Essays on Internet auctions
Abstract
This dissertation examines the online auction markets and focuses on eBay in
particular. EBay provides an environment in which losers can bid again and we study the
effects of this dynamic feature on the bidding behavior of buyers. Chapter 1 presents the
introduction for the dissertation. In Chapter 2 we first introduce the eBay market and the
data we have collected. Then we focus on the bidding behavior of bidders and
empirically analyze the importance of the dynamics while modeling eBay auctions. In
Chapter 3 we develop a theoretical model and show that the option to bid again leads to
last-minute bidding for bidders. We also examine some empirical predictions of the
model. Chapter 4 analyzes the impact of a particular eBay feature called Buy-It-Now on
bidding behavior of bidders. This feature is a choice for the seller that enables
participants to preempt and end the auction early without competing with other bidders.
Chapter 5 summarizes main conclusions of the dissertation and proposes directions for
future research.
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