It all depends on who you ask, and what part of eBay you’re talking about!

Some commonly-held ideas in the offline auction world just don’t apply when it comes to eBay.

For example, do you think on auction with a secret reserve price would draw more bidders, or less?

David Reiley, an economist at the University of Arizona, investigated whether reserve prices in eBay auctions should be open or secret.

His findings, along with other research into the irrationality of online auctions, can be found in an article at Slate.com.

Go read the article here.