Can you find out how long an item has actually been listed?
Is there a way to see how long an item or items have actually been listed on ebay for sale?
13 comments
Is there a way to see how long an item or items have actually been listed on ebay for sale?
*casey*
·11 months agoThis is one of brick's listings, listed last October 296536412630
It's been revised since but still showing last October as the listing date.
I wonder how far back the listings go then, if eBay doesn't want old stock sitting around for years ?
A year or so ? Does anyone know for sure ?
OP let us know how you get on.
chameleon54
·11 months agoWhile I dont know how far back listings can go, I did a quick search of a couple of my " doorstops ". The oldest I found was first listed in April 2011, so unsold listings definately go back at least 14 years. Has anyone got an older listing still running ? 🤔
*casey*
·11 months ago"The oldest I found was first listed in April 2011, so unsold listings definately go back at least 14 years."
Is the actual listing date 14 years ago what's shown in a search ?
My response was to
imastawka
Ebay in its infinite wisdom doesn't want buyers to know that dead stock has been sitting around for years, so they update the listing date.
so I mentioned the listings that I could see in a search , went back to at least a year
chameleon54
·11 months ago"Is the actual listing date 14 years ago what's shown in a search ?"
Sellers see the actual listing date at the top right of the listing. This is not shown to buyers. I checked a few others and January 2011 is the earliest I can find. ( I have a number of listings from 2011 still running )
I have been listing since 2006 so it appears anything older than 2011 may have disappeared. This may not be because ebay removes listing after a certain period. It is more likely that they are removed because the pictures do not meet current quality standards ( megapixles ) or the descriptions contain old JAVA script that is no longer supported or secure.
I have had a large number of listings " drop off " the system over the years with no notification. I went through around 100 items on my shelves awhile ago and about 15% were no longer listed.
I still regularly sell items that have been listed and not altered for 10-12 years. Its usually very rare, very obscure stuff that is not available anywhere else but has a very limited global buyer pool.
chameleon54
·11 months agoOne persons "dead stock" is another persons amazing gem when they need it. Especially when its a rare, new old stock part that can keep a valuable but obscure piece of specialised machinery going a bit longer.
*casey*
·11 months agoPut the items into a search and search by 'newly listed'.
That will show you when they were first listed
imastawka
·11 months agoCasey, that used to tell you, but now when they automatically re-list, they get a new date.
*casey*
·11 months agoAre you sure it applies to everything ?
For instance, I randomly searched 226935263410 and it was first listed in August 2023
imastawka
·11 months agoI think you'll find it says Aug 23 not 2023, and it was re-listed on 23rd August this year.
Ebay in its infinite wisdom doesn't want buyers to know that dead stock has been sitting around for years, so they update the listing date.
imastawka
·11 months agoFrom the listing -
Last updated on 23 Aug, 2025 13:47:23 AEST
*casey*
·11 months agoYep, I should have gone to specsavers on that one !
It must go back a few months though, maybe not years
Here's one of twyn's listings, listed last January 177085027718
davewil1964
·11 months agoI end and relist mine every six months because eBay some time ago threatened to charge higher fees if stuff had been listed for more than a year. So items I've recently sold might have been listed for 15 years, but a casual observer wouldn't know that
onecooljazzdog
OP11 months agoIt all depends someone has the item in question within their saved searches too and notice the same seller selling the same thing as they were 6 months ago and people may then wonder how many you have of that item as they may have assumed that the earlier listing may have been sold.....if you know what I mean.
I wonder if in some cases I may have also been seeing the same items bouncing between seller ID's too or even if they change ID's.
Then like others have mentioned auto relistings reset the date listed.
So there could in fact be a percentage of all the listings on ebay that may actually items that may have been listed or re-listed as long as the seller has been a member.
Makes it very confusing.
So I guess the answer is in reality "no you can't".
But thanks for to all for the varied explanations.