What is the ultimate closing day/time for auctions?

[gurlcat]

So, I think my question is clear enough in the subject line, but to get a bit nittier and grittier: I realize that various factors could come into play, like which time zone you live in, whether or not you do international sales (which I do), maybe even item category, like coffee mugs might best close in the morning, sunglasses on the weekend, heck I don't know, ha! 

     My general approach has been to schedule so that auctions close just after 7 pm. on the U.S. West Coast, to maximize the people who have had supper but not yet gone to bed.  But I have no clue whether people are more likely to browse listings on weeknights or weekends.  And for that matter, I wouldn't be shocked to learn that peak activity occurs at some time during work hours, when lots of people are stuck at their job site but having some 'down' time.  In fact I bet a lot of browsing occurs then, and it might be when a lot of listings go on 'watch' but maybe not the best time to set the auction's closing, considering how many bidders don't seem to understand how proxy bidding works, never mind use a sniper bot, so they might want to try to snipe but not if the boss could be prowling around when the closing time approaches, ha.  

     It has repeatedly occurred to me that there is probably data showing exactly what day and time the highest average total dollars in winning bids occurs.  So that would be the most appreciated answer, if anyone knows of it (and a web link even more appreciated!).  But I'll be glad for any good ol' personal testimony and/or logic too.  

[dhbookds]

Old information, but Sun nite used to be "the ending time" for auctions.........but later I'm pretty sure Ebay said somewhere that Mon. nite was best.........  Never saw any figures, nor do they talk about it much now.....probably because auctions aren't as important any more.

You could check your traffic #'s every day to see what that shows on the individual listings........

[monroe67]

As I've gotten older and retired but still have obligations around my home and social groups, I have kind of adopted the Ricky Nelson Garden Party theory of setting dates and times for ending auctions:  

I can't please everyone, so I have to please myself.  

My auctions end on days when I will easily be able to run the packaged items to the local post office without interfering with appointments, club meetings, condo responsibilities, etc., etc.  And if my buyers really want to buy the things, they can put in the effort to do so.   

[itscalledapostingid]

Sunday, Monday and Thursday evenings..those are also the times the networks put their best TV shows on because traditionally most people are home at those times.

[gurlcat]

So you have your handling time set at 'same-day'?  Mine is 1-day, so I have a bit more flexibility for packing, and I schedule pickups so I don't even have to get dressed to ship.  But I still LOVE your answer just because it tickles me.  And I can totally see myself getting "too old for this sh" at some point.  
EDIT: Wait I just realized, your reply doesnt' quite make sense, because even if you set the auction to close at the best time for you, it doesn't determine when the winner will PAY, which is the real time the clock starts ticking to ship. 

[dhbookds]

lol.............good point..........wonder what people are doing on Tuesdays..........

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@itscalledapostingid wrote:

Sunday, Monday and Thursday evenings..those are also the times the networks put their best TV shows on because traditionally most people are home at those times.

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[gurlcat]

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@itscalledapostingid wrote:

Sunday, Monday and Thursday evenings..those are also the times the networks put their best TV shows on because traditionally most people are home at those times.

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I can think of reasoning behind Sunday and Monday, but why Thursday (not Tuesday or Wednesday) ???  Also are you suggesting scheduling auctions to close while the most popular TV shows are on? Wouldn't they be LEAST likely to be browsing Ebay at that time?   LOL I mean I guess some people thrive on multi-tasking, but.......   

[sin-n-dex]

@gurlcat 

My Token auctions end around 2pm on Sunday (because there are very few last minute bidders, so it doesn't really matter that much, 2pm Eastern time - my time zone - is good for me to have the rest of the day to collect payments and pack orders.) Most token sales are Canadian.

My world coin auctions generally end between 2pm and 6pm on Sunday (one auction ending every two minutes because I have many live snipe bidders who want a chance to get ready for the next auction), and it only spans that much because there are lots of auctions. On World Coin Auction weeks (a few times a year), I put a second courier pickup on Thursday because my world coin bidders are much slower to pay.

Previously I ended auctions between 4 and 8pm (eastern time) on Sunday because I was selling premium items, but needed to end them early enough to have time to invoice. That was years ago, I haven't been lucky enough to get a collection that good in a long time. The collection was so good, I bought some of the coins from the brick and mortar store for my personal collection instead of auctioning them.

C.

[itscalledapostingid]

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@gurlcat wrote:

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@itscalledapostingid wrote:

Sunday, Monday and Thursday evenings..those are also the times the networks put their best TV shows on because traditionally most people are home at those times.

