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Your call : eBay and demand for the iPhone 4

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Waterson, Michael and Doyle, Chris (2009) Your call : eBay and demand for the iPhone 4. Working Paper. Economics Department, University of Warwick: University of Warwick. The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS), Vol.20 (No.949).

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Abstract

The iPhone 4 was introduced into the UK market on 24th June 2010 to significant consumer interest. This clearly exceeded supply through conventional channels, since there was very extensive activity in terms of bidding on eBay auctions for the product. We monitored all eBay transactions on the iPhone 4 for six weeks from introduction, with total transactions amounting to around £1.5m. We analyse determinants of the winning bid in terms of characteristics of the phone, the seller and the buyer. Our most notable and novel finding relative to previous studies is a very significant premium over list price being paid in almost all cases, with positive uplift factors including whether the phone was unlocked and whether it could be sold overseas. Demand fell over time, as evidenced by lower achieved prices, but the fall in price was relatively modest. A significant premium of 32GB over 16GB versions is revealed.

Item Type:

Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper)

Subjects:

H Social Sciences > HF Commerce

Divisions:

Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics

Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):

iPhone (Smartphone), Consumption (Economics), Internet auctions

Series Name:

The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS)

Publisher:

University of Warwick

Place of Publication:

Economics Department, University of Warwick

Official Date:

2009

Dates:

Date	Event
2009	Published

Volume:

Vol.20

Number:

No.949

Status:

Not Peer Reviewed

Access rights to Published version:

Open Access

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