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Bumpkin Bears Sep 19, 2007

Hi everyone, being in Belgium I'm not sure what is the best time to start an auction on Ebay.com, can't get my head round all the different time zones     I want it to finish at the best time for others, not an easy one I know.  Do any of you schedule your auctions to start at a specific time?  It's 6.15pm over here right now, so not sure what it is in the states...

Thanks for any suggestions,
hugs
Catherine
xx

jenny Sep 19, 2007

Catherine..I find what works for me is an auction that ends on a Sunday about 9PM GMT...so I schedule it to start at 1pm on  .com then it finishes at 9pm in the UK and at lunch time in the United States  ...so I start it at that time on whatever day so it finishes on a Sunday. I think Sundays work for most timezones...otherwise many people are at work when it ends.

Jodi Moisan Sep 19, 2007

It is wednesday 11:12 am here when you posted this, I live in Indiana which is on east coast time, west coast is 4 hours behind that.

:hug:

Shelli Retired Help Advisor, Banner SponsorSep 19, 2007

I haven't sold on eBay for, like, six months -- am so nervous for my return -- but I've always worked under the assumption that it's less important when you start an auction, than when it finished.  Time is a consideration but day might be more important.  I once read somewhere on the web a statistic about how the "best" time to end an auction is roughly 6-9p.m., Sunday, PST.  Since that was what I'd already been doing (my auctions end at 7 on Sunday, always) I stuck with it after reading that!  I've had good luck on eBay so have no plans to change or fix my existing schedule.

I think it might help your collectors if they can predict when your auctions will end... rather than when they will start.  In my case they'd know to look on eBay on Sunday nights if they wanted to see whether I had any pieces closing.  If their week had been busy otherwise they could wait until Sunday (before 7) to look and still know they'd see one of my pieces, if I had anything up that week.

All this, of course, reflects California/US residents and a mostly US customer base.  Maybe you should look at who buys your work most and try to cater to them.  Will they be asleep when your auction ends?  And so on.

Hope this helps!

Bumpkin Bears Sep 19, 2007

THANKS so much Jenny, Jodi and Shelli - I havn't listed for a long time on Ebay either, nerve wracking place!  Anyway, I finished another little mini with her very own gingham pony today and have been too impatient so just listed them, it's 9.30 over here so I hope around mid-day finishing for the states.  Next time I'll aim for a Sunday finish.  Lots of my customers are from the states.  Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me!

HUGS
Catherine
xx

rkr4cds Sep 19, 2007

I'm sure I've posted this before, but this seems to work for me (and my customers):
5 day auction, ending on Tues, Wed or Thurs at 7 PM West Coast/10 PM East Coast.

Everyone has to pack so much into the weekends that they don't work for me.
Mid-week/evenings has been the best solution out of the several not-so-optimum ones: ppl who only surf at home, ppl who only surf at work, ppl who have computer access only at work, ppl with families that are busy on weekend days, ppl who  entertain or go out on Fri, Sat & Sundays, etc...

There is no one or two Best times! Just as Shelli said - as long as you establish a pattern of EXPECTATION in eBayers minds, of when to 'expect' to see your work. And that involves regularity.

You will not gain a following from posting a few times over a month or 2 and then not again for another 6 months. There will still be some of the same ppl surfing 6 months later, but also a whole lot of new viewers, who will want to see regularity and variety in what & when you offer.

This has always reminded me of true bricks&mortar shops: would you be more likely to purchse the very same product for the same price from a regular 'store' or from someone working from a card table on the next street corner or out of their car parked near the store?

I've always thought that ppl want to see that you are seriously in business - and subconsciously that you'll be there for them if there is any possibilty of a problem with the product later.

cjsmum Sep 20, 2007

Hi Catherine,

It can be a nightmare trying to finish an auction where it can be seen by the most people at the best time.

I read somewhere a few months ago that it was best to finish ebay auctions on a Tues or Wed, as they had done an experiment with watches and got the highest prices on these nights (must be something to do with the lack of good TV and more people are surfing), but I think it might have something to do with the fact that everyone finishes their auctions on the weekend, so all of a sudden you are one among a very large group, whereas sometimes its great to have your own stage without having to compete too much!

I found this world clock, where you can enter your city and then cities that you would like to keep track of. Very handy when you're trying to cover East and West Coast of The States, Western Europe, UK and Asia- Pacific.

http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/

Good Luck,

Mel

Bumpkin Bears Sep 21, 2007

great thanks Mel, my auction for my mini with her pony will finish on a Wed, so fingers crossed 

Gantaeno Sep 21, 2007

I have my auctions end on a Sunday at about 6 or 7 pm, as I find this is the best time for England I've had international buyers before and they seemed to be ok for the end time, but I guess you should add on a few hours for elsewhere auctions? Sunday evening is definitly best though