Maximizing willingness to bid within "Buy It Now" auctions

The present research investigates the impact of minimum starting bids and buy-it-now prices on both maximum willingness to bid and attitude toward the seller. Results from an experimental study suggest that higher minimum starting bids coupled with higher buy-it-now prices increase the maximum price that auction participants are willing to bid yet no negative impact on participants' attitude toward the seller is evidenced. These findings suggest that sellers in online auctions can receive tangible benefits (i.e., higher maximum prices that participants are willing to bid) without negative perceptual results (i.e., attitude toward the seller is not diminished) from setting the minimum starting bid higher and the buy-it-now price higher. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.