a review of online trading and user perceptions of ... - a review of online trading and...

Journal of Advanced Internet of Things

(2012) 1: 1-23

doi:10.7726/jait.2012.1001

Review

*Corresponding author:

Creative and Applied Research for the Digital Society (CARDS), Glyndŵr University

E-mail: [email protected]

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A Review of Online Trading and User Perceptions of Usability

and Trust

Rebecca Davies and Stuart Cunningham*

Received 3 April 2012; Published online 29 September 2012

© The author(s) 2012. Published with open access at uscip.org

Abstract This work ties together existing literature relating to the functions and contributions of eBay and online

trading, discussing them in a cohesive, meta-analytic fashion. To further increase knowledge in the field, two

studies have been undertaken to present a view of current online trading practices in the United Kingdom

(UK). Data was collected by conducting online questionnaires and performing interviews using the Repertory

Grid technique. This method has its roots in Personal Construct Psychology and allows for the expression of

participants’ perceptions and preferences in their own terms or personal constructs.

Investigations found that eBay is considered by the public to be the place to take part in online auctions,

despite the availability of other ways to buy therein. Multi-channel retailing considers eBay a separate

channel. Local retailers, however, are venturing into independent online retailing rather than opening eBay

stores. Shoppers make purchase decisions based on several factors and select different purchase methods

dependent on personal preferences, need and mood. Reputation on eBay is still a major factor in purchase

decisions. Astoundingly, some users suspect that they have been victims of auction fraud but have chosen not

to report it.

This study demonstrates how activity conducted online can have implications across multiple sectors. In

particular, the concepts of trust, reputation, change in methods of commerce, and social interaction are

discussed in the domain of the emerging Internet of Things (IoT).

Keywords: E-commerce, online auction, eBay, economic change

1. Introduction

The Internet has had a nationwide socio-economic impact. The British government is so convinced

of the benefits of digital inclusion that a new cabinet-level post has been created to deal with it, so

that digital inclusion features alongside matters such as health, transport, environment, treasury

and defence. Some of the most popular websites in the UK are social networking sites, Google and

eBay.

Rebecca Davies, Stuart Cunningham / Journal of Advanced Internet of Things (2012) 1: 1-23

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Human society and culture are built on social interaction. People are adept at interpreting the

behaviour of others given appropriate verbal and non-verbal cues. Online, the absence of many of

these cues present challenges to communication, but it hasn’t stopped online communities sharing

a common interest by developing their own cultures. For example, the eBay community is made up

of millions of buyers and sellers and is built around a reputation system, the Feedback Forum

(eBay, 2010).

The aim of this study is to begin to measure the effect of online auctions and trade activity on users

and stakeholders. The work in this paper is focused upon users and businesses in the UK. To date,

these effects have not been addressed in any organised and systematic detail and this study seeks

to fill that gap in existing knowledge as well as act as a foundation upon which future work may be

based.

The findings of this work are presented alongside discussions of the key concepts of this work in

the IoT. Initial research and dissemination around the IoT has largely focused upon the

frameworks, strategies, applications, and benefit likely to be experienced in the IoT world.

However, research and discussion are now slowly beginning to address the security issues the IoT

hsd. The work presented here focuses mainly upon electronic transactions and user perceptions of

security and confidence therein. It is proposed, therefore, that many of the concepts touched upon

in this work are likely to be transferrable to the IoT and the emerging barriers in security and

implementation that could hamper its development and uptake.

1.1 Research Methodology

During the initial research phases, it became apparent that current literature on the subject is

largely limited to online magazines, the media and public opinion sites. Much of the information

currently available online appears to have similar themes and, while opinions should not be

discounted and can serve as useful indicators of possible trends, they are inherently biased and

subjective.

Reliable, objective data, obtained under controlled conditions, is lacking in this field. It is therefore

proposed that the most effective method of obtaining this data to answer the questions posed is to

consult directly with users of online shopping and auctions to obtain both qualitative and

quantitative data. The research conducted comes from two primary activities: the use of an online

survey, and repertory grid interviews with a sample population. A detailed discussion of repertory

grid and personal construct theory is beyond the scope of this paper, but interested readers are

pointed to the seminal work of Kelly (1955) as an excellent starting-point.

As the subject matter is Internet-based, it is appropriate that part of the research was conducted in

the form of an online questionnaire. While it is noted that this approach might exclude those who

do not use the Internet, the questions raised in this chapter are only pertinent to Internet users. A

total of 114 subjects were raised in the online survey. Not all subjects chose or were required to

answer every question in the survey and therefore each statistic presented incorporates an

appropriate sample size.

1.2 Organisation of Work

The remainder of the paper is organised as follows. First we provide a brief background to the key

areas relating eBay and how the use of technology in socio-economic environments has evolved and


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changed as a result of eBay commerce. Second, the effect of eBay upon everyday users and

consumers is investigated. Third, the paper examines how the practices of businesses have been

changed by eBay. Finally, we conclude and propose areas for future study.

2. Security

2.1 Technological Impact

eBay is inextricable from the technology that enabled its creation. Although the two are not co-

dependent, the relationship between them is certainly co-beneficent. The unanticipated rate of

progress experienced by the technology, Internet and web industries has been mirrored by eBay

and its progress has in turn generated further opportunities and priorities within said industries. At

the core of eBay activity is the facilitation of e-commerce, defined by the UK Department of Trade &

Industry (Cabinet Office 1999) as follows:

“...the exchange of information across electronic networks, at any stage in the supply chain, whether

within an organisation, between businesses and consumers, or between the public and private

sector, whether paid or unpaid.”

