So, does the auction ending day really matter on eBay?

joker73

Bored at lunch, so I ran some numbers on a standard non-volative card: 1989 UD Griffey PSA 9. Here are the average and median selling prices by day for the past couple weeks on eBay (N=number of auctions):

DAY PRICE BIDS
Sun N 9
Mean $62.23 7
Median $62.00 7
Mon N 6
Mean $61.68 11
Median $61.01 12
Tue N 4
Mean $63.50 6
Median $63.00 4
Wed N 3
Mean $63.00 8
Median $63.00 7
Thu N 2
Mean $65.50 14
Median $65.50 14
Fri N 2
Mean $62.50 9
Median $62.50 9
Sat N 7
Mean $63.17 8
Median $63.00 8
All N 33
Mean $62.77 8
Median $63.00 8

It sure seems like sellers avoid Tuesday through Friday, but the end result (closing price) doesn't seem affected at all by the day of the week on which the auction ended. I know, small sample, etc. - but generally I'm really wondering at this point if it matters anymore when you list your auctions ...

murcerfan

Sunday night is way over rated IMO.
As an avid buyer, I often have 15-20 items I am trying to track and coordinate on Sunday evenings, occasionally items get missed in the rush and often present beer buzz, not to mention HBO/Fox TV distractions.
I think most folks have more idle time to surf the net during the weekdays.
But Friday night is iffy, as is Monday, as long weekends and travel can get people away from their computers.
I believe that Tue thru Thu evenings from 9pm to 11pm est is your best bet.

qualitycards

I run 10 day auctions and I've had them end using all 7 days. I've noticed that desirable items sell well on ANY day and crap is hard to move what ever day you end it. If you have a high graded low pop card. the bidders will find it and bid accordingly, be it Tuesday, Thursday or on a Sunday...jay

ctsoxfan

I agree w/Murcerfan on Tues-Thurs nights being strong. But, I rarely pay much mind to it anymore, especially if I am selling a rare or especially nice item...the buyers seem to find it.

As a side note, I noticed 4sharp lists items at all hours with morning through night ending times. Doesn't seem to hurt them a bit.

joker73

<< <i>As a side note, I noticed 4sharp lists items at all hours with morning through night ending times. Doesn't seem to hurt them a bit. >>



Agreed - plus, their early am postings with a BIN have allowed me to beat other bidders to the punch a few times on cards I need, so I'm not complaining.

Thanks all for the feedback ...

tripoli

I don't think it makes much difference any more, but I like to list on Thursdays, with a 10 day auction, that way you get two weekends of coverage.

Dhjacks

I've always felt you would get top dollar selling on Sunday evenings. I think the timing has become much less critical due to the advent of sniping.

helionaut

There definitely used to be a distinct benefit to ending Sunday/Friday evening, but with Ebay having 100 million or whatever members, the advent of sniping services, plus Paypal allowing ease of international payments, someone somewhere will have an eye on your auction if it's anything worth having. That said, there are still better times than others. It amazes me that people (in the US) will end their auctions at 3 AM EST Tuesdays. Most bidders are either at work or asleep during most of the week day and do not use sniping services, so I have to believe you would miss out on at least a couple bids by not having them end in the evening, if not on Sunday night. Joker's analysis is salient, but it also comes on one of the most traded, and most common, cards in the hobby. Pricing does not stand out at any particular time because there is no rush to bid on it, as there is always another available. A rarer card ending during a weekday will almost always go for less than during prime time.

Here's one. A 1971T Greatest Moments PSA 6 Reggie Jackson ending at 1:42 PM on a Monday for $274. Meanwhile, a PSA 5 of the same card ending on Sunday evening sold for $35 more. I'm sure that if the 6 ended on Sunday evening, it would have gone for at least as much as the 5, if not a lot more.