Buy It Now

[pats_treasures]

Is there a best  time of day to list "Buy it Now" items? I sometimes list straightaway which could be mid morning or late afternoon.I know in theory that buyers can buy at anytime,but is evening the best time to start a listing? This is only for "Buy it Now" items. What do other sellers think ?

       Thank you in advance,Patricia.

[davidc4430 · Accepted solution]

for BIN i really doesnt matter when i list or when they end.

for AUCTIONS i would usually want them ending on a weekend, saturday night or sunday night.

but i dont bother with auctions anymore.

the days of bidding wars seem to be long gone.

[brerrabbit585 · Accepted solution]

---

@lyndal1838 wrote:

I'm a buyer only but I could not care less when an item is listed.

I check every day, sometimes twice a day,  for new listings of items I am looking for so if an item is listed after my first search then I find it on the second search.

---

This is where listing times can matter.  If it's a really busy category a lot of people who check newly listed regularly may not check back far enough to see your items, so listing at the time of the day when more people look could get more sales.  That's why I went through my emails to see if there was a pattern in the timing of my sales.

In one category I occasionally sell in, there's a seller who floods the category at a particular time of day and I try and avoid that time of day to list.

[countessalmirena]

Sadly so.

I have fond memories of my first ever bid on eBay. The bidding wars were exciting, and bewildering - and then I learned all about placing a snipe bid for that last minute edge.

[countessalmirena]

---

@brerrabbit585 wrote:

In one category I occasionally sell in, there's a seller who floods the category at a particular time of day and I try and avoid that time of day to list.

---

A good point.

There are certain items for which it is very frustrating to search on eBay at any time, because of search terms being improperly used. I can well envisage the additional frustration if a category / item type abrupty inundates the banks of a particular search.

[digital*ghost]

Theoretically, evenings and weekends might be marginally better, if just for the fact that newly created listings get a little boost in best match so they could catch the eye of a few more people, and they will also end at the same time (even if a good 'til cancelled listing, since when they get to the end of their cycle, they will appear higher in "ending soonest" search results). 

I suspect the effect is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, though, because I think new BIN listings are more likely to be watched than purchased, unless someone has been specifically looking for an item, in which case they'd probably buy it no matter when it was listed. 

[joztamps]

I will tell you one odd thing I have noticed in selling stamps is that I consistently get a few hits ("Views") each weekday between 7-9am and 4-6pm.

Which leads me to suspect that, after 150 years, stamp collectors have finally found a way to indulge their hobby while commuting on the train/tram/bus.

[brerrabbit585]

---

@digital*ghost wrote:

Theoretically, evenings and weekends might be marginally better, if just for the fact that newly created listings get a little boost in best match so they could catch the eye of a few more people, and they will also end at the same time (even if a good 'til cancelled listing, since when they get to the end of their cycle, they will appear higher in "ending soonest" search results). 

I suspect the effect is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, though, because I think new BIN listings are more likely to be watched than purchased, unless someone has been specifically looking for an item, in which case they'd probably buy it no matter when it was listed. 

---

My points were all trying to explain that to buy it they have to see it, and for some products they're more likely to get seen if you list at certain times of the day.  For collectables like pats_treasures sells, a lot of people might check newly listed items regularly but not do a search for specific items so the timing could be important.

[davidc4430]

---

@joztamps wrote:

I will tell you one odd thing I have noticed in selling stamps is that I consistently get a few hits ("Views") each weekday between 7-9am and 4-6pm.

Which leads me to suspect that, after 150 years, stamp collectors have finally found a way to indulge their hobby while commuting on the train/tram/bus.

---

just wondering, how has the modern 'peel n stick' stamp been handled by collectors?

i can remember as a kid soaking stamps off letters then using little lick and stick things to hold the stamp in my collection book.

[joztamps]

P&S stamps can also be, and usually are, soaked off the paper too, but it's much harder and takes longer than with sheet stamps, and you are more likely to damage them by tearing or by "thinning" parts of the rear paper texture of the stamp. Some issues are worse than others, depending upon the combo of the stamp paper and the degree of impermeability of the adhesive layer.

Some US (and other) collectors do leave them on the paper, which is not surprising to anyone who's tried to soak US stamps off paper, they are mongrels to try and get off. The same with some other countries, they're all different.

Mint P&S stamps are collected and left on their backing papers.

Stamp hinges are still used, but only on used stamps.

The standard for post-1970 stamps is "MNH", ie Mint Never Hinged, and even for 1950-1970 stamps lightly hinged stamps sell for less than MNH.

Nowadays they are stored and displayed in hingeless albums, or stockbooks, where you slide them into clear non-adhesive strips or pockets attached to the page. You can see these display sheets on almost any scan on the Stamps listings.

Now you know the lot Dave, time to get out your childhood collection and rejoin the world's 60 million philatelists.