We run a large field experiment with an online company specializing in selling used automobiles via ascending auctions. We manipulate experimentally the “price grid,” or the possible amounts that bidders can bid above the current standing price. Using two diverse auction sites, one in New...

In this paper, we report both field and laboratory experimental results on the effects of setting public versus private reserve prices in ascending auctions. The field experiments were performed with a large online used automobile seller. In addition to providing a check on the results of the...