On the value of second opinions: A credence goods field experiment

Abstract

Credence goods markets with their asymmetric information between buyers and sellers are prone to large inefficiencies. In theory, poorly informed consumers can protect themselves from maltreatment through sellers by gathering second opinions from other sellers. Yet, field experimental evidence whether this is a successful strategy is scarce. Here we present a natural field experiment in the market for computer repairs and show that revealing a second opinion from another expert does neither increase the rate of successful repairs nor decrease the average repair price charged by sellers.