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 seller's reputation can become an important factor in the bid. This paper examines the impact of the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of industrial economics 2002-09, Vol.50 (3), p.337-349
Main Authors: Melnik, Mikhail I, Alm, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Auctions
Average prices
Bid price
Credit cards
Economic models
Electronic commerce
Internet
Negative feedback
Positive feedback
Publishing industry
Reputations
Shipping
Shipping costs
Websites
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Summary: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 seller's reputation can become an important factor in the bid. This paper examines the impact of the seller's reputation on the willingness of buyers to bid on items sold via internet auctions, using a 1999 mint condition U.S. $5 gold coin whose average price was $32.73. The empirical results show that the seller's reputation has a positive, statistically significant, but small impact on the price.
ISSN:0022-1821
1467-6451
DOI:10.1111/1467-6451.00180