Question
It seems from my experience that Late SUN night,roughly 9 or 10 est is a good time to end auctions.
What days/times do you think are the Best?
Answer
Lots of replies for this one.
Answer
I like Monday and Tuesday evening. No particular reason.
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I seem to recall that according the "eBay by the Numbers" (info that eBay generated) Mondays were the days when most people visited the site.
After selling (mostly antiques, collectibles and books) on eBay for 8 years I can tell you that I gave up trying to figure out any logic or pattern l-o-n-g ago.
I've watched people list all sorts of stuff on all different days ending at all different times and I've seen all sorts of different results. There are just too many variables: the schedule of the bidders, the quantity of bidders, similar items up at the same time, quality of photos/descriptions, terms, shipping, payment methods offered, rarity of items, desirability of items and the proficiency of the bidders in being able to search for items – there is just so much that goes into it.
One thing I do know – if I don't list it, it won't sell.
I don't get too hung up on overanalyzing every auction. Stuff that I have high expectations for sometimes falls flat. Stuff that I just hope to make a bit on sometimes zooms to prices that make me nervous. Stuff that is re-listed because it didn't sell the first time generates a bidding war. Items listed with a BIN are bid on and wind up going for more than the BIN. I tend to look at the week, month, quarter and year rather than the individual auction. The euphoria from a great sale just doesn't seem to last very long and I want to move on to the next one.
I just don't think that day/time of day has that much to do with the end result if you are selling desirable items.
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It totally, totally depends! I use research tools (been using Mpire Researcher lately to check out the new kid on the block) to find out when everyone else has sold their item. Sometimes I use that information to do the same thing, and sometimes I use that information to do the exact opposite!
I had a high-demand sci fi collectible to sell last week. researcher said most of the auctions had ended on Sunday evening, but the prices seemed kind of blah.
Out of curiosity, I decided to swim against the tide and end my auction on a Friday night. My thought was that either sci fi collectors would be home on Friday night cruising eBay, or they would be out with friends, and they would set up an extra-big proxy bid before they left home for the night, to be sure that they won it when the auction ended and they were afk.
It sold for twice what everyone else did! I was stunned!!!
So yes, conventional wisdom says sunday night or monday afternoon. But conventional wisdom isn't always right - do some research first. And after you do the research, decide whether or not you want to FOLLOW the conventional wisdom!
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Too many variables to make a trial-and-error type study really work. A highly desirable object will sell, no matter when the auction ends, and a lousy item won't sell, even if it ends at the optimum time.
Besides, with esnipe and similar programs, buyers don't need to be there when the auction ends, anyway.
My new plan is to have a few listings start every day. That improves my chances of coming up near the top of a "newly listed" sort or an "ending first" sort.
Answer
Originally Posted by rubyjane
My new plan is to have a few listings start every day. That improves my chances of coming up near the top of a "newly listed" sort or an "ending first" sort.
It works out real well for me to have new items listed (almost) every day. It just seems as though I have better results if I have some continuity to my listings. From a mental standpoint it seems a lot more satisfying to have several items going off each day because there is always some success to feel good about.
Over the years I've seen several instances of sellers posting the "My eBay Sales Suck" or "How are your sales on eBay?" threads and a lot of it has to do with their sporadic listing habits. They don't list anything for a while, and then they jump in with a dozen auctions, the auctions languish, they get discouraged and don't list any more, and then they "mother hen" the auctions for days getting more disappointed each day.
I always figure that if I run an auction (and I'm referring to a true auction) it is simply a 6-day, 23-hour, 57-minuite preview for the folks who are really serious about owning it.
Sometimes they bid early, often they come crashing through the door as the clock winds down.
I think that if you overanalyze this stuff it just takes up time you could use to list stuff. Research is good, but once it impacts your ability to list it is useless.