Visual sources and information usefulness in the second-hand market: User-generated, firm-generated, and mixed photos across price conditions

This study examines how photo source configurations are associated with perceived information usefulness in second-hand e-commerce and whether these relationships vary across displayed-price conditions. Drawing on the Information Adoption Model (IAM) and Signaling Theory, the study conceptualizes product photos as both visual evidence about product condition and seller-related market signals. A 3 × 2 between-subjects experiment was conducted using simulated iPhone product pages on Xianyu (n = 660). The experiment compared User-Generated Photos (UGPs), Firm-Generated Photos (FGPs), and Mixed Photos across higher and lower displayed-price conditions. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling, multi-group analysis, and supplementary interaction tests. The results show that both information quality and source credibility were positively associated with information usefulness. At the overall photo-source level, the information quality–information usefulness relationship was stronger for Mixed Photos and FGPs than for UGPs, whereas the source credibility–information usefulness relationship was strongest for FGPs. Differences across displayed-price conditions were limited and configuration-specific. The information quality relationship was stronger under the higher displayed-price condition, with the clearest difference observed for Mixed Photos, whereas no consistent price-related difference emerged for the source credibility relationship. These findings extend the application of IAM to visual information evaluation in second-hand markets by showing that photo source configurations correspond to distinct evaluative routes and that these relationships can vary across displayed-price contexts.