Submission + - EBay saves billions for bidders
Stony Stevenson writes: Independent research by two statisticians from the University of Maryland has found that eBay buyers saved an average of $4 per person, or $19 billion total, at the popular online auction site per year. The study seeks to calculate what economists call "consumer surplus" — the difference between the top price buyers were ready to pay and what they actually ended up paying. E-commerce sites provide a treasure trove of data that allows researchers to test out theories of consumer behavior.