Fees may be a way for sellers to offer a low “landing price” to attract buyers in, but then make it up by the time of final sale by tacking on extra charges, but not all surcharges are created equal. The seller’s reputation impacts whether buyers will pull the trigger or not, according to a new study.

The study found that shoppers were less likely to accept additional surcharges when they were levied by a low-reputation eBay seller than from a high-reputation one. The consumers in the study would decrease their bids to account for fees when the seller had a low reputation, but now when the seller was mid to high-reputation.

No matter what their reputation, you should always compare the total price between the sellers. I usually try to go for whatever is the lowest total price from someone with a decent but not necessarily perfect rep.

How surcharges affect pricing and purchasing [news.info.wustl.edu] (Thanks to c-side!)

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