How to reverse calculate auction start based on end datetime and duration options?

[mr.fatman]

I want to end my auction at a specific time on a specific date.

Ideally EBay would have a calculator tool page. I searched the web but can't find a recent or accurate webtool.

How do other EBay users plan the timing of their auction--technically how do you calculate it?

Last time my auction ended on the wrong date and this lead to delays in shipping.

[lacemaker3]

@mr.fatman 

1. Auctions always run for the exact number of days that the seller chooses, so that means they end at the exact same time of day as they were started.
   • Exception: twice a year, when daylight savings time starts/ends, auctions that are active when the time changes will end an  hour earlier/later than they started, in order to make sure that the auction lasts the full time that the seller chose.
     
     
2. To find out what day  to start a listing, you need to start at the day you want it to end, and then count back the number of days the auction will last.
   • 7 day auction (most common): start the auction on the same day you want it to end, but one week ahead of the desired ending date.
     
     
   • for other auction durations, just count back the desired number of days on a calendar.

[dbfolks166mt]

     There are four factors that play into this. The first is the day you want to start the auction on, the duration of the auction, the day you want it to end on and the time. The time is probably the most difficult depending on your intention. I use the auction format almost exclusively in combination with the listing scheduler. The day calculations are pretty easy. I want all my auctions to end on Sunday and use 10 day or 7 day auctions. 

- For a 10 day auction I start the auction on Thursday

- For a 7 day auction I start the auction on Sunday. 

    Timing of an auction start and end is based on Pacific Standard Time or daylight savings time whichever we are on and NOT the time zone you are in. I am on the east coast and want my auctions to end at around 11 AM my time so I start the auctions at 8 AM PST adjusting for the difference between EST and PST. 

     Once the item is listed you can see the end date and time in your active listings. Remember the time shown is PST. 

[monroe67]

"2. To find out what day  to start a listing, you need to start at the day you want it to end, and then count back the number of days the auction will last. 

                 7 day auction (most common): start the auction on the same day you want it to end, but one week ahead of the desired ending date. 

               for other auction durations, just count back the desired number of days on a calendar."

OR you could use the subtraction skills you learned in elementary school.  
Example 1:  You want your 5-day auction to end on Saturday, October 12.  
                          12 minus 5 = 7.     Start your five-day auction on October 7.
Example 2:  You want your 10-day auction to end on Monday, October 14.  
                           14 minus 10 = 4.  Start your ten-day auction on October 4.  

[lacemaker3]

@monroe67 

Quite true. I was trying to keep things simple, since OP asked for an app or a webtool, I figured subtraction would be too complicated.

[monroe67]

"Quite true. I was trying to keep things simple, since OP asked for an app or a webtool, I figured subtraction would be too complicated."

What has this world come to?  That seems kind of sad, when subtraction is simple enough for six- and seven-year-old children to grasp, and has been for centuries.  

About 100 years ago when I was student teaching English as a Second Language, my students used to laugh at me and say "Ms. Monroe no sabe matematicas."  (Ms. Monroe doesn't know mathematics.)  But grade-school level arithmetic is deeply ingrained in my brain.  

As for a webtool, the things the OP might find handy are probably readily available in his/her cell phone: 
a calculator and a calendar.  

[wastingtime101]

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@mr.fatman wrote:

Last time my auction ended on the wrong date and this lead to delays in shipping.

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Ending on the wrong date shouldn't be an issue unless there's a Leap Day involved, Daylight Savings Time change, or you're scheduling based on the wrong time zone.

As others said, keep it simple @mr.fatman . Want your listing to end on a Sunday? A 7 day auction that starts on Sunday will end the next Sunday.

edit to add: What kind of delays in shipping? When you use auction format, the buyer has a minimum of 4 days to submit payment after the auction ends, so even when you end the listing on a specific date/time that does not mean you'll receive payment right away.

[jerseyboymusic]

I thought I was the only one "smart" enough to use the subtraction I learned in elementary school.

Like if you want to run a 7 day auction that ends Sunday at 8:00 PM, start it the previous Sunday at 8:00 PM. Or a five day auction ending the same time, start it at 8:00 PM on Tuesday

Heavens to Mergatroid... exit, stage right even!

[dbfolks166mt]

I thought I was the only one "smart" enough to use the subtraction I learned in elementary school.

Like if you want to run a 7 day auction that ends Sunday at 8:00 PM, start it the previous Sunday at 8:00 PM. Or a five day auction ending the same time, start it at 8:00 PM on Tuesday

Heavens to Mergatroid... exit, stage right even!

     If you are on Pacific time it's just that easy. If you are in another time zone it would depend on whether you wanted it to start and end at 8 PM Pacific time or 8 PM in the time zone you are in. 

[wastingtime101]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     If you are on Pacific time it's just that easy. If you are in another time zone it would depend on whether you wanted it to start and end at 8 PM Pacific time or 8 PM in the time zone you are in. 

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The scheduler tells you it's based on Pacific time. But if the scheduler is not used and someone is manually publishing the live listing, then time zone is not a factor; it's based on the time the listing is submitted.

It comes down to how the original poster is listing - with the advanced scheduler or in real-time.