Skip to main content
Log in

Bidding and prices for online art auctions: sofa art or investment

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Cultural Economics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The article uses auction data collected from the eBay internet site to examine the effect of various parameters on number of bids and selling price of art. The article further uses an insight from the auction literature to gather evidence about whether art on eBay is purchased for consumption or investment purposes. The article argues that the evidence found of a positive relationship between the number of bids and the final price suggests that art sold on eBay is not, in general, investment art.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ashenfelter, O., & Graddy, K. (2003) Auctions and the price of art. Journal of Economic Literature, 41(3), 763–786.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bajari, P., & Hortacsu, A. (2003). The winner’s curse, reserve prices, and endogenous entry: empirical insights from eBay auctions. RAND Journal of Economics, 34(2), 329–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakos, Y. (2001). The emerging landscape for retail E-Commerce. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(1), 69–80 Winter.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beckmann, M. (2004). Art auctions and bidding rings: empirical evidence from German auction data. Journal of Cultural Economics, 28(2), 125–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borenstein, S., & Saloner, G. (2001). Economics and electronic commerce. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(1), 3–12 Winter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eaton, D. H. (2005). Valuing information: Evidence from Guitar auctions on eBay. Journal of Applied Economics and Policy, 24(1), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dewally, M., & Erdington, L. (2004). What attracts bidders to online auctions and what is their incremental price impact? Working paper, Marquette University.

  • Greene, W. H. (2000). Econometric analysis. Upper Saddle, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Highfill, J., & O’Brien, K. (2007). The determinants of sales on eBay: The case of baseball cards. Applied Economic Letters (forthcoming).

  • Houser, D., & Wooders, J. (2006). Reputation in auctions: Theory and evidence from eBay. Journal of Economics and Management Strategy, 15(2), 353–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • List, J. A, & Lucking-Reiley, D. (2002). Bidding behavior and decision costs in field experiments. Economic Inquiry, 40(4), 611–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucking-Reiley, D. (2000). Auctions on the internet: What’s being auctioned, and how? Journal of Industrial Economics, 48(3), 227–252.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucking-Reiley, D., Bryan, D., Pradad, N., & Reeves, D. (2006). Pennies from eBay: the determinants of price in online auctions. Working paper, University of Arizona.

  • McDonald, C. G., & Slawson, V. C. Jr. (2002). Reputation in an internet auction market. Economic Inquiry, 40(4), 633–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melnik, M. I., & Alm, J. (2002). Does a seller’s ecommerce reputation matter? Evidence from eBay auctions. Journal of Industrial Economics, 50(3), 337–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melnik, M. I., & Alm, J. (2005). Seller reputation, information signals, and prices for heterogeneous coins on eBay. Southern Economic Journal, 72(2), 305–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rengers, M., & Velthuis, O. (2002). Determinants of prices for contemporary art in Dutch galleries, 1992–1998. Journal of Cultural Economics, 26(1), 1–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, P., Zeckhauser, R., Swanson, J., & Lockwood, K. (2006). The value of reputation on eBay: A controlled experiment. Experimental Economics, 9(2), 79–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roth, A. E., & Ockenfels, A. (2002). Last-minute bidding and the rules for ending second-price auctions: Evidence from eBay and Amazon auctions on the internet. American Economic Review, 92(4), 1093–1103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer, L. P., & Lynch, G. A. (1997). Are multiple art markets rational? Journal of Cultural Economics, 21(3), 197–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank Linda Ficht and Pavel Chladek for their invaluable assistance with this research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kevin O’Brien.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Highfill, J., O’Brien, K. Bidding and prices for online art auctions: sofa art or investment. J Cult Econ 31, 279–292 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-007-9054-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-007-9054-7

Keywords

JEL Classification

Navigation