Welcome to this edition of Adam Ginsberg's "Insiders" Newsletter. Each issue is designed to provide you with insights, tips, secrets and overall strategies on how you can build your online auctions business. I'm sure you love this issue! This week will help you determine when you really want your eBay listing to end.

Selling on eBay: Is Sunday Night
Really The Best Time For
An Auction To End?

The subject of this newsletter issue addresses this commonly asked question. When is the best time for an auction to end? Is it really Sunday night?

On the surface, and based on popular opinion, the answer would seem to be a resounding yes. Recently I was speaking for an audience of 800+ eBay sellers. I polled the audience with this question: “How many of you think that Sunday night is the best time for an auction listing to end?” Almost 75% of the room raised their hands. I had my answer to my informal poll.

It makes sense. There is more traffic, more potential bidders, on eBay on Sunday night than any other time of the week. Therefore you can conclude that Sunday night would be the best time for you auction to end.

Why Should This Night Be Different Than All Other Nights?

Knowing the best time for your listing to end can have a dramatic impact on your sales results – which of course directly impacts your bottom line profits. So, is Sunday night really the best time to end your listing? If not, then when?

The first step in determining when your auction should end will relate to the item you’re selling. If you’re selling a commodity or a common item with lots of listing, Sunday night might actually work against you for several reasons:

1. If we accept that many sellers (including most sellers) believe that the best way to make money on eBay is to have their item end Sunday night, consider how much more competition there is at this time versus other times.
   
2. Sunday nights have more traffic, we’ve determined that. We’re also under the opinion that Sunday nights will have more competitors listing similar items for sale. As a result, this means lower final prices for the item you’re selling. If you have two or three times as many people looking for the digital camera or purse you have for sale, there’s no advantage if you have eight or nine times the number of competitors with similar auctions (and competitive prices).

In both of these situations it would make sense to list your item end at just about any time other than Sunday night.

Two is Company, Three’s a Crowd

Do you really want your auctions to end when there are the most potential bidders? Or, more specifically, don’t you want your auctions end when there are most people looking for your specific item. If most people looking for your item are searching on Thursday afternoon, it doesn’t matter if Sunday night has the most traffic. The best closing time will depend on the item you’re selling.

For example, let’s say you’re selling items that would appeal to mom’s with small children. In this case, early afternoons might be more ideal (when the kids are taking their daily nap) than Sunday nights.

As well, if you’re selling an item that caters to guys who love sports, Saturday or Sunday afternoon might work best.

Tip: Take a look at the item that you’re selling and determine the target audience. Then, tailor the auction end time to that market.

The Flip Side

There are two sides to every coin. Earlier I mentioned that if Sunday night is the ideal time for an auction to end – simply because Sunday night gets the most eBay traffic – then a large number of sellers are going to have their items end at that time.

What’s the flip side to having more a ton of bidders? A ton of listings by competitors. Worse, when buyers make their bids, they’ll naturally choose to make an offer for auctions that have the lowest prices. This means that an auction for a common item closing on Sunday night might actually receive fewer bids AND that those bids may be lower overall than if the auction had closed at a different day or time with less competition.

How Many Items Can You Ship?

As a casual eBay seller looking to get rid of some “stuff” from around the house, it doesn’t matter if you’ve got some items end on Sunday night. There’s be no issue in getting these items shipped over the couple of days following the close of the successful auctions.

However, if you’re building an eBay business with plans of making big money on eBay, you’ll want your auctions to end throughout the week simply to make your life easier with regards to shipping.

For example, what if you have a business selling cell phone equipment: chargers, cases, other accessories, etc. If you sell 50 items per week, all ending on Sunday, how are you going to get everything shipped on Monday or Tuesday? If the items end each day (say 6 to 8 per day), shipping is simpler and more efficient. It’s just a better use of your time.

Supply and Demand Can Be a Factor

So is Sunday night really the best time for your auction to end? That’s the magical question. More evidence that the item you have listed has an impact on the answer to this question: let’s say you have 50 people looking to buy a Nintendo Game Cube and they are each willing to pay an average of $80 for these video game consoles. Now, if 200 sellers decide to offer Game Cube’s on a specific Sunday night, smart buyers will bid a small amount – no more than they think is necessary to win. As well, they’ll probably bid late in the auction to increasing the bid price.

The prospective bidder will also look to see what similar items are listed and when they will end. Once the first auction ends with the bidder losing out, he or she will simply bid a little more on the next Game Cube closing a few minutes later, and so on, until everyone who wants a Game Cube gets one. In these cases, the final selling price is usually just a little more than the opening bid price.

Let’s take a look at the same item ending on a different day and time. In this case, with the auctions closing on a different, less popular time – perhaps Wednesday afternoon – there might only be 10 Game Cubes available. It is unlikely that each of these items will end at roughly the same time resulting in each seller receiving the maximum bid for his or her offering.

The result: buyers who aren’t aware of the easy availability of this item on Sundays, or who need the item right now, may bid far more than they would have otherwise. The last few auctions of the night might close at $130 or $160, simply because demand exceeds supply.

Rare Items Sell Anytime

Are Sunday nights the best time for an auction to end? So far, we’ve learned some of the pros and cons for Sunday night listings.

When it comes to rare or hard-to-find items, the ending time becomes almost irrelevant. The reason is obvious…most rare items are not discovered by the casual eBay browser. It’s more likely that someone who really wants that item – and who will pay top dollar for it – has found your listing through an eBay search. In this case, they will find the item regardless of the day or time the auction closes.

When is Sunday Night?

Earlier I mentioned the informal audience poll I took regarding Sunday night auctions. That seminar took place in Orlando, Florida. If timing on Sunday night really is important in your listing strategy, then ask yourself this question: “What time zone am I selling too?”

How can you realistically determine your “Sunday night”? In what time zone are you selling to? Are you targeting people in the United States on the east coast or west coast? Or, are you focusing on International bidders? Sunday night in New York is Monday afternoon in Sydney, Australia.

All Sundays Are NOT Created Equal

Some sellers, even as they read this, will be hesitant to alter their listing strategy – particularly if they’ve had success with Sunday night auction closings. Even though evidence has shown that long-term success means daily auction closings. Even though ending auctions on multiple days results in greater products. Even when July 4 th weekend, Memorial Day weekend, Labor Day weekend ( US holidays) won’t do well.

Continue To Do What You Have Always Done and You Will Continue To Get The Same Results…Is It Enough?

So when is the best time for your listing to end? The real answer is for you to study, research and study. List similar items on different days and measure which days work best for the things you sell. Other items, other sellers’ strategies, other closing times may have little of no relevance to you. Also keep in mind that in the long term, “closing times don’t have as much effect on your sales as your auctions themselves. It’s far better to out-smart your competitors than to out-time them”.

Until the next issue...

Knowing No Boundaries

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