Topic: Reputation, altruism, and the benefits of seller charity
in an online marketplace

We analyze “natural experiments” on eBay where sellers offer identical products with and without charity donations. Charity-tied products are more likely to sell and attract higher prices, and these benefits accrue primarily to sellers without extensive eBay histories. This suggests that consumers view charity as a signal of seller quality and a substitute for reputation. We also find that charity-tied products by all sellers are more likely to sell (and at higher prices) immediately following Hurricane Katrina, implying that consumers derive direct utility from seller charity at times when charity is particularly salient.