Researchers who studied people who sell items on eBay (EBAY) turned up a surprising result: Women sellers get 80 cents on the dollar compared to men, according to a new study published in Science Magazine.<br />The researchers assessed over 1 million auctions from 2009 to 2012 and found that women sellers get fewer bids and lower final prices than men - for the same products.<br />The gender bias was greatest for new products.<br />In fact, it nearly disappeared for used items -- women make 97 cents for every dollar a man does.<br />The researchers said the lower gap seen with used products might be due to buyers unknowingly trusting women to give more accurate product descriptions.<br />The study, which looked at 429 of eBay's most popular items, found that even things like a seller's reputation score or the option to "buy it now" didn't mitigate the gender bias.<br />The gender bias was even apparent in the resale of gift cards of equal value, which are objectively the exact same item.
