? OPTIMUM LENGTH OF LISTINGS

[lightxposure]

I wondered if folks could share their thoughts and experiences about the productivity of length of listings. Have folks found that length of listings eg. 3, 5, 7, 10 days increases or hinders sales? Do buyers seem to show any preferences? Any thoughts anyone? many thanks sue in uk

[artistjillian]

I choose 7. I don't see any real advantage in 10, except to end on a different day if I don't want the 7 to end on a particular day. I used to like to use it if it meant that I couldn't have more work up in 7 days, but now I'm not even managing the 10 days to make sure I have at least one work up, so it doesn't really matter. 3 is possibly ok unless you fall in the 'indexing' thing. 5 is quite popular, but I'm not quite sure why. Advantages? I don't really know of any re a length of time. ~Jillian

[jjohnsonlowe]

I don't know about length of listings, but I am thinking that summer time means that I need to have listings ending LATER in the day. Last week I had some ending at 8 pm central and they did MUCH better than the ones ending at 6 pm central this week. Of course, some other factors may have been at work -- this is just me, AGAIN, trying to figure this all out!!! arrrrrggghhhhhh!!!! Jana

[lightxposure]

Jillian, I list for 3 days initially, to keep items nearer to top of 'ending soonest' list, then about 25 or 26 hours before that listing is due to end, I revise it to 5 days, and if there's no bids I revise it again to 7 days, so its always nearer the top of the list, or.. that's the theory!! 😄

[jjohnsonlowe]

Wow!! lightxposure, you are really on top of things. I don't think that I could EVER get organized enough to do all of that, but I bet it DOES help a lot!!! Jana

[lightxposure]

lol Jana... it may not generate any more sales, but it just feels good knowing i'm not at the bottom end of the pile, after all, with over 3000 aceos listed for sale, who wants to be at the end of the list?? ;) sue

[artbysusieq]

Hi, Many I start out at 1 day and before it reaches 12 hours left I go to 3 days, then 5 then 7. I do this to keep them on top. I came up with this idea when eBay was taking so long to get listings up. At this point, depending on the traffic, watchers, etc. I either go for ten days(40cents more) or I send them to my store. Some I don't start out with 1 day, due to the time it will reach it's 12 hours, or how I am feeling. Starting at 1 day requires you to be totally on top of it, or it gets expensive relisting. I try and have most end by 9pm, PST time. The eBay book for dummies says have them end on Sundays. I did that for a few months, and I truly didn't notice any difference. So now I just try to get them out as soon as they are painted as long as it's not too late in the day. I have people buy in the first 12 hours and in the 10th day. I have been unable to determine a good length. But I have found there is very little bidding on my items after 9pm, PST. Sometimes there are a lot of watchers..then poof..the listing ends and no body bought anything. Other times, there are no watchers and it's purchased shortly after listing. I would like to be able to analyze my figures better, because traffic reports aren't much help. I need to track it. But I have to paint more than I am now. hope this helps. But remember, it's coming from someone who has only been selling for 8 mos. I only bought things occasionally before. susie

[mreas]

Aren't the eBay killjoys eliminating the revise auction length option? Seems like I read something about that.

[mreas]

"Hi everyone...This is Jim Ambach of the Seller Experience team. Back in January, our Trust & Safety policy team made an important change that prohibits the practice of extending the duration of an auction. These auction extensions disrupt normal bidding patterns, creating a poor buyer experience. Some sellers were also using this ability to gain an advantage for their listings in terms of exposure on the site. In the next few days, the option to extend your listing duration in our listing tools will be modified to be in compliance with this policy change. Two-Hour Window to revise item duration Sellers will notice that the ability to change their listing’s duration will be removed from the Sell Your Item form, Turbo Lister, and any third-party tools which utilize our API once 2 hours have passed after the start time of the listing. We wanted to be sure to make a 2-hour window available so that sellers will still have the opportunity to correct their listing if they discover they have listed it with the wrong duration. For more details, see our Fee Circumvention policy. Sincerely, Jim Ambach Vice President, Seller Experience"

[lightxposure]

Thank you susie, I never thought to try starting with one day first, I might give it a go. I never extend a listing if there's a bid in place. I tend to end up listing my item about very late evening /early hours of the morning in the UK, which would be early/late evening USA time. Sue 😄

[artbysusieq]

wow Mick! Am I under arrest?? 😛 I can make changes through eBay up until the last 12 hours of the auction. It never says I can't do it. I am sure everyone else can do this. I got very desperate when they were taking up to three days to list my items and sales were nada. So I thought, if I do it for one day they have to get it listed before the day is up and I didn't want to pay all of the fees for just one day of listing. You are welcome Sue. How does everyone else feel about this? susie

[lightxposure]

ummmm interesting susie.... i find that if i've listed for 3/5/7 days and want to revise it, I have to do it before the last 24 hours that are left otherwise the system won't let me do it 🙂

[artbysusieq]

mmmmmmmmmmmm..... not sure why you can't do it up until the last twelve hours. I did it last night.

[mreas]

"In the next few days, the option to extend your listing duration in our listing tools will be modified to be in compliance with this policy change." Enjoy it while you can. Just another change to make your eBay eperience more enjoyable.

[indooryardsales]

Mick, just when does that enjoyment start? I stuck a fork in my ear, to get things rolling, but I'm not feeling the love just yet.