What's the best time/day to end an auction?

sharonr

Hi All

Just coming back to selling on eBay after a couple of years without as I need to have a clear out.

Has anybody got any thoughts on when the optimum time to end auctions is for best results?

I guess it really depends on the category, but mostly I'm selling children's clothes and books.

I would really appreciate your thoughts.

Thanks!

bravobeastie

I would recommend after 8.30/9 (when mum or dad have settled little ones into bed) i've missed many an auction due to putting the kids to bed. As for which day? I would think Sunday, as mums or dads want kids settled early for school/nursery etc next day

fridayschild_2

I always try to time it so that people can get home from shopping too. Shops shut, mostly, at 4pm on a Sunday so give them time to get home and list it for then.

If you list on a Thursday and go for 10 days it will finish on the Sunday and you will have had 2 whole weekends of people looking. (in case you've forgotten how to do that, just click on the arrow next to the 7 days and pick out 10) No matter how many days you choose the cost is still the same.

Don't forget that if you want it to finish at a particular time it might be as well to go for the delayed start option, it is only 6p and could make all the difference.

thepedestrian

a couple of years out of the game ? - you are going to notice a LOT of changes then ( not all to the good if youre selling either ! )

Advise you to brush up on the rules and regs. if you dont want to get caught out on anything

Pembroke

Depends on what you're selling. I tend to sell a lot of collectable items so tend to end the sale a bit later say 10 pm, this gives the Americans a chance to bid and win at a reasonable hour of their day, but still not be too late for my British and European customers.

As I'm selling to make a living I try to list every day of the week on a ten day auction even if some items are re-lists that didn't sell the first time.

Crowqueen

I tend to use 7 day auctions myself; it's easier to calculate when they're going to finish than 10 days, at least for me, being as I am a crow with very little brain...!!!

I tend to list so things finish from about half 7 to 9pm. Any earlier and you'll hit dinner time; any later and people will be packing up ready to go to bed.

Having said that, both my current listings finish in the middle of the day. They are things that usually do quite well but having been out of practice for a while I forgot about optimising them.

EDIT - @Pembroke - good point - I'll think about that then. I hadn't factored America into my thoughts - I do sell some things overseas, but hadn't worked that one out.

GammaX

Doh! I knew having my items end at 3am on a weekday was a bad idea, but I just went ahead to list. Hope some people are insomniacs like I am, lol.

soolin

GammaX wrote: »

Doh! I knew having my items end at 3am on a weekday was a bad idea, but I just went ahead to list. Hope some people are insomniacs like I am, lol.

You could well hit the Far East or Australian market, Australian buyers account for a huge amount of my sales.