New Delhi, March 29 -- Have you ever tried to sell something online-an old phone or a piece of furniture?

You list it for Rs.15,000, convinced it's fair because it served you well. Then the offers arrive: Rs.5,000, Rs.6,000. You feel insulted. Surely, they don't understand its value.

But they aren't cheating you. You are lying to yourself.

This is the Endowment Effect, a psychological bias where we overvalue things simply because we own them.

Economics says price is determined by supply and demand. In your head, price is determined by supply, demand-and feelings.

When you buy something, you pay the market price. When you sell it, you demand an emotional price. The gap between the two is where you lose money.

This effect is clearly v...