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Study Shows eBay Buyers Save Billions
A study that sampled over 4000 eBay auctions in 2003, found that the “consumer surplus”, the difference between the highest bid buyers were willing to pay and the price the buyers actually ended up paying, was roughly $USD 6.5 billion. The study highlighted the balance eBay has to strike in its fee structures for buyers and sellers.
At a recent eBay conference in Washington D.C., eBay announced that it is poised to introduce changes to its fee structure, designed to make its auctions more appealing to sellers while also making it easier for consumers to find items they wish to buy. The new fee structure, which is not without controversy, is designed to boost eBay’s listings, which have stagnated in recent years, and to maintain eBay’s share of the online auction market.
For a copy of the study, visit:
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=840264