Expert: Marvinator - 7/4/2006

Question
Thank you for your help.  I have 2 follow-up questions, though.
I presumed that Christmas would be the best season for selling but I wonder whether it is better to list in October or November?
Are there months to avoid? -- does purchasing slow down in July?  or January?  or some month in between?
Can you give me a response based on your past experience - a guesstimate?
Thank you again for the suggestion to check past sales area for specific item history.
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Followup To

Question -
There seems to be rhyme or reason to what, if or when people buy or how much they spend.
Have you noticed the months of the year when the most items - especially clothing, home decor, books, toys - tend to sell?  Does it vary by catagory or is there a season when items are more likely to sell?
When is the best time to list?  When is the best time to buy?
Thanks

Answer -
Al in all sales on Ebay seem to follow the same rhymes and reasons as retail stores but with a buffer of a week or two due to shipping constraints.  Christmas seems to be the biggest season, with most items being sold before December 1st, to take advantage of shipping times and delays.  

When it comes to any item I am selling, I tend to research the item using Ebays "Completed Search" feature.  You can search back 30 days to see what similar items sold for and even if they sold at all.

This type of research also tells you which days are best for your item, and what times are best to end an auction. (Generally most items sell best in the mid-evening, when most people are surfing after dinner, and before bed.)  

I hope this has helped.

Answer
Christmas is not just December.  A good seller will list beginning in Mid October and sell up to and including the middle of January.  (In January, many people are ready to spend cash received as gifts!)

However, keep in mind that there are items which don't sell well at Christmas, and with each item you need to be sure of your market and sure of your audience.  (As an example, Swim Suits sell horribly at Christmas time, for obvious reasons.)  This is the same view one should take on 'months to avoid'.  Again, using the same example, someone selling a  swimsuit would do better in spring and summer than in October through January.  

This same rule of research I mentioned before can be pushed further as to what day of week and what time.  You target an audience and find when that audience would be surfing ebay.  Let's take the obvious: Evening is better than daytime because you have a h igher possiblity of adults with spendable cash surfing.  However, if you're selling gameboy accessories, daytime might be better to catch those kids surfing while out of school.  See how it works?  If you want to sell sleep aids, it might do well to plan your auctions to end in the wee hours of the morning, when insomniacs might be surfing for just such an item.  

Without knowing your item, I wouldn't hazzard a guess as to what to recommend as to when to end your auctions, and in truth, I'd rather not offer up such a possible time/day for you, as such things can usually come back and cause problems.  If I were to say "Wednesday Nights, 8 - 10 central" and you had terrible sales at that time you might want to blame me for your lack of sales.  I just don't want to get into a position of making or breaking your Ebay experience.   I hope you understand.