A comparative study of multi-sided auction platforms: The case of Ebay.com and Molotok.ru

Abstract

This thesis provides a multi-level comparison of eBay and Molotok as multi-sided platforms. First, the theoretical framework of the phenomenon of multi-sided platforms is presented. An overview of existing research of the area is presented. Second, a qualitative side-by-side comparison of eBay and Molotok models is performed. The companies are shown to be very similar in many way yet different in their market position, level of integration and other details. Third, building on the experience of eBay researchers, we describe and execute a quantitative exploratory study of Molotok. Data from 77,487 Russian coin auctions is collected and analyzed. We try to use the metrics discovered to compare Molotok shopping experience to that on eBay. We discover that finding price-based correlations with metrics like seller rating and bidding activity is problematic, because only as few as 2.4% of coin auctions end in a sale on Molotok, in comparison to 72.5% on eBay. Nevertheless, we are able to establish the ways a seller can maximize sale success chances, viz. by paying for the opportunity to have her item displayed in the top of search results and by timing auction expiry more effectively. Equally importantly, we lay out the foundation for future research and provide recommendations about the best ways to tackle the challenges faced by this research project. We also show by example that computerized data collection is a valid option for studying not only eBay, as has been shown by other researchers, but also for studying Molotok.