When to end listings?

[tex-421]

Back in the days of eBay Live, when there would be an annual eBay seller conference/party, I heard other sellers say that the best time for an auction to end was on a Sunday evening when shoppers would typically be a home and surfing for deals on eBay.  When I list, I typically start them so they end Sunday 9PM EST.

Any of you who are much more experienced sellers have any thoughts on this, is it malarky or is there truth in them old oracle bones?

[jda11121]

Mostly malarky. 

[redmodelt]

For auction type sales, yes ending time can be important, as that is when most items receive bids. For the stuff I sold, I found weekends, when people typically would be home, or any weekday after dinner/work a good time to end. But remember that 9pm in one zone can be 3 hours difference in another. So west coast might be 9, east would be midnight. I have bought some cool items because they ended at 2am my time! 🙂

[wildpitchsports · Accepted solution]

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@tex-421 wrote:

Back in the days of eBay Live, when there would be an annual eBay seller conference/party, I heard other sellers say that the best time for an auction to end was on a Sunday evening when shoppers would typically be a home and surfing for deals on eBay.  When I list, I typically start them so they end Sunday 9PM EST.

Any of you who are much more experienced sellers have any thoughts on this, is it malarky or is there truth in them old oracle bones?

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Too many people sold at those times so when I did sell I moved them up to about 2-3PM PST/5-6PM EST and it worked like a charm on Sundays

[evry1nositswindy]

I haven't found this to be true.  It seems like people are on their phones all the time and can bid/buy at anytime.  I don't think day/time matter.  JMHO.

[jda11121]

"For auction type sales, yes ending time can be important, as that is when most items receive bids" That is because many auction bidders wait until the last minute to snipe a deal. That is not what is best for sellers. Many sellers have moved to fixed price with best offer. That eliminates low ball bidders and gives the seller more control over the final price. The back and forth between buyer and seller with that methods usually gets the seller a better price with the added advantage of total control.

[luckythewinner]

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@tex-421 wrote:

Any of you who are much more experienced sellers have any thoughts on this, is it malarky or is there truth in them old oracle bones?.  

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Here are a few things I would consider: 

1) eBay has 165 million active buyers all over the globe and we are in the aftermath of a pandemic that has fundamentally altered how we live, work, and shop. IMHO the timing of listings is less important than ever. 

2) Auctions and fixed-price listings are fundamentally different. People surfing for deals on auctions snipe at the end of a listing, but people surfing for deals on fixed price listings jump on them when they start.

3) Given a choice between researching the timing of listings vs. researching supply, demand and price, I would choose the latter every time. What you are offering is far more important than how you are offering it. 

4) Auctions are now a much smaller percentage of eBay's business.  Buyers want items now, and they are not interested in waiting a week to see if they can buy something that resembles a commodity. 

[redmodelt]

What is being said, is true. But you also might need to know who your average buyers are in the market you want to sell in. Not all people treat their mobile device as an appendage of their body or on their computer all day. 

[tex-421]

On Sunday I listed 10 items at 3PM PST.  Within an hour 8 had sold with BIN.