Table 3 presents the consumer surplus -- the benefit
achieved beyond the buyers' willingness to pay -- obtained by the
simulated buyers for the usual combinations of seller strategies. As
expected, when all pricebots play DF and seller profits are maximized,
consumer surplus is minimized. Notice, however, that the introduction
of a single GT pricebot substantially increases consumer surplus;
similarly, the introduction of a GT pricebot into a group of otherwise
MY pricebots leads to even greater increases in consumer surplus.
Apparently, the presence of even a single GT agent substantially
benefits buyers. Interestingly, however, the greatest consumer
surplus is seen, not when all pricebots are GT strategists, but rather
when one pricebot plays MY and the remainder play GT. The
deterministic, explicit undercutting by the MY pricebot (as opposed to
the probabilistic undercutting by the GT pricebot) not only benefits
the MY seller (see Table 2), but it also slightly
improves the consumers' lot. What is a gain for MY and the consumers
is a loss for the GT sellers.
