In the 12 years since eBay's launch, the online auction house has established itself as a one-stop shop for all things rare, kitschy, and collectible. But recently, a small group of economists have mined the site for a different prize: clues on how people spend their money. Behind the millions of online auctions lies a virtual mini-economy flush with raw data. Harvesting this information has fed a new branch of economics, one that has proved again and again that shoppers act in unexpected ways. "We found that in 43% of the auctions the bidders ended up paying more than the 'buy it now' price," Malmendier says. "This is really huge. It's far more than I could have expected."http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/2007-07-17-economists-study-ebay-buyers_N.htm
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