In this report a support system for predicting end prices on eBay is proposed. The end price predictions are based on the item descriptions found in the item listings of eBay, and on some numerical item features. The system uses text mining and boosting algorithms from the field of machine learning. Our system substantially outperforms the naive method of predicting the category mean price. Moreover, interpretation of the model enables us to identify influential terms in the item descriptions and shows that the item description is more influential than the seller feedback rating, which was shown to be influential in earlier studies.

, , ,
hdl.handle.net/1765/8189
Econometric Institute Research Papers
Report / Econometric Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam
Erasmus School of Economics

van Heijst, D., Potharst, R., & van Wezel, M. (2006). A support system for predicting eBay end prices. (No. EI 2006-27). Report / Econometric Institute, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/8189