Auction 411

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Real eBay Member Spotlight

Member: corgidusty

What is the main category on the eBay Site in which your items are bought or sold?
Collectibles (plush dolls and animal inspired jewelry).

How long have you been using eBay and what do you use it for?
I have been a member since June 6, 2001. I mainly use Ebay to sell plush toys and jewelry. But, I do buy things like china and business supplies also.

How did you first hear about eBay? (i.e., friend, family, search engine, advertisement, etc.):
I was referred by a friend

How often do you visit or browse the eBay Site?
Daily

What is the most unique item you have bought or sold on eBay?
A milk glass owl from Canada that was made in 1899 .

If you mainly use eBay to sell items, do you have a certain strategy that helps you to sell the items that you really want to sell? Or, if you mainly use eBay to purchase items, do you have a certain strategy that helps you purchase the items that you really want to buy?
Sometimes I will add bold to make the listing stand out and I always use the Gallery. I also keep items I really want to sell listed in my Ebay Store at all times.

What tips would you give to people out there who are selling or buying their items on the eBay Site?
Try to list in the proper categories, offer items at reasonable prices with reasonable shipping rates. Also, put the proper keywords in item titles.

Tell us how your Feedback Rating on the eBay Site has improved your reputation as a buyer or a seller?
As of today 2847 positive feedbacks have been left for me with 100% positive rating. When new buyers look at my reputation, they realize that I am a trustworthy seller and they do not have reservations about purchasing from me. It definitely helps.

Do you participate in eBay’s chat rooms or discussion boards? If you do, how often and which ones do you visit?
Several times a year I check a discussion board if there is a something new I want to learn about or if I’m having some sort of issue that I am trying to find an answer to. Normally I look at the seller or help discussion boards.

If you participate on any of eBay’s Chat, Help, or Discussion boards, what reasons would you give a new eBay member to encourage them to join in?
Discussion boards are a great way to find answers to your questions and see what other people are doing that is working.

Has your life changed since you began visiting the eBay Site? If so, in what way?
Ebay has allowed me to develop a small business and earn extra income to supplement my teachers salary and I don’t have to leave home to do it. It’s makes selling easy for buyers and sellers. It provides and instant target market that I could not get in other venues.

What eBay feature or service would you say has been the most helpful to you and why?
Selling Manager Pro – it takes the work out of listing. I couldn’t do the volume I do without it.

Are you a collector who buys or sells on eBay? If so, tell us about your collection and how you got started.
I started on Ebay in 2001 just because I wanted to collect milk glass animals. I try to be careful when I purchase to make sure the items are authentic. I have a neat collection of milk glass hens and other animals that are decorating my house. I was able to get pieces on Ebay that I could not find at my local antique stores.

If you mainly use eBay to sell items, have you ever bought anything on eBay? Or if you mainly use eBay to purchase items, have you ever sold anything on eBay? Please tell us about it:
I frequently buy business supplies like padded envelopes, jewelry boxes and full page labels. I also like to buy my china and other household items.

Can you give us a brief description of what eBay means to you?
Ebay means freedom. Freedom to run my business while I’m at work all day and the ability to have a second income without ever having to leave my house.

The length of your eBay auction listing and the ending date are two factors to consider. Depending on what you’re selling, you need think about the following options:

One Day Auctions

If your products are in high demand and the average item is getting many views and bids, you can consider listing them for a one-day auction. Listing the auction one day will send your items to the top of the list since most people view the listings that are ending first. It’s all about being creative with your pricing, in order to try to reach the highest bid. Imagine your starting bid is only a dollar or two below your Buy-It-Now Price. Many bidders may bid the lower amount, in hopes of winning the auction at a lower cost. However, in many cases, the bidder spoils the BIN and may end up bidding more than the BIN in the end!

Three Day Auctions

Three Day Auctions are a good choice if you have a hot item that people want, or if you have a hard-to-find holiday item that people might want sooner. It’s similar to the one-day auction, only you’ll have a couple extra days to squeeze in some additional bids.

Auction411.net Tip: Double Up

Try putting up a Three-Day Auction at the end of a very successful seven day auction two days before it ends. If a red-hot item is getting bid on like crazy, throw in a three-day auction and cash in on the bidding craze. You might end up selling both items for a large amount.

Five Day Auction

If you don’t have a whole week to post a listing or if you want an “extended weekend” listing, put your item up in a five day auction. It’s longer than a three day, but shorter than a whole week.

Seven Day Auction

Many people put their items up for a seven day auction mostly because there is more of a chance to get an increased number of bids. It’s sort of the standard amount of time for an auction — not too long and not too short. Many bidders won’t think one week is too long to watch an item.

Ten Day Auctions

You might want to opt for a ten-day auction listing if you have a rare item that you’d like to maximize exposure for. Collectibles that aren’t very common could yield much more in the end if it’s listed for two weekends. If you start the listing on a Friday, it’ll have two whole weekends to be viewed.

Ending Date

So now that you’ve thought about how long your listing will run for, on which day should your auction end? More specifically, what time of the day will your auction end? These are also important questions to consider, since there will be more bidders on eBay at certain times looking at certain items.

First and foremost, don’t end your auction on a national holiday or any holiday actually. Obviously, most people are out traveling with their families or enjoying their day off, instead of surfing the internet. Besides that, we recommend that you should end an auction on a Sunday evening, when more people will be at home viewing the site. The time that we have found to be the optimum time is 8:00pm PST as you will get a good number of eyeballs on both the east and west coast and everything in between. If you can’t end on a Sunday, then try the next best day — Monday! Monday usually is a day many people come back from their long weekend and relax by surfing the internet and doing some browsing, hopefully on your eBay store! Coming in third is Thursday as it’s not exactly the weekend yet, but close enough to spare a few extra minutes browsing eBay a bit. But remember to be smart about your product and to understand your target audience. For example, if your target audience are men between the ages of 18-35, then it wouldn’t be very smart to end a bid on Mondays, since this demographic is usually stuffing their face with hoagies and beer, watching Monday Night Football!

Here are the best times we suggest to end your auction:

1. 6:00pm - 10:00pm PST
2. 9:00pm - 12:00am PST
3. 3:00pm - 6:00pm PST
4. 1:00pm - 4:00pm PST

The worst times to end an auction are:

1. 2:00am - 6:00am PST
2. 12:00am - 3:00am PST