The age-old concept of seals of approval from trusted third parties has been capitalised on in the

Internet environment. The third party role was taken on by a Certificate Authority (CA); TRUSTe

and VeriSign are well-known examples. A CA is able to issue a digital certificate, which is assigned

for a given period and contains information about the identity of the certificate holder and their

public key. The holder is then permitted to display the CA logo as a visible ‘seal of approval’. E-

commerce retailers often display the logo on their online shops in an attempt to assure users that

their website is secure and they are reputable retailers. Despite this, Princeton Research Associates

(2002) found that a significant proportion of users found their presence “unimportant” and the

VeriSign logo had been spoofed (Wildstrom, 2005).

In their proposed framework, Xiong, Zhou and Liu (2011) define a role for third party authorities to

play roles in user authentication. An interesting suggestion is made, indicating that Xiong, Zhou and

Liu believe that the user will be the most active and important element of security in the IoT, a

concept that has been largely neglected in previous security models. This is a reasonable proposal,

given the mobility of users, coupled with their use of many technologies for a wide range of tasks.

Ukil, Sen and Koilakonda (2011) take this concept of user-led security further and propose high

security measures be deployed at the device level. Although not explicitly stated that they will be

user devices, the rationale for their work is that devices will be highly mobile and of a small scale.

We can therefore infer that these are likely to be devices carried by, or in close proximity to, mobile

users. Encryption and authentication play vital roles in the adopted technologies, although the

user’s understanding of their interactions with others was not explored.

A particular area of relevance to the work in this paper is the integration and interconnection of

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and geographic tracking mechanisms in physical products.

Siror et al. (2010) for example, describe worldwide trade scenarios and how the use of IoT

technologies can be used to enhance the processes of checking and tracking international

shipments, particularly the inspections required by customs officials. Their use of IoT processes is

primarily to improve the security of shipments through customs inspections and whilst in transit.


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A key point emphasised, in the work of other authors dealing with security technology in the IoT, is

that the factors of risk and efficiency must be balanced. The opportunities described are powerful:

reducing the risk of human error, being able to monitor shipments at all points in the transport

chain, and the ability to instantly report any anomalies or intrusion. Challenges relevant to this type

of transaction, as well as other forms of e-commerce, include counterfeiting, smuggling and piracy.

The use of RFID, tracking and messaging technologies was shown, in simulations, to be effective at

improving the processes and highlighting undesirable actions taking place (Siror et al., 2010).

However, simulation does not always accurately reflect the unpredictability and influence that

human factors can have in otherwise automated processes, particularly when it comes to activities

of an unsavoury nature. The potential for attacks by social engineering, masquerade, spoofing, and

so on is still present, and this is without mentioning the additional opportunities for “in transit”

attacks, eavesdropping, and packet sniffing afforded by the additional network traffic generated by

networks of RFID and location-aware devices. Therefore, the need for trust, reputation and ways to

measure the trust and reliability of buyers, sellers and other traders in the IoT-enabled world will

still be of paramount importance.

Of course, it is worth stressing that the IoT is not totally dependent upon RFID, and RFID is not a

negative part of the IoT. Indeed, security tasks such as authentication are likely to be embedded

within RFID technologies. While RFID is a good example of an enabling technology, and likely to

play a major role in the IoT, other methods of communication are necessary. However, any method

of communication, particularly where money or goods are being exchanged, requires a degree of

trust between the parties taking place in the transaction. In the IoT, where there are so many

communication parties, we propose that certification authorities, recommendation systems, and,

especially for individuals and small operations, reputation will be essential for users to gain trust.

2.2 Human Factors

The human factor within computing presents challenges that are intrinsically more complex than

fixing exploited vulnerabilities in code. Symantec (Thompson, 2006) reports that while

indiscriminate attacks by viruses and worms designed to work on a wide scale have decreased, they

have been replaced by threats aimed at tricking their victims into divulging personal information.

Confidence tricksters use social engineering to manipulate the trust that humans appear to have in

others. This usually happens in situations where they can personally interact with their targets, for

example, when masquerading as an IT technician and requesting a password to access a network or

personal account (Granger, 2001).

Online shoppers are more likely to be at risk from covert cognitive hacking. This is the practice of

manipulating users’ perceptions of a particular situation, in order to effect a change in the users’

normal behaviours in that situation (Zelkowitz, 2004). Cognitive hacking carried out online has

come to be commonly known by the terms phishing (Furnell et al., 2007) and pharming (Mathew,

Al Hajj and Al Ruqeishi, 2010).

2.3 Trust & Fraud

The advent of the IoT is likely to impact upon online trade and commerce in multiple domains.

However, the majority of available research and commercial publications that deal with the

possibilities, benefits, and interaction challenges of the IoT do not directly address the practicalities


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of security, privacy and trust. This has led Grout (2012) to coin the term “[the] Real Internet of

Things (RIoT)”, reflecting the likely implications and realisations that will take place as the IoT

begins to be widely adopted by the public. This notion is implicitly supported by other researchers

in the field, who have written extensively about the significance of the challenges relating to trust

and security in the IoT (Ukil, Sen and Koilakonda, 2011, Xiong, Zhou and Liu, 2011, Zhou and Chao,

2011). Perhaps put most simply and precisely by Roman, Najera and Lopez (2011), “Trust is

essential to implement the IoT”.

