Just when there are reports of eBay concentrating on the sale of fixed price goods rather than its traditional auction model, a study by ISB Hyderabad and the Smith School of Business in Maryland have quantified the consumer surplus that eBay has never shared data on. Consumer surplus is the difference between what people pay and what people are willing to pay. For the study, consumer purchase data from about 4500 eBay auctions in 2003 was taken and studied using Cniper, a sniping agent. What was identified could be of immense help to eBay in relooking at their auctions business. Read the article on an NY Times blog here.