Digital Demand: Demand for Digital Cameras on Ebay

28 Pages Posted: 10 May 2005

See all articles by Christopher Adams

Christopher Adams

CBO

William B. Vogt

RAND Corporation; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Hao Xu

Carnegie Mellon University - School of Computer Science

Date Written: May 4, 2005

Abstract

The paper estimates the demand for new digital cameras sold in eBay auctions. EBay data seems to offer significant advantages over traditional transactions data for estimating demand for differentiated products. However, there are a number of concerns including censoring bias and the interpretation of the bidding behavior. This paper discusses these problems as well as possible solutions. The paper presents results from three different methods for estimating demand for differentiated products on eBay. The results suggest that the demand for digital cameras is highly elastic and there isn't a lot of substitution, particularly across brands.

Keywords: eBay, estimating demand, digital cameras

JEL Classification: D44, L68, L11

Suggested Citation

Adams, Christopher and Vogt, William B. and Xu, Hao, Digital Demand: Demand for Digital Cameras on Ebay (May 4, 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=718781 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.718781

Christopher Adams (Contact Author)

CBO ( email )

Ford House Office Building
2nd & D Streets, SW
Washington, DC 20515-6925
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William B. Vogt

RAND Corporation ( email )

1776 Main Street
P.O. Box 2138
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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
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Hao Xu

Carnegie Mellon University - School of Computer Science ( email )

5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
United States

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