The IoT is a huge technological innovation, and the anticipated rapid rate of growth and almost

boundless usage scenarios and configurations pose major challenges to security. Xiong, Zhou and

Liu (2011) recognise this and suggest that traditional computer security measures will be unable to

cope with the rapid rate of change and transformation the IoT brings. Their work focuses on the

development of trusted frameworks and describes in some detail the likely hardware and software

mechanisms that can be implemented to achieve security in the IoT world. Measuring and defining

trust is a difficult issue, especially in newly adopted technologies. The work in this paper, through

user engagement, addresses perceptions, understanding and measures of trust within commerce

and auction environments and begins to suggest ways in which users recognise trusted computer

systems, especially in their interactions with others.

A single definition of trust has eluded the disciplines of sociology, philosophy, psychology,

management and marketing (Kracher, 2005). This may be due to the fact that trust is context-

specific and can be looked at from different angles. For example, a marketing manager, a

psychologist and a philosopher might have completely different concepts of it. It has been noted

that trust is also dependent on the truster’s own personal disposition (Lumsden and MacKay,

2006). Generally, though it can be said that:

“Trust is the extent to which one party is willing to depend on something or somebody in given

situation with a feeling of relative security, even though negative consequences are possible.”

(Jøsang, Ismail and Boyd, 2007).

Figure 1: Egger’s (2000) Model of Trust for Electronic Commerce (MoTEC)

Establishing a model of trust in the electronic environment elicited tangible results. Companies

investing in ecommerce had to understand what it was that customers felt made a company


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trustworthy. The survival of e-commerce depended on successfully incorporating those elements

into business practices in order to communicate trust to customers. Cheskin Research and Studio

Archetype/Sapient (1999) concluded that there were six factors essential to communicate trust:

Brand, Navigation, Fulfilment, Presentation, Technology, and Seals of Approval. Egger (2000) drew

on research from psychology and marketing disciplines and applied it to online trust, developing

the Model of Trust for Electronic Commerce (MoTEC) displayed in Error! Reference source not

found..

Egger’s MoTEC describes Pre-purchase knowledge as the opinion that a potential customer has

prior to transacting with a vendor, often based on information gleaned from other sources –

essentially, reputation, equated with brand in the Cheskin/Sapient model. The transference of trust

relates to the role that trusted third parties play in providing a seal of approval, again, identified in

the Cheskin/Sapient model. Interface properties relate to the website itself, with Familiarity and

Attitude referring to usability, presentation and site architecture and are equivalent to Navigation

and Presentation identified by Cheskin/Sapient. Informational Content comprises three

components – Risk, Transparency and Cooperation, which respectively refer to how open a website

is about financial guarantees, privacy and whether a vendor appears cooperative. The

Cheskin/Sapient model appears to be the more business-orientated of the two, as it considers order

fulfilment and the supporting technology while Egger omits reference to these. It could be said that

the concept of trustworthy technology is a misnomer and that technology must be functionally

reliable (Friedman, Khan and Cowe, 2000) rather than trustworthy. Reputation is different from

other elements in that it is intangible and cannot simply be addressed pragmatically by, for

example, ensuring that policies are written in clear language and that the company contact details

are available and accurate.

2.4 Study Results: eBay & Suspicious Transactions

In order to determine the extent of auction fraud, respondents who had used eBay were asked

whether they had been subject to one or more of a number of potentially fraudulent incidents,

whether they thought the incident was fraudulent, and to whom, if anyone, they reported the

incident. A summary of incidents is reported in Table 1.

Table 1: Suspicious of Unapproved eBay Transaction Practices (n=86)

Which of the following have happened to you following an eBay auction? %

Participants

I bought an item which was described as authentic or original and found that

when it was delivered, it was counterfeit 11.6

I paid for an item which never arrived 25.6

I bought an item and when it was delivered, found that the item was in worse

condition than was described 23.3

I was sent the wrong item 8.1

I requested a refund on a purchase but never received my refund 3.5

A seller suggested that they might leave negative feedback for me if I were to

complain about poor service 12.8

I was outbid in an auction and then received an unsolicited offer from a

different seller for an item similar to that which I was outbid on 8.1

I have not experienced any incident following an auction 45.3


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Table 1 reveals that a major issue in eBay transactions is the receipt of items whose condition had

been poorly described, but perhaps the most worrying statistic from the results is that 23.3% of the

participants have experienced transactions for which their item did not arrive.

Some respondents had experienced more than one incident and chose to report it to either eBay,

PayPal or their credit card company. The outcome of any incident reports is unknown. No one

reported it to their bank or to the police. Further querying in the survey found that 27.7% (n=47) of

users thought they had been involved in attempted or actual fraud, and only 10 respondents stated

that they had made efforts to report it, revealing that there may be unreported auction fraud crimes

occurring.

3. Consumer Change

3.1 Ascertaining the Impact of Online Auctions

There is anecdotal evidence that the growth of alternative auction sites is hampered by the lower

volumes of traffic they attract compared to eBay. Information on whether consumers have

knowledge of alternative auction sites might inform marketing strategies to raise awareness and

ultimately enable alternative auction sites to be more competitive.

Advice given by the Auction Guild (2008) regarding separate debit or credit card accounts for

online shopping is supported by the UK Payments Association (2008), the trade association for the

UK payment service industry. Whether these recommendations are followed by online shoppers

will provide insight into the current security perceptions and practices of online shoppers.

