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Mechanism choice and the buy-it-now auction: A structural model of competing buyers and sellers

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  • Bauner, Christoph

Abstract

A striking feature of many online sales platforms is the coexistence of multiple sales mechanisms. Items on eBay, for instance, are frequently offered through auctions, posted prices, and buy-it-now auctions. In this article, I study how this mechanism multiplicity influences the welfare of buyers and sellers. I specify and estimate a structural model of mechanism choice in online markets, in which I consider both sides of the market: On the demand side, buyers' choices among available listings are equilibrium outcomes of an entry game. On the supply side, sellers make equilibrium decisions when choosing sales mechanisms and prices. I estimate this model using data from sales of baseball tickets on eBay and calculate consumer and seller rents in three markets: the actual market with all three sales mechanisms and two counterfactual markets with auctions and fixed prices or only fixed-price listings, respectively. I find that the addition of auctions to fixed-price markets hurts sellers and risk-averse buyers but benefits risk-neutral buyers. Additionally, the consumer surplus increases when buy-it-now auctions are offered but the seller surplus is reduced further. I discuss the intuition for the cause of this result.

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  • Bauner, Christoph, 2015. "Mechanism choice and the buy-it-now auction: A structural model of competing buyers and sellers," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 19-31.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:indorg:v:38:y:2015:i:c:p:19-31
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ijindorg.2014.12.001
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhang, Hanzhe, 2021. "The optimal sequence of prices and auctions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Caio Waisman, 2021. "Selling mechanisms for perishable goods: An empirical analysis of an online resale market for event tickets," Quantitative Marketing and Economics (QME), Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 127-178, June.
    4. Chen, Kong-Pin & Lai, Hung-pin & Yu, Ya-Ting, 2018. "The seller's listing strategy in online auctions: Evidence from eBay," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 107-144.
    5. Carlos Hernán González-Campo & Vanessa Zamora Mina, 2020. "Comportamiento de los agentes en el comercio electrónico según modelos de localización," Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, vol. 28(1), pages 47-65, June.
    6. Vladimir Pavlov & Ron Berman, 2019. "Price Manipulation in Peer-to-Peer Markets and the Sharing Economy," Working Papers 19-10, NET Institute.
    7. Alexander Maslov, 2023. "Auctions versus posted prices in the revenue management of limited inventory," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(3), pages 1476-1490, April.
    8. Platt, Brennan C., 2017. "Inferring ascending auction participation from observed bidders," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 65-88.
    9. Radosveta Ivanova-Stenzel & Sabine Kröger, 2023. "Risk, Reward and Uncertainty in Buyer-Seller Transactions," CIRANO Working Papers 2023s-13, CIRANO.
    10. Sandro Shelegia & Joshua Sherman, 2018. "Bargaining at Retail Stores: Evidence from Vienna," Economics Working Papers 1606, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    11. Dominic Coey & Bradley J. Larsen & Brennan C. Platt, 2020. "Discounts and Deadlines in Consumer Search," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(12), pages 3748-3785, December.
    12. Grebe, Tim & Ivanova-Stenzel, Radosveta & Kröger, Sabine, 2021. "How do sellers benefit from Buy-It-Now prices in eBay auctions?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 189-205.
    13. Andrew Sweeting, 2015. "A Model of Non-Stationary Dynamic Price Competition with an Application to Platform Design," Working Papers 15-03, NET Institute.
    14. Ivanova-Stenzel, Radosveta & Grebe, Tim & Kröger, Sabine, 2019. "How do sellers benefit from Buy-It-Now prices in eBay auctions?," VfS Annual Conference 2019 (Leipzig): 30 Years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall - Democracy and Market Economy 203606, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    15. Jean-Pierre Dubé & Sanjog Misra, 2017. "Personalized Pricing and Consumer Welfare," NBER Working Papers 23775, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Zhenjun Yan & Xinyan Wu & Jing Li & Bingqing Liang, 2022. "Competition and Heterogeneous Innovation Qualities: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-21, June.
    17. May Truong & Alok Gupta & Wolfgang Ketter & Eric van Heck, 2022. "Buyers’ Strategic Behavior in B2B Multichannel Auction Markets: When an Online Posted Price Channel Is Incorporated into a Dutch Auction System," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1344-1367, December.
    18. Matthew Backus & Thomas Blake & Dimitriy V. Masterov & Steven Tadelis, 2017. "Expectation, Disappointment, and Exit: Reference Point Formation in a Marketplace," NBER Working Papers 23022, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Kong‐Pin Chen & Szu‐Hsien Ho & Chi‐Hsiang Liu & Chien‐Ming Wang, 2017. "The Optimal Listing Strategies In Online Auctions," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 58(2), pages 421-437, May.
    20. Daniel Montanera & Abhay Nath Mishra & T. S. Raghu, 2022. "Mitigating Risk Selection in Healthcare Entitlement Programs: A Beneficiary-Level Competitive Bidding Approach," Information Systems Research, INFORMS, vol. 33(4), pages 1221-1247, December.
    21. Ronald Peeters & Martin Strobel & Dries Vermeulen & Markus Walzl, 2016. "The Impact of the Irrelevant: Temporary Buy-Options and Bidding Behavior in Auctions," Games, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-19, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Online markets; Buy-it-now; Mechanism choice; eBay; Auctions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D44 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Auctions
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms
    • L81 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce
    • L86 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Information and Internet Services; Computer Software

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