{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T18:24:26Z","timestamp":1787336666546,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":62,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787270400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>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\u2009\u00d7\u20092 between-subjects experiment was conducted using simulated iPhone product pages on Xianyu (n\u2009=\u2009660). 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\u2013information usefulness relationship was stronger for Mixed Photos and FGPs than for UGPs, whereas the source credibility\u2013information 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.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0356763","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T17:25:36Z","timestamp":1787333136000},"page":"e0356763","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Visual sources and information usefulness in the second-hand market: User-generated, firm-generated, and mixed photos across price conditions"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-3065-6320","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Xin","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aqilah","family":"Yaacob","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4373-021X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kim Mee","family":"Chong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0356763.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"27633","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2024.3366929","article-title":"Does visual review content enhance review helpfulness? 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