3.2 Reputation Systems

Reputation is a key component of building trust. People use information about their own or others’

prior experiences in a particular situation as an indicator of what to expect in a future similar

situation. Historically, people interacted within small communities and the spread of information,

and therefore reputations, was limited by geographical and social boundaries. Such boundaries

became far less limiting as a result of the Internet. However, establishing a reputation within a

global community presented challenges because of the widening of boundaries. The Internet was to

be both the source of the problem and the tool with which to develop a solution (Jøsang, Roslan.

and Boyd, 2007). Technology facilitates the recording, gathering and publishing of information, and

information on transactions is essential for customers to build a picture of the performance of

online vendors. Thus began the development of reputation systems. Resnick et al. (2000) describe

an effective reputation system as one where:

1. Information about interactions is captured, recorded and made available to others. All three

component activities are crucial. The participation of users is essential, since without

individual contributions ever being made, noted and displayed to an audience, a reputation

system would not exist.

2. The information provided must be relevant and actually used to inform decision making.

3. People or organisations who are rated must be long-lived within the system, and potential

customers should be able to expect that they will be able to transact with that person /

organisation. An online identity is easily changed and enables associated reputations to be

effectively erased.


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The simplest reputation systems use a binary scoring process where a rating is either positive or

negative and overall ratings are given as the sum of all scores. More complex and maybe more

informative systems attempt to ensure that vendors are rated on their performance in certain areas

and users are allowed to rate them according to certain predefined criteria, i.e., delivery time, price

and product quality. Contributors to online fora and product review sites are rated on both the

volume and quality of their posts. Some systems produce final scores as the average of all supplied

ratings whilst others assign weightings to comments depending on the source of the rating. Links

from high profile, popular sites have higher values than those placed on sites dedicated to link

backs (Brin and Page 1998). Systems proposed by academics, although more complex still, may

more closely resemble human decision-making processes as they consider previous performance

and present results probabilistically (Jøsang, Roslan and Boyd, 2007).

Reputation systems face the challenge of encouraging users to contribute, and this problem is

compounded by the fact that even once ratings are submitted, there are no guarantees that any

scores and comments provided are truthful or accurate. The incentive to contribute is individual to

the reputation system and the contributor. Product review sites offering financial incentives, blogs

and fora provide improved status within that community and participants in reputation systems

implemented within auction sites may do so in the hope that the act is reciprocated.

Recent work by Atzori, Iera and Morabito (2011) presents a different view of the role that trust

plays in IoT architectures. Rather than the conventional thinking that trust is required between

users and organisations transacting over the IoT, their work proposes that trustworthiness needs

to be established at a device level. Touching upon some of the similar concepts relating to

reputation in this work, Atzori and colleagues’ framework of inter-device trustworthiness draws

upon social network concepts of centrality and prestige, in exploring their Social Internet of Things

(SIoT).

3.3 The eBay Feedback Forum – Reputation in Action

The eBay Feedback Forum is a reputation system developed to support the development of trust

within the eBay marketplace. Providing feedback is optional. Each user has a basic feedback profile

comprising of three parts, all of which are visible to all other users. The first part, a numeric

feedback score, is determined using a simple scoring system where the parties engaging in a

transaction rate the transaction as either positive (+1), negative (-1) or neutral (0). The feedback

score is the cumulative total of all scores received and is displayed as a number and as a percentage.

The percentage can be misleading, since all sellers who have completed every one of their

transactions successfully would each have a feedback score of 100%, regardless of the number of

transactions. As well as scoring a transaction, users have the option of adding a supplementary

short comment, which makes up the second part of the feedback profile. The third part of the

feedback profile is the recently implemented Detailed Seller Ratings, where four areas directly

relating to the transaction (accuracy of item description, communication, delivery time, and charges

for postage & packaging) are rated on a scale from one to five, five being the highest. Empirical

observation suggests that the chief motivator to provide feedback on transactions is to increase

one’s own scores. As feedback is proportionately linked to reputation, a good feedback score is a

way of proving one’s good reputation and increasing the chances of successful trading (Resnick, et

al., 2006).


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Standifird (2001) studied the impact of feedback on eBay and found that negative comments had a

disproportionately greater influence than positive ones. Khopkar, Li and Resnick (2005) speculate

that negative feedback may even be psychologically detrimental to sellers. On the other hand,

positive feedback is valued highly and both buyers and sellers have been observed attempting to

enhance their own feedback artificially, i.e., such as buying and selling high-volume, low price goods

for the sole purpose of leaving and receiving positive feedback (Brown and Morgan, 2006). An

established seller with a good feedback rating may see her items selling for higher prices than a

new seller with less feedback (Resnick, et al., 2006) suggesting that buyers want to trade with

sellers who have good reputations. However, negative feedback has been seen to be

disproportionately disadvantageous (Lucking-Reiley, et al., 2007) when compared with the

measurable economic effect that positive feedback has, i.e., sellers with negative feedback fare

worse financially than would be expected. The same study identified that users are swayed more by

comments and negative figures than they are by the overall feedback score. It appears that some

buyers will disregard the fact that a seller might have completed 99% of all transactions

successfully, and allow their decision to trade with that seller to be influenced heavily by the 1% of

unsatisfactory transactions.

It has been observed that slightly more than half of completed transactions receive feedback

(sellers receive feedback for 52.1% of transactions, buyers receive feedback for 60.6% of

transactions), but 99%, an overwhelmingly large proportion of transactions, are rated positively

(Resnick and Zeckhauser, 2002). Although, the authors themselves suggest that their data may

overestimate the number of positively rated transactions, it was suggested that the extremely low

percentage of negative feedback was “highly suspicious”. Negative feedback is also worse for sellers

than it is for buyers. A seller builds a business (which may generate their sole income) on their

reputation, while a buyer with a less than good reputation can change their identity or shop

elsewhere. Sellers are able to cancel the bids of buyers they do not think will be good customers,

but may face difficulties if they have a large number of auctions, especially since it is so easy for

buyers to adopt a new identity.

