Recent research to identify significant factors that influence feeder cattle prices has focused on cattle and market characteristics. The research reported here used data from Georgia teleauctions during the 1977 to 1988 pe¡ to determine the possible impact of seller's reputation on price. Both significant premium and discount seUers were identified for two of the three teleauction organizers. Theteleauctionorganization that transferred the least amount of information about the cattle had the greatest number of reputation sellers while the organization with the most information about sellers' cattle given to buyers registered no significant seller reputations. Reputations can help buyers estimate quality in the absence of complete information.Most research identifying significant factors influencing feeder cattle prices has focused on cattle and market characteristics (Buccola, 1980(Buccola, , 1982Schroeder et al.;Lambert et al.;Turner et al.;Bailey et al.). These studies have investigated price determination in traditional, telephone, and video auctions and explained much of the variation in feeder cattle price. Little research has focused on reputation trading. Shapiro explored price premiums as returns to reputations where, nThe idea of reputation makes sense only in an imperfect information world" (Shapiro p. 659). On the other hand, Sporleder used experimental economic methods to investigate the effect of buyer's reputation on exchange prices.The purpose here is to extend research on feeder cattle price determination to include the possible impact of seller's reputation on price. This research is an empirical integration of feeder cattle price determination and reputation trading research. Many of the factors hypothesized to influence feeder cattle prices in Turner et al. are also used here.

Three Georgia feeder cattle teleauction markets were analyzed from 1977 to 1988 to estimate the impacts of cattle characteristics and market conditions on prices. Cattle characteristic price impacts were similar to those in previous studies. The impact of feeder cattle futures price on teleauction price was positive but varied across markets. Optimal lot size ranged from 143 to 276 head. In one market, 14 lots were necessary to generate positive price impacts. Additional buyers were estimated to have a $.30/cwt per buyer impact on price.