Determining the Best Days and Times to List

     

We'll start with the simple issue of when you want to start ”and end ”your eBay auctions. As you'll soon find out, some days and times are more effective than others.

Best Time of Day to List

When you start your auction is important ”because that affects when your auction ends . If you start a seven-day auction at 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday, it will end exactly seven days later, at 6:00 p.m. the following Saturday.

Why is when your auction ends important? Because some of the most intense bidding takes place in the final few minutes of your auction, from snipers trying to steal the high bid at the last possible moment. To take advantage of last-minute bidders, your auction needs to end when the most possible bidders are online.

For example, if you end your auction at 3:00 in the morning, most of your potential bidders will be asleep and you'll lose out on any last-minute bids. End your auction in the middle of the day, and you'll miss those bidders who are stuck at work or in school.

Better, then, to end your auction during early evening hours. That's when the most number of users are online, and when you're likely to receive the most number of last-minute bids.

Remember, though, that you're dealing with a three- hour time-zone gap between the east and the west coasts. So if you time your auction to end at 7:00 p.m. EST, you're ending at 4:00 p.m. PST ”when many potential bidders are still at work. Conversely, if you choose to end at 9:00 p.m. PST, you just hit midnight in New York ”and many potential bidders are already fast asleep.

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eBay operates on Pacific (West Coast ) time. If you're in another time zone, be sure to do the math to determine the proper time for your area.


The best times to end ”and thus to start ”your auction are between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. EST, or between 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. PST. That way you'll catch the most potential bidders online ”on both coasts ”for the final minutes of your auction.

Note, however, that the best time to end an auction can be influenced by the type of item you're selling. For example, if you're selling an item that appeals to grade school or high school kids, try ending your auction in the late afternoon, after the kids get home from school and before they head off for dinner. Items with appeal to housewives do well with a late morning or early afternoon end time. And business items sell best when they end during normal business hours.

Best ”and Worst ”Days to List

Just as the time of day your auction ends affects your results, so does the day of the week. While different types of items perform better on different days, the general consensus is that Sunday is the default "best day" to end most auction items.

Here's why.

When you end your auction on a Sunday, you get one full Saturday and two Sundays (the starting Sunday and the ending one) for a 7-day item listing. Sunday is a great day to end auctions because almost everybody's home ”no one's out partying, or stuck at work or in school. End your auction on a Sunday evening, and you're likely to get more bids ”and higher prices.

There are exceptions, however.

As with the time you end your auction, your ending day might also be influenced by the type of item you're selling. If you're selling an item of interest to college students, for example, you might be better ending on a night during the week, as a lot of students travel home for the weekend ; you're more likely to catch them in the dorms on a Wednesday or Thursday night. Items targeted at churchgoers might also be better ending during the week, so you don't catch bidders when they're at Sunday evening church services. (Which makes this one big exception to the Sunday evening rule!)

So if Sunday is normally the best night of the week to end your auction, what's the worst night?

Friday and Saturday are probably the worst nights to end most auctions, because a lot of eBay users are out partying on these non-school nights. End an auction for any item ( especially youth-oriented items) on a Friday or Saturday night, and you eliminate a large number of potential buyers .

tip

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Get more specific information on the best days and times for specific auction items at ndale Research (www. andale .com). See Chapter 9, "Step Seven: Research Other eBay Auctions ”and Set a Pricing Strategy," for more details.


You should also try not to end your auction right in the middle of a hit television series or major sporting event ”some potential bidders might find it difficult to tear themselves away from the old boob tube. That means avoiding "Must See TV" Thursdays, and any blockbuster sporting events or award shows.

Seasonal Variations

When you're planning your projected eBay sales and revenue, you need to take into effect the fact that sales rates vary throughout the year. It's no surprise that sales go up in November and December, due to the Christmas buying season . But did you know that sales go down ”way down ”in the summertime? That's right, eBay traffic in general drops significantly during June, July,and August; lots of potential buyers are on vacation, and even more are outside enjoying the sunshine.

Keep these seasonal trends in mind when planning your business. That might mean putting fewer items up for auction during the summer months, or holding your highest-potential items for the fall or winter. Just don't assume you'll keep a steady sales rate throughout all 12 months of the year ”because you won't.



Absolute Beginner's Guide to Launching an eBay Business
Absolute Beginners Guide to Launching an eBay Business
ISBN: 0789730588
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2002
Pages: 167

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