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Saturday, July 21, 2007

Deciding How Many Days to Run Your ebay Auction

Here's a little subject with lots of big opinions -- especially since eBay's introduction of the one-day auction. Consider this array of auction-length options.

  • One-day auction. Although a buy-it-now feature on any auction can bring great results, that only works if the item is hot! hot! hot! If people are bidding the item up -- and they really gotta have it -- you may do best by starting the bidding really low and listing it with a one-day format.
  • When you list in a one-day format, your listing goes right to the top of the list. Most people view their searches by auctions ending first. With a one-day format, you can pretty much choose the time of day your item will be at the top.
  • Three-day auction. A three-day is good, for all the same reasons that a one-day is good -- only it's better for the faint of heart because it gives your item more time to sell.
  • Another good use of a three-day auction is when you already have a seven-day auction up on the site, and the bidding is going crazy. You've reached your sales goal by the middle of a seven-day cycle. Once it's in the last couple of days of the listing, throw up a second one on a three-day.
  • Seven-day auction. The gold standard for eBay auctions, seven full days of fun, excitement, and (hopefully) bidding. Seven days gives your item plenty of time to be seen on the site and attract bidders.
  • Ten-day auction. Say you've got multiples of an item that you stock in your eBay store and want the longest amount of exposure on the auction site. You can put one up for a ten-day auction to draw attention to your items and store.
  • Also, a ten-day auction is good for more esoteric items. This can be a special collectible or an expensive item that normally doesn't get listed on the site by the hundred. Putting up a ten-day auction (starting Friday night -- so you get two weekends' exposure) is a near-perfect way to attract bidders.

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