It was observed that when buyers left negative feedback about a seller, some sellers reciprocated

(Resnick et al., 2000). As a result of the threat of unjust retaliatory feedback, buyers reportedly felt

unable to express their honest opinions about transactions. In February 2008, eBay announced that

changes were to be made to eBay Feedback Forum so that sellers could no longer leave negative or

neutral feedback for buyers. Prior to this, Jøsang, Roslan and Boyd (2007) called the eBay system

primitive and made the suggestion that sellers should not be able to rate buyers, however, eBay

may have already been considering this option themselves. But the fact remains that the system

appears fit for the purpose within its context, a point that is made by Resnick and Zeckhauser

(2002). When reputation systems are the topic of study, eBay Feedback Forum is often a reputation

system of choice (Resnick and Zeckhauser, 2002; Gregg and Scott, 2008), despite the fact that it is

flawed and potentially open to abuse.

Multiple, disparate reputation systems pose a problem for users wishing to use good reputations

built in one place to support similar activities in other places on the Internet. This was particularly

relevant for traders and experts. EBay feedback had come to be considered as valuable outside the

eBay marketplace, as sellers quote their feedback scores on their personal websites (JTK, 2008).

However, talk of integrating reputation systems was silenced when eBay determined that feedback

was proprietary and was only intended as a tool to facilitate trading in the eBay marketplace (Clark


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1999), implying that feedback actually belonged to eBay, Inc., rather than to well-behaved and

honest traders. eBay’s stance currently remains unchanged (eBay, 2008) but the desire of

individuals to use their hard-earned reputations wider than the eBay marketplace continues (JTK,

2008). This may have the effect of locking a trader into continuing to trade on eBay, given that

starting again elsewhere outside of eBay would effectively be building a reputation and a business

from scratch.

3.4 Study Results: Reputation & Feedback

In our eBay user survey, participants were presented with the following scenario:

“You are shopping for an item on eBay and you find it is for sale in two places. Would you rather

buy the item at a higher price from a seller with a high feedback rating or at a lower price from a

seller with a low feedback rating?”

The results of the survey reported that 72.3% (n=101) of those surveyed would buy the item at a

higher price from the seller with higher feedback, whilst the remaining 27.7% would choose to pay

less for the item with the seller with a lower feedback rating. This shows that the majority of eBay

users rely on and trust feedback ratings when making a purchase, demonstrating that even during a

recession, shoppers will pay higher prices when they think they can trust a retailer. From this, it

could be inferred that trust has greater socioeconomic weight than purely fiscal incentive.

Respondents were asked whether they leave feedback after conducting eBay transactions. 80%

(n=85) stated that they leave feedback after every transaction, 10.6% leave feedback for around

half of all transactions and 9.4% never leave feedback. Respondents who volunteered information

via email about why they never left feedback made the following qualitative comments:

“I don't leave feedback, as I've made it a policy of mine not to do so. I could spend a lot of time

fill[ing] in all the on-line surveys and feedback requests which I'm asked to complete and consider

it to be for the benefit of the seller/company and that I will get an extremely small benefit from my

time, which is taken off me in such a blasé manner. I even struggle with sending error reports to

Microsoft when there is a problem, as I have to wait an extra second or two!... I must be very

impatient. I'd rather spend the 5 minutes, or whatever, sending an email to someone I love or care

about. I'm also suspicious of how much notice is taken of the results of such surveys - having

worked in marketing for many years, I’ve seen unpopular research results buried on occasion.”

This draws attention to the principle that people supplying feedback like to see how that feedback

has been used, and also offers an insider’s view of the perceived usefulness, or otherwise, of it.

Another shared this view that demonstrates that not everyone who uses eBay wants to contribute

to the community:

“…combination of reasons really. Once I have made a purchase I don't think about it anymore, but

mainly I am very irritated by sellers who rate me as a superb purchaser / thoroughly recommended

/ 5 stars, etc., etc., just so that I will rate them in the same way.”

Of all participants, only 10.3% (n=78) felt that they wanted to be able to use their eBay feedback

and ratings in other online environments. A number of participants offered further explanation of

why this would be important to them. Some of the comments recorded were as follows:


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“For some of my hobbies, I sell items in the 100-600 GBP price range (on a forum that only allows

direct sales for instance); it’s reassuring for people who don’t know me to take a look at my eBay

feedback.”

Another participant responded with:

“I don’t have a specific purpose in mind for my feedback, it’s just it feels like a badge of honour,

something I’ve earned by being a responsible user of the system and an indicator of my honesty,

reliability and trustworthiness. In part that’s because eBay is so ubiquitous that it means something

coming from that site.”

The comments obtained indicate that feedback and reputation are highly important, added value

features of online trading, particularly at the level of users privately buying and selling items. The

use of the reputation system appears to be effective in countering the lack of person-to-person

contact that would normally be encountered in a private transaction such as buying a car or bike

from a neighbour.

