This paper studies how the interplay of individual and social learning affects price dynamics. I consider a monopolist selling a new experience good over time to many buyers. Buyers learn from their own private experiences (individual learning) as well as by observing other buyers’ experiences (social learning). Individual learning generates ex post heterogeneity, which affects the buyers’ purc...

The standard monopoly pricing problem is re-considered when the buyer can disclose his type (e.g. age, income, experience) at some cost. In the optimal sales mechanism with costly disclosure, the seller posts a price list, including a “sticker price” available to any buyer and a schedule of discounts available to those who disclose certain types. Unambiguous welfare implications of such a prici...

We construct an agent-based model of the online electronics market, consisting of 10,000 buyers and 50 sellers. Buyers repeatedly interact with sellers, searching for high quality and low price, but only some buyers know seller quality prior to purchase. Buyers may learn seller quality directly or from information obtained from other buyers or else estimate quality through market share heuristi...

We provide experimental evidence on the ability to detect deceit in a buyer-seller game with asymmetric information. Sellers have private information about the value of a good and sometimes have incentives to mislead buyers. We examine if buyers can spot deception in face-to-face encounters. We vary whether buyers can interrogate the seller and the contextual richness. The buyers' prediction ac...

Despite many success stories, B2B e-commerce penetration remains low. Many firms introduce electronic channels in addition to their traditional sales channels, but find that buyer usage of the e-channel over time does not keep up with initial expectations. Firms must understand the underlying factors that drive channel usage and how these factors change over time and across buyers. Using panel ...

1 Background Credit cards have been widely used in the USA. The industry has matured so much that most households hold many credit cards and most consumers use credit cards as means of payment. They usually maintain their records on credit cards. In the USA, a total amount of credit card balances is about $700 billion. Because of the wide usage of credit cards, the term of cards is becoming a m...

As an important mode of e-commerce, C2C has become a trading mechanism favored by consumers. However, for transaction in virtual environment, there is issue congenital asymmetry, leading to increased uncertainties and risks as well credit speculation, false transactions other problems. These problems not only affect the development enterprises large extent, but also hinder e-commerce ultimately...

www.philadelphiafed.org R eports in the popular press and policymakers’ concerns about student loans have greatly intensified in recent years because of rising student loan balances and defaults. Even greater cause for concern arose as student loans outstanding passed credit card debt to become the single largest nonmortgage household debt in 2012. Worries about the risk of massive default have...

Group buying is a form of electronic commerce that is growing quickly. There are many group buying sites on the Internet. Group buying is a commercial transaction in which the unit price of goods changes with the number of buyers, and a buyer can purchase goods at a low price if many buyers participate in group buying. There are several group-buying sites that are selling similar (or the same) ...