How Long Should You List Your Item For On eBay To Maximize Your Profit?

Your auction is likely to get most exposure on the FIRST and LAST day. This is because eBay will alert buyers (who have saved a search for your item) that a new item (yours) has been listed at the beginning of your auction. Then, as your auction nears its end, people who have been watching your auction will bid. Also, anyone searching eBay for your item using the "ending soonest" search results will see your auction near the top of the results page as your auctions nears its end and so they are more likely to bid.

If you're just selling a one off item from home, 10 days gives you maximum exposure and can extend over 2 week ends, when most people are likely to be at home and searching on eBay. But 10 days can be too long - many other auctions will start AND FINISH before yours finishes. 7 days might therefore be the optimum duration because it will at least include one week end.

If you are running a business selling one item after another, shorter auctions are better. As your listings get most exposure on the first and last day of the auction, 1 and 3 day auctions give the maximum exposure. But if you've paid extra for a featured listing, you may want to run it for 10 days to get your money's worth.

To find out which is the best length of time to run your auction for, you need to do some RESEARCH. Look at the "Completed listings" search results in the eBay category you intend to list in. The results page will display the date that each completed auction ended. Click on an item and its start date will appear under "Listing and payment details". You now know the start date and end date and so can work out its duration.

The "Completed listings" results also display the final selling price and number of bids that each completed listing got. How long did the auctions with most bids and highest selling prices last for? If there is a pattern, you will know how long your auction should last.

You have to be logged in to your eBay account to be able to see the "Completed listings" in your search results.

About the Author:

Martyn Boaden is the Founder of The Online Auction Resource Centre where you will find more information and all the resources you'll ever need to set up and run your successful and profitable eBay business. And for a limited time only you can get instant access to his popular eBay Business Box (worth $164 + $17 pm) for FREE by clicking this link: www.TheOnlineAuctionResourceCentre.com