Thread: Best day/time to list an item ?

I have been selling bicycles and parts .... extra stuff I've accumulated when I had BAD and I still have a couple more complete bikes and many vintage parts to list. A good buddy who is a big time pipe seller swears by listing on Sunday so that the auction starts and ends at 8PM Central time.

He believes that at that time of the evening in the USA the item will get more hits than it would on another day or time. Anyone have any experience or thoughts on that ?

I typically list things between 10pm and 11pm EST on Sunday -> Thursday.

I prefer not to list items on the weekend days, as I think a lot of people aren't at their computers.

With razors, I honestly think it doesn't matter quite as much, because I send more than half of my sales overseas.

I think people have checked this out and Sunday evening and Thursday evening have been shown to be the best times, probably because every one is in.

Personally I list my stuff on ebay to end on a sunday evening, usually some time between 6-8. Obviously it's a tad different for you because of all the time zones, but your buddies plan seems to follow along the same lines as mine.

Yeah, I'm going to be patient and go with Sunday evening. I listed some items in the past couple of weeks and for whatever reason the menu that used to allow scheduling the listing for a later day and time wasn't coming up. I don't know if it was my ineptitude or if they've done away with the feature. Anyway, thanks for the replies gentlemen.

As long as you are posting after 6 clock you should be ok Jimmy. lets know item number please. I may see you are selling cutlers green stone?

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

As long as you are posting after 6 clock you should be ok Jimmy. lets know item number please. I may see you are selling cutlers green stone?

Thanks for the input Sham. I am only selling bicycle stuff though. No hones or razors yet. If I ever do sell shave related items I will give a heads up.

Yeah, your friend is right, I used to sell some items on ebay, and things would go for more money on Sun, or at least the items I sold.

There's actually a website out there that graphs the prices things go for on ebay by the time, day of the week and time of the year. Obviously we're in, or getting close to, one of the ideal times to sell stuff on ebay, the prices went up significantly in the month or two before xmas. Id guess after Thanksgiving till about a week before xmas are the times that you get the best money, I dont remember what the website said that well.

I always try to list for a Thursday night finish. That's Pay Day here so I figure people have money at that time

To me it doesn't matter much when it's listed, but when it ends. Have your auctions end on weekend or evenings and at times when people are most likely looking for what you're offering and will most likely be online and looking and ready to buy. For biking, I'd stay away from days and times when those most likely to want your auctions will be out riding when the weather is good. Also think about where in the world your buyers are located and the time zones there. Not everyone will bid only in the last hour, but that's when the "sort by nearest ending time" filter will show auctions where the buyers can get some immediate feedback and win the auction without waiting. That's also when the sniping gets going and when the highest emotional juices will be flowing. That last hour seems to be the key when considering when to set up an auction for me. Conversely I get the best deals on things that end during "off hours" in the middle of the week. Off hours being when most in the US are busy at work, asleep, or most likely doing something other than being online.