3.5 Bidding, Buying and Selling on eBay

The way that users trade on eBay has been the subject of much attention. Auction theory and its

application to eBay activity have identified bidding strategies exclusive to online auctions (Shah et

al., 2002). Sniping is a phenomenon seen in online auctions and is the practice of submitting a high

bid at the very last moment, leaving other bidders no time to counterbid. Software agents have been

produced to automate the process although it can be carried out manually. It is a controversial

activity, but permissible by eBay rules, and it is a proven effective strategy (Roth and Ockenfels,

2002). The analysis by Rogers et al. (2007) on the value and timing of bids presents some

interesting strategies for buyers who engage in the practice of auction sniping, suggesting a would-

be sniper might be most successful if they attempt to be the first sniper to snipe. Ward and Clark

(2002) found that buyers might get the best price by bidding using a minimum increment bid style

whereas inexperienced bidders who place proxy bids early on in the auction can drive the final

price up. Purists advocate considering an absolute maximum bid, placing a proxy bid to this amount

and then waiting until the auction closes. In reality, this does not happen. Other buyers attempt to

reveal another buyer’s proxy bid by placing incremental bids until they are the highest bidder. The

proxy bidder might then engage in an emotionally charged bidding war. Experienced eBay users

endorse sniping as a strategy to avoid shill bidders and to avoid getting involved in bidding wars

that inflate prices. While the practice is legal and effective, it will continue.

4. Business Change In the beginning, eBay actively recruited sellers that were not established household name retailers

– they wanted private collectors, car-boot sellers and householders to be members of the eBay

community. As it grew in popularity, the eBay marketplace gradually attracted branded retailers

and people with an entrepreneurial streak, eventually growing so large that it came to be regarded

as a completely individual retail channel.

Attitudes towards the use and reuse of goods have changed as environmental and economic factors

begin to affect consumers’ choices although it was the trade of secondhand goods which eBay first


12

encouraged. Such a discussion would not be complete without a look at how eBay online auctions

compare with the traditional auctions on which it was modelled.

4.1 Online Trading

At the start of 2007, small enterprises (1 – 50 employees), micro-employers (1 – 4 employees) and

sole proprietors made up 99.3% of all private enterprise in the UK (BERR, 2008). When the number

of medium sized enterprises is added, this figure rises to 99.9%. Sole proprietors accounted for

almost three quarters of the total amount of private sector enterprise in the UK, demonstrating that

entrepreneurship is popular. Large enterprises (500 or more staff) comprise the remaining 0.1% of

private UK enterprise although they generate just under half of the total turnover. It could be

argued that large income streams can only be accommodated by large companies that have the

necessary infrastructure and resources. The exception to this might be if an individual has a skill

that results in high value products, for example, artists, musicians and actors.

Even though Internet consumers pay lower prices, there are non-financial costs associated with

online shopping. Internet shoppers sacrifice their privacy and although legislation exists to protect

personal data, online retailers gather click-stream information as consumers browse and shop

online, which enables them to personalise services and launch advertising campaigns targeted at

the individual. Retailers can potentially use recorded consumer preferences to determine how

much an individual consumer is willing and able to pay, and can then adjust their prices

accordingly. Internet shoppers often incur the financial cost of delivery, which includes the time

spent waiting at home for deliveries and visiting the local Post Office or collection depot for missed

deliveries.

In 2005, the number of people in the UK who traded on eBay to generate either a regular

supplementary or sole income was estimated at 50,000 (Blakely, 2005). In 2007, Her Majesty’s

Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued guidance for people trading online via eBay, making a clear

distinction between those who were selling unwanted items and those whose activities had an “air

of commerciality” (HMRC, 2007). HMRC reported that in the first two days of their campaign, 200

people registered as online traders (Crimson Business, 2007) although it was unclear what

proportion of these did so as a direct result of the campaign.

Ju and Li (2011) describe scenarios where the IoT actually serves to combine Internet-based

shopping and real-world, physical shopping activities. Their work describes the applications and

enhancements that the IoT is likely to bring about in the commonly experienced activities of

supermarket and grocery shopping. In terms of the challenges presented by this mode of shopping

interaction, the authors identify the need for the logistics processes to be reliable and accurate

along with the need for the quality of goods received to be of an acceptable standard. However, it

could be argued that these are not new challenges to achieving more efficient commerce in the IoT.

Work by Shen and Liu (2010), though largely concerned with the RFID approach to the IoT, clearly

indicates views that the IoT will have revolutionary change effects upon electronic commerce and

the quality of commercial services. Their work reports upon the successful implementation of RFID

tagging in improving logistics and stock management systems. An interesting dimension of their

work proposes that efficiencies can also be realised in the manufacturing process, through the

monitoring of materials and manufacturing processes. However, whilst the authors indicate that


13

changes are on the horizon in commerce and trade, the authors do not propose any specific new

models or methods.

4.2 eBay and Business Change

Before eBay existed, bric-a-brac and old clothing could be found on sale at jumble sales, car boot

sales and charity shops. Charity organisations with shops seized the opportunity to access larger

markets (Derbyshire, 2005) and opened their own eBay stores. However, the Co-operative Bank

Ethical Consumerism Report (Co-operative Bank, 2008) found that charity shop trade fell by 18%

between 2006 and 2007. One reason for this may be that charity shops received fewer items as

donors began to sell their unwanted items on eBay instead of donating them. Charity organisations

use a variation of the Drop Shop scheme popularised in the USA. This scheme is provided for people

who want to sell their items on eBay but do not have the inclination or resources to do it

themselves. Organisations charge a fee for this service and give donors a portion of the final value

of the item if it sells.