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I can think of reasoning behind Sunday and Monday, but why Thursday (not Tuesday or Wednesday) ???  Also are you suggesting scheduling auctions to close while the most popular TV shows are on? Wouldn't they be LEAST likely to be browsing Ebay at that time?   LOL I mean I guess some people thrive on multi-tasking, but.......   

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People who go out a lot on Friday and Saturday nights for events, dates, parties etc. tend to stay home on Thursday (with the exception of college students. Thursday is a big night for college bars as many students go back to their hometown for the weekends.)

I do think people are playing with their computers and phones while they are watching TV shows too but that's just my opinion.

[carolynnq]

eBay used to release more stats about their users - haven't seen any in a long time. Old data was that about 50% of ebay US users were in the Eastern time zone, so I'd generally have auctions end 6pm-8 pm Pacific time. Most people from both coasts are home from work and it's before bedtime. Now that most people have phones from which they can place bids, I think auction end times are less important than back when we'd have to be somewhere where we'd have access to a desktop computer.

[monroe67]

"EDIT: Wait I just realized, your reply doesnt' quite make sense, because even if you set the auction to close at the best time for you, it doesn't determine when the winner will PAY, which is the real time the clock starts ticking to ship."

Yes, I guess I am still a bit of a hopeless optimist about my buyers paying on time.  Some do, and some don't.  

I don't have the same ending time on all auctions.   And I have a two-day handling, which I remind my buyers about when I send them their invoices, that I will send their purchase within two business days after confirmation of their payment, and usually sooner than that.  

Without revealing too much about my selling ID's products -- I did inherit some stuff I kinda started my family member collecting when we were all still in grade school.  I didn't realize he had gotten so deep into the specific collectible as he did.   About a year ago, as I recall, I listed seven of those items all to end on the same day, but about 30 minutes between each one.  Yeah, it was kind of fun to make sure the right thing got into the right envelope for the right buyer, but it worked out.  

I will say, however, that some of my fastest payers have been Russian buyers with mailing addresses in New Castle, Delaware.   As I've said before, a lot of my small cross-stitch and embroidery related items are bought by Russian buyers, which I think is sad; I assume they can't buy them at their local stores.  

BTW, you know why so many Russian buyers have mailing addresses in Delaware, don't you?   There is no sales tax in Delaware and no tax pursuant to Marketplace Facilitator laws.  Very clever.  Simple math:  Item price plus postage = what the buyer has to pay.  

My short answer is still -- I can't deal with complicated calculations about how to reach the largest number of buyers and when to end auctions to optimize my profits.   I've bought enough as an eBay buyer to know how I have approached listings of things I really, really wanted.   (And I pay immediately when I DO buy.)   So I just try to control the things I can -- like the end-time of auctions -- to please myself.  

[gurlcat]

I get quite a lot of Russians shipping to New Castle as well.  I think you could be right about the sales tax thing, but it's interesting that it's always New Castle (albeit a few different addresses).  Maybe the town has a good sized Russian immigrant community, and a few of them got the clever idea to transship.  If they speak Russian and know the import customs laws well, they would be well-positioned to provide a service well worth paying a little extra for (maybe even save on shipping compared to whatever the ebay people choose for shipping in Erlanger, KY).  
I pay immediately for auction wins too, unless I'm trying to win multiple items from the same seller, and then I write to let them know that's what I'm doing, and make sure it's okay and they are willing to combine shipping.  Slow auction payers get under my skin, probably more than I should let them.  I just think when you win an auction, it's saying, "I want this item more than any of these other people, and I'll put my money where my mouth is!" ....okay then, so DO that, or at least let me know when you will instead of pretending I'm a vending machine.  

[soh.maryl]

It's a freight forwarding company -- nothing to do with a "Russian community".  

There are similar businesses on the West Coast.  

And the service can be used by buyers in other countries besides Russia.  

[1tuna]

Sundays and thursday nights are the best for 99 cent auctions to close

I always used to wait until 7PM eastern time but thats too late for me now

I am not worried about California time

I think Sunday game day has more of an effect on bidding than anything else and I dont really watch

I let my junk fly on Tuesdays and better items on Thursday or Sunday

I have never ever ended auctions on a friday or saturday

wednesdays are a good  day as any

lots of bidders are bidding at work and on there phone so I tend to think the after dinner bidding crew no longer counts

I see sellers ending on weekday mornings at 10AM and I think its not for me..........who does that

I try to have my auctions ending 3 days a week to spread out the $$ and keep the MP coming in

@gurlcat 

[dnasilver]

What works best for you and has the most positive impact on your bottom line. Yes, time zones and product being sold have an impact. The best way is to run some tests to determine what works best for you.