, that negative comments about a seller often have a negative impact, and that these reputational effects increase in importance when there is more uncertainty about the quality of the coin.

Does It Pay to Promote on eBay

In this paper we examine the choice of the opening bid on eBay by sellers of US Morgan dollar coins. We find that the opening bid is a function of the observed characteristics of the past transaction prices for the coin, the sellers characteristics and the fee structure imposed by the auctioneer. The results demonstrate that increasing the opening bid fee structure induces a lower optimal opening bid, while an increase in the degree of risk in the price distribution increases the opening bid. These results have important implications for market structure of online auction sites.

Listing Fees and Their Role on eBay: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

This study draws on signaling theory to test whether seller and product characteristics impact the use of display-type versus informational-type promotion on eBay. The authors predict that display-type promotion is used by less-experienced sellers who cannot promote on the basis of their own seller ratings. The authors predict that experienced sellers, on the other hand, prefer informational promotion since their high ratings make seller-provided statements more credible. In addition to seller characteristics, the authors predict that product characteristics, such as price and product condition, also impact promotion. It is expected that higher prices drive greater investments in display-type promotions overall, even if such promotion is less effective. Finally, it is hypothesized that the better the condition of the product, the greater the use of informational promotion since this kind of disclosure is especially influential. The hypotheses were tested using a large data set of auction data from eBay and received excellent support. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The Microstructure Characteristics of RDX and their Effect on the Detonation Velocity

Promotional upgrades to auction listings are now a ubiquitous feature of auction Web sites. We examine 705 auctions of a single consumer-electronic product on eBay and test whether use of various promotions results in a greater probability of sale or a higher realized price. We find that promotions that focus on display enhancements, such as border, bold, or highlight, are not worth the cost. However, the subtitle promotional tool is effective and worth the cost. We also find interesting results regarding seller reputation: although seller reputation does not increase the probability of a sale overall, it can result in higher realized price if a reputable seller is selected. Implications for promoting on eBay are discussed.

Even on eBay it Pays to Buy in Volume: An Imitation of a Controlled Experiment Web Appendix

Success of an online auction Web site is due to its appeal to bidders. Without bidders there would be no transactions. In a rising price auction, a higher opening price can act as a deterrent to bidder entry. The auctioneer can induce lower opening prices through a rising with respect to the opening prices insertion fee scheme. This will, in turn, increase bidder participation and, thus, increase the probability of an auction resulting in a sale. This work examines the impact the insertion fees have on the seller and buyer behavior on eBay using data generated by a natural experiment observed on eBay. The results demonstrate that the rising insertion fee structure of eBay induces sellers to lower their opening prices, which in turn, increases the bidding activity.

Predicting Macroscale Effects Through Nanoscale Features

This study utilized regression analysis to model the relationship between the microstructure characteristics and detonation velocity of a heterogeneous high-explosive composition containing RDX. The principal characteristics examined were the average particle size of RDX, impurity within the RDX particles, method of RDX manufacture, and compositional density. Statistical analysis demonstrated the relevancy of the microstructure influence on the detonation velocity of the developed experimental compositions of 73 wt. % solids and 27 wt. % polyurethane binder. The developed statistical model accurately predicts the detonation velocity of the heterogeneous composition used in our experiments. The model underscores the significance of the relationship between the average particle size and detonation velocity. The importance of using statistical models for selecting characteristics that result in optimum explosive performance are addressed.This study utilized regression analysis to model the relationship between the microstructure characteristics and detonation velocity of a heterogeneous high-explosive composition containing RDX. The principal characteristics examined were the average particle size of RDX, impurity within the RDX particles, method of RDX manufacture, and compositional density. Statistical analysis demonstrated the relevancy of the microstructure influence on the detonation velocity of the developed experimental compositions of 73 wt. % solids and 27 wt. % polyurethane binder. The developed statistical model accurately predicts the detonation velocity of the heterogeneous composition used in our experiments. The model underscores the significance of the relationship between the average particle size and detonation velocity. The importance of using statistical models for selecting characteristics that result in optimum explosive performance are addressed.

Insertion Fees and Their Impact on Ebay

In this study, we replicate a controlled experiment setting by following a single established seller with a standardized method of listing items on eBay to investigate the effect that the quantity of items in a listing has on the bidder’s willingness to pay as captured by the realized auction price. The investigation focuses on a “commodity” like item, namely, a silver dollar coin in identical condition. Our results demonstrate that the per-item price in multi-item listings is a decreasing and non-linear function of the number of items in the listing. These results are important because they are the first to report on the effect of quantity of items in a listing on realized auction price on eBay. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15239/j.brcacadjb.2014.04.01.ja02 28 The BRC Academy Journal of Business Vol. 4, No. 1