As a result of a brief joint venture between Sotheby’s and eBay in 2002, Kazumori (2003) was able

to compare sales of goods sold in traditional auctions with the sales of similar goods sold via eBay

auctions. It was identified that goods fetched higher prices when buyers were able to more

accurately determine the value of the item. In an online environment, buyers are largely reliant on

photographs and written descriptions to give them information about a sale item. Further

investigation reveals that buyers are willing to pay when they know exactly what they are bidding

on.

A study commissioned by eBay reports that over 170,000 eBay users in Europe rely on the income

generated by their eBay sales (Nielsen Net Ratings, 2005). Studies by Ellis and Haywood (2006),

Miles and Davidson (2005) and Amelang (2005) explored people’s motivations for doing so.

Entrepreneurial tendencies aside, most eBay sellers enjoyed the greater degree of independence

they felt that being their own boss afforded them. People not formally employed due to social or

geographical reasons, for example, parents of young children, disabled people, young people and

those who live in a locations far from work, were no longer excluded from employment. Being an

eBay trader gave people the opportunity to earn money, contribute to the economy, participate in

the eBay community and actualise their own personal ambitions.

4.3 Study Results

An initial point of discovery was to assess the level of identity consumers associate with shopping

conducted via eBay, whether this is through private sellers or a corporate eBay presence. To do

this, survey participants were asked how they described an item that had been purchased via eBay.

The results are presented in Table 2. The results shows that the significant majority of those

surveyed feel that the best description of their item, regardless of the seller’s status, is that it was

purchased on eBay itself, as opposed to a specific retailer or generic description of an Internet

transaction.

In a follow-up enquiry, we recorded 41.2% of eBay users (n=85) make repeat visits to particular

sellers. However, this split is still significant since it suggests a large number of users will make

subsequent transactions with an eBay trader, further enforcing the view that eBay helps facilitate

online trading in a controlled and comfortable environment. Even though a retailer might have

their own website that they trade through, eBay may be the preferred option, rather than users


14

worrying about dealing through multiple, unknown websites. In this regard, participants were

presented with the following scenario:

Table 2: Described Identity of an Item Purchased via eBay (n=88)

When you are describing a purchase that you made via eBay, how would you

describe WHERE you made that purchase?

%

Participants

I bought it on / from eBay 86.4%

I bought it online / on the Internet 11.4%

I bought it from a seller who has a shop on eBay 2.3%

“If you are looking to make a purchase on eBay, do you investigate whether a seller has a different

shop, independent of eBay?”

The response to this was almost evenly split. 42.5% (n=87) of participants answered positively.

4.4 Consumer Attitudes toward Purchases

Repertory Grid interviews were conducted to identify attitudes towards purchasing, given that

consumers have more options available to them today. The following elements were used: Mail

order catalogue; Car boot sale; High Street shop; Online shop; Charity shop; Online auction; and

Classified newspaper advert. One participant added an additional element: word of mouth; but this

has been removed from our analysis to prevent skewing of results.

Eleven interviews were carried out, six subjects were male and five were female. The subjects’ age

range varied between 25 and 61 years. The subjects had a broad range of IT literacy, ranging from

those who very rarely used computers themselves and instead relied on others to do things online

for them, to those who were technically adept IT professionals. The Web Grid IV (2009) software

was used to analyse the results of the repertory grid interviews. A representation of the repertory

grid, with elements and constructs grouped according to cluster analysis, is shown in

Figure 1. A PrinGrid, which uses Principal Component Analysis to map constructs and elements on a

Cartesian plane, is presented in

.

The diagram indicates that car boot sales, charity shops and classified newspapers are perceived as

being broadly similar. Online auctions, online shops, high street shops and mail order catalogues

can similarly be grouped together in a different set. Newspaper adverts and car boot sales are seen

as places to go for a potential bargain and for secondhand items. Subjects talked a lot about the

uncertainty of the purchase process, how they would expect to bid, haggle and negotiate. The

element of chance also related to the range of items, as consumers thought that a broad range of

unexpected items are available. One subject made the following interesting comparison:

“Car boot sales – it’s eBay in a field!” (Subject #5)

Online auctions appears to be the furthest from any other element, which may demonstrate that

consumers view online auctions as different from all the other elements, distinctly individual. It is

perhaps correct that online auctions are regarded as a separate channel.


15

Mail order catalogues and high street shops were seen as similar, with customers expecting to buy

good quality, brand new goods, pay pre-determined, higher prices, receive services governed by

high standards and know that purchases are refundable and guaranteed. People who use these

methods are usually intent on making a purchase rather than browsing.

It is interesting to note that sometimes subjects used similar descriptions but for different reasons.

Properties of elements are interpreted by the individual according to their own preference. For

example, two subjects used “convenient” to describe elements. The first considered online shopping

convenient as it did not involve leaving the house to make a purchase, whilst the second considered

it more convenient to be able to return a purchase to a physical shop for a refund. One subject

preferred being able to handle goods and speak with the seller at a car boot sale and therefore

considered the fact that online shopping was done at a distance as a negative. In contrast, another

subject considered exchanging social niceties often undesirable (the subject was a parent with a

young family and enjoyed a peaceful, quiet and efficient transaction).

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the charity shop was different from the others in that it was the only

element that was seen as having charitable and ethical traits, and it was generally not seen as being

associated with any uncertainty. The words used to describe how people viewed charity shops

involved people and interaction with people, getting involved with other people, and being able to

handle the goods.


