Making money on eBay by relieving risk

More and more consumers buy their products online. Consumers do not only conduct their online purchases on typical business-to-consumer websites, online auction websites are becoming a successful phenomenon as well. One of the largest auction sites is eBay, where sellers register their products for sale, and consumers bid on them. There are many incentives for consumers to switch from the traditional bricks-and-mortar store to the Internet for their purchases, such as time convenience and competitive prices. However, online consumers also face some hurdles. A great body of literature demonstrates that online consumers experience various risk concerns regarding the online purchase. These concerns are the main impediment for the growth of electronic commerce. Online marketers seem to acknowledge consumers’ risk perceptions and offer several cues on their websites that address specific risk concerns, so-called risk-relieving cues, with the goal to lower the consumers’ risk perceptions and finally to increase sales.