A few Pointers on When and How to Sell on eBay.

Timing is Everything

You have heard of the old saying "Timing is Everything", well this holds true for eBay.  In fact, most PowerSellers agree, there are two major factors involved in turing a listing into a successful sale:

• First: The Length of the Auction; and
• Secondly: The Time of the Day at which the Auction ends.

Auction Length

The Length of the Auction is typically one of the areas that many sellers forget to make the best use of, here you want to make sure your Auction ends on one of the key eBay selling days.  Your starting day determines your ending day, and that is something you need to take into account when posting your auction.

Most Experts suggest a seven day auction.  This longer auction allows the listing to attract more attention and more viewers to what you are selling.  Although there are certain cases where a One day Auction is better, (i.e. a product with very fast turn over), a longer Auction will typically gain more watchers and ultimately a bigger sale price.

Also, remember that a Seven day Auction covers the whole week.  This of course includes the prime viewing weekend times where hits can increase quite a bit.  Typically, Sunday is considered to be the best day to end an Auction, Saturday and Friday trail close behind; unless they fall on a holiday.  Most experts advise against ending an Auction on a holiday.

Auction End Time

Now, The Most Important timing Factor is the actual times it ends.  You should shoot for Auctions that end as follows:

• Between 10 PM and MidNight for Eastern US Time Zone.
• Between 8 PM and 10 PM for Mountain.
• Between 7 PM and 9 PM if you are on the West Coast.

The Eastern sea board contains the largest concentration of buyers, and the period between 10 PM and MidNight is the most popular time for buying.  This also provides strong coverage to the other Time Zones.

Summary:

Start your Seven day Auction on 9 PM Eastern Standard Time on a Sunday.  This way the Auction will go through the entire week, ending at the same time you started it.  For a Five Day Auction, have it start on Tuesday at 9 PM.  For a Three day Auction, have it start on Thursday at 9 PM.

Tip:

You can also use a feature of the 'Advanced Search' to determine the most popular selling times of products that are similar to the one you are selling.  Click the 'Completed Listing Only' box and you'll see what has sold, for how much, and of course when it sold.

Hope this gives you a few tips to get started.  Please feel free to drop me an email if you have any questions or suggestions, I welcome your feedback.  Thanks for visiting our Guide.  If you have found it to be helpful, Please provide your feedback.

Thanks,

Brad, (Bishop1963) bradbishop@eastlink.ca