16

Figure 1: Cluster Analysis of Repertory Grid


17

Figure 2: PrinCom Analysis of Repertory Grid


18

Conclusion

In the UK, technology has enjoyed widespread acceptance. Central government initiatives to make

technology available to the whole of the UK and all of its citizens support the fact it has, and will

continue to have, an impact nationally on all sectors of society. Those who choose not to accept it

may see it impact negatively on them as they become digitally isolated. The Internet is a tool; and is

only as useful as the websites hosted therein. People use it to enhance and augment aspects of their

lives, so clearly the question is not whether it has an impact but how it impacts them. eBay is now

over fourteen years old and lives alongside other Internet giants, such as Google and MSN, yet

compared to them, it has a very limited portfolio of services, mainly online auctions. Fourteen years

in Internet years is a long time so eBay’s longevity points to global acceptance and therefore a

positive impact of online auctions.

This study found that eBay remains a popular place to buy and sell items. Trading via eBay, whether

honestly or dishonestly done, is a way of life for some and keeps roofs over heads and enables them

to achieve personal ambitions. Crime, despite being carried out with malicious intent, fosters

innovation and creativity in circumventing security measures and as long as there is the temptation

of financial gain and anonymity, technology security experts and law enforcers can be assured of

job security.

Trust remains an important factor in the decision to buy, even when buyers have less money to

spend. Users rely on feedback to provide an indication of the seller’s reputation, demonstrating that

they believe in the system and most users consider feedback to be part of the transaction and

willingly contribute. Inasmuch, it is fit for purpose. A combination of continuing engagement, belief

in the system and eBay’s global reach have led to an online reputation system becoming considered

an indicator of offline trustworthiness. The source of this overlap between online and offline world

is, of course, the users. Users believe in the reputation system and they participate, demonstrating

that it is fit for the purpose. This study found that good reputations online are seen by some as

indicators of trustworthiness offline. In terms of online and multi-channel retailing, it is

understandable how a retailer might use this as part of their overall brand.

A new retail channel developed as the popularity of online auctions grew, and as eBay has not had

any serious competitors, it has become, by default, the new retail channel. Consumer knowledge of

alternative online auctions is very limited and their use of them is even less. Amazon Marketplace is

not in direct competition with eBay because it does not offer the auction format but does provide

C2C ecommerce. This study looked at how situations have changed, for example, the use of eBay

and users’ knowledge of other exchange initiatives online. Attempts to determine changes can only

be made successfully when a previous state in time is available for comparison and no such

baseline was available.

We took a broad view at the subject of eBay whereas many of the works cited scrutinised one

aspect. This study highlighted multiple areas of interest warranting further investigation but had to

be limited due to time and scope of contact constraints. How eBay has affected third parties will

arguably elicit results that identify the true socio-economic impact of eBay. Engaging multi-national

companies, particularly couriers and banks, to supply information about the activity they see as a


19

result of eBay was not possible for reasons given. It is proposed that such an investigation would

form the basis for future work that builds upon our research to date.

Online auction and user-to-user trade sites, such those explored in this paper, are one of the few

established technologies where user authentication and trust are of paramount importance.

Therefore, the research and information uncovered here is likely to be transferrable to the

application of IoT user security research; especially in commerce and trade scenarios. Roman,

Najera and Lopez (2011) stress the importance of user comfort and feelings of safety in the IoT,

strengthened by external agencies and governance. Both of these elements are investigated for

online trade within the established Internet model.

As the IoT becomes more developed, the impact of this technological change will be increasing

noticed and felt by everyday society. At the core of many issues surrounding the IoT and user issues

is trust. As explored in this work, trust becomes important in the IoT world at many levels. From

the available literature, there appears to be four broad categories where trust is going to play an

important role. Trust needs to be embedded:

• Between users: Confidence in exchanging information between peers whether this be social

information, financial transactions, etc. Users need to be comfortable and confident about

the person they are communicating with. Reputation is important, although this may be

measured by more social means.

• Between users and organisations: Users must have ways to authenticate businesses and

organisations, and vice-versa. Certificating Authorities, whilst serving as intermediaries,

may be relevant, although these may be seen as cumbersome in many of the peer-to-peer

communications of the IoT. Reputation is likely to play an enormous part in this exchange

and is likely to be an expanded form of the reputation systems seen in online auction sites

and online price comparison sites.

• In technologies: User trust and security in the devices and software they use to

communicate. Users and organisations must have assurance that technologies are not

performing tasks or sharing information in ways that are undesirable.

• Between devices: In some ways a devolution of trust between users. In the fluid exchange of

information the IoT requires, devices should be able to make decisions about the type and

scope of information to be exchanged with other devices in the IoT.

These required areas of trust are not exactly new contributions or realisations. Many of these

interactions, perhaps with the exception of inter-device trust, already take place today, although

they are only now starting to converge in the way anticipated in the IoT. For example, social

networks and personal mobile devices, such as smart phones, have provided us insight into the

types and volume of information users are prepared to share with one another. Authentication,

reputation and encryption enabled many of the paradigm shifts in online commerce detailed in this

work.

Any activity within an interconnected society will impact some other part of that society. Things

happen because of eBay on a daily basis and this study has touched on only some of them. Parcels

get packaged – what effect has this had on the production and sale of packaging? Data gets mined –

how has this contributed to the development of algorithms? Buyers and sellers experience joy and

disappointment – is there such a thing as auction addiction? Whether you think that eBay is future-


20

proof or has lost the magic, it has already affected multiple histories – Internet, business, social,

academic and personal.

It is the convergence of technologies, challenges and stakeholders that compound the existing

challenges and make the need for mechanisms to measure and control trust essential in the IoT.

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