Ebay--What's best austion length--3,5,7,10 day?

[vhoffman]

I did my first selling on Ebay over the Christmas season and was quite pleased with the results. I listed everything as 3-day auctions, mainly because of the time frame for Christmas gifts.


I've listed some more items yesterday as 10 day auctions. So far not a single bid or watch. I realize that it always heats up the closer to the end, but I also think a longer auction might have more time to attract more interest. I'm listing children's clothes, most NWT, 2 used/excellent condition. Maybe clothes just don't sell at this time of year? I'm a little dissappointed at the lack of attention my items are drawing right now.

So, what is the optimal length for an auction? Also, I try to time my auctions to end at a time people would be more likely to be online. You can't expect a last-minute bidding war at 2 am on a week night, unless its some fantastic item!

 

[Schachteles]

You know eBay is so hit or miss...you can sell something one night for $50 and the next night for $100...you just never know...but they say that ending on Sunday nights in the early evening is the best time to end. So I usually plan my auctions to end right around then...people are right for the most part that number is days doesn't matter because most of the time the majority of the bids are placed at the end of the auction.

 

[PrincessIsis]

Personally for clothes I think 10 days is too long. There are just so many clothing auctions out there, that I think they get lost in the mix during those 7 days or so in the middle. Unless it's something really unique that someone might be specifically looking for. When I sell, I only use 10 day auctions for something very unique that may only attract a few bidders, or if it is something very pricey that I want to make sure gets maximum exposure.

I have been selling on eBay for about 5 years now, and as mentioned above it can be very up & down. Sometimes it's hard to make it through the slow times...but they will usually turn around! Good Luck & Have Fun!

 

[cats mom]

I usually list for 7 days.

3 or 5 days can work out well depending on your items, but I'm always afraid that with shorter auctions I might be missing out on potential bidders.
For example: what if someone only shops e-bay on Sundays and my auction runs Mon - Thu or Mon - Sat?

One negative I can think of with a 10 day is that someone else might list the same or a similar item, so you potentially open yourself up to more competition, of course that could happen even with a 3 day auction... but more chance of it happening with a longer auction.

I tend to have quite a few things on my watch list most of the time (very few that I ever intend to bid on btw) so if I came across an auction that didn't end for 10 more days, unless it was something super special, I probably wouldn't take up a spot for it.

I did put a couple of things on 10 day auctions when e-bay ran their listing special because I didn't like when any of the shorter auctions would have ended. I had very few watchers early on, but I have a bunch now that there are only a few days left, so don't worry too much about that.

Good Luck

 

[Belladonna]

I like to do 5 or 7 day auctions. I live on the east coast, so I like to time them where its not too late over here, but not super early over at the west coast (around 8-9PM or so)

 

[hsmamato2]

5 day every time

 

[JR6ooo4]

the time depends on the item (as mentioned above) and I also like to have my auctions cover a weekend.

Mikeeee

 

[Davidsmommy]

Depends on what you are selling as others have said.

I tend to list for 7 days. I use Marketworks for my auction management, and I have auctions launching every day automatically from noon on (about 300 a week to advertise the 700 items in my eBay store). My auctions are mainly advertising for my eBay store (and my OFF eBay website as any winners get advertising for my website in their item shipped email and in their packages for future sales - with a discount). So, I don't fret too much about it, although I do occasionally mix it up with a 5 day or a 3 day if I feel adventurous.

I am running a full time business with new items though.

I do sometimes sell on a couple other IDs with my old stuff, and sometimes my kid's clothes. That I usually do 7 days as well, unless it is something really spectacular that needs another 3 days.

If you have enough items that complement each other, the best thing to do is end them over a span of time, so people who are looking at one item will look at your other items as well.

 

[vhoffman]

bump

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I like 5 days for regular auctions, 7 days for buy it now auctions. 10 days is too long for any auction.

 

[kellia]

I have read that for things like clothes, you only need to list for 3 days because there are so many out there, people don't tend to look at anything farther than that. Only for extremely rare items should you spend the money to list for 10 days. I usually set it to list for 3, 5, 7 so that it ends on the weekend, Sunday night or Monday morning.

 

[Fire14]

my stuff isn't kids clothes but I find I do best ending on Saturday or Sunday early Eve. As most of the stuff I'm selling has a West coast market more than anything I tend to end my items around 7p est. I usually do 5 or 7 days more for my time for packing and shipping than anything.

 

[bord1niowa]

Been selling for 9 years. Usually sell to end on certain days using 5 or 7 days. I have found 3 to be kinda short and possibly miss out on better qualified buyers. 10 days may be too long and out of sight out of mind. Monday's I have found to not be as good. In the summer I don't have thigs end on friday or saturday nights. And it does depend on what you're selling too. We sometimes sell things that may be good for the homemaker type, then it's ok to have them end even during the day during the week. Good luck

 

[DMRick]

I don't sell clothes, so I don't know if they are different...but for my stuff, I go with 7 days, because I like to start and end on Sundays. I would hate to spend the extra moola to list for a 10 day sale, in most instances. Most all of my things are hit on when I list and when they end, no matter how many days listed.