In previous guides, I've discussed the value of timing your auctions to close at peak times for bidders - but what about buying at non peak times for the best deals. 

Recently I bought a video game for my young son at about 3 am in the morning for $2.00.  I was pleased to find it at such a great deal, as I knew from searching earlier that day, the same game was selling for $15 pretty well across the board.  The moral of the message is the opposite of when is the best time to sell - because the best time to buy is from auctions that are closing in the middle of the night where the bidding is limited thanks to most people being in bed and not bidding on Ebay.  

I prefer to shop the auctions for items ending soonest - that way I'm directly involved with the purchase instead of finding out I got scooped on an item I wanted for 50 cents more in a bid.  Being a night owl who is usually working on my computer late at night, It is not a reach for me to search for items at 2 or 3 in the morning with the added benefit that they are way, way cheaper at this time. 

The way auctions work for the closing time is that they close at the same time they started.  For example, If I start an auction at 10 pm and it's a five day auction, it will close exactly five days later at 10 pm.  When a person puts an item on for sale at 3 am, they obviously are not paying attention to the time that they are selling their products and how it will effect their profit margins. 

Just about every item you want to buy from ebay can be found at an auction closing in the middle of the night - and chances are you will save as much as 50 to 90% when using this strategy to buy ( which also opens up the idea of buying at night for a low price and selling the same item for a higher price at prime time - but that is for a different guide at a later date... )

You can view all my other guides by going here...

http://search.reviews.ebay.ca/members/postmedia