Seasonal nature & timing of sales

Years ago, I had a friend who worked in the direct response television business and it was common knowledge of the "seasonal nature" of that DRTV biz. The internet auction industry is a new business which not surprising to me, is acting in ways identical to the direct response television business that the internet is now replacing.
The general consensus of sellers polled is that eBay is experiencing a slump in sales due to the TIME OF YEAR. Yes the internet auctions do mirror direct response television in seasonal cycles. Slower spring, early summer revival, DEAD SUMMER (June 25-September 10), moderate fall (Sept 11-Nov 10) WILD WINTER (Nov 11-March 20).
REMEMBER THESE DATES--THEY WILL AFFECT ALL OF US WHO BUY AND SELL ON THE NET.

When's the best time to have an auction end? Friday, Sat. Evenings'?

parpat (25) on Feb-10-00 at 15:21:37 PST

eKath: I took someone else's advice here and try to end my auctions around 6 -9 PST 9-12pm eastern, I started on Sat, but now end on Fri., sat, sun , etc.. seems no difference..

007 (858) on Feb-10-00 at 15:29:35 PST

My experience is that Sunday anytime after noon-9 pm (east coast) is the best day/time. Most are home then. I like to run 3 and 5 day auctions for standard ITEMS THAT MANY HAVE LISTED. 5 days Begin Tues. ends Sun begin 3 days Thurs. ends Sun. And only run 7-10 days for unique, rare, or consigned items.

spider-boy (586) on Feb-10-00 at 15:35:45 PST

ekath...I never really care what day they end on although week-ends are good for higher-priced items(more ppl home as 007 mentioned).I am the king of the 3 day auction. LOL. List it, sell it, get my money, ship it...like it that way! But I prefer the 9p.m.-12mid EST(makes it 6p.m.-9p.m. eBay time)...spider

thehobbit (87) on Feb-10-00 at 16:11:34 PST

Weekends are very productive; maybe Fri. and Sat. aren't as good for ending auctions.

If you want two weekends of exposure, use a 10 day auction and list it Thursday evening.

happtradr (16) on Mar-07-00 at 15:05:03 PST All, I've made a cursory look around and find many of us have no 'live' auctions. SO, here are my Top Ten excuses for why we have no auctions:
1. Sold all we have, and are livin' hi on the hog now
2. All buyers went to Rio for Carnival; we'll list when they get back
3. Listing is toooo much like work
4. Everyone sent their stuff to Bay's Little Lady to give her 'experience' listing
5. Digital camera is broken and can't list without pictures
6. Everyone knows it's slow until Easter
7. The jewelry board lists enough for all of us
8. It's Super Tuesday-everyone is at the polls
9. Still have so much left to sell, can't decide what to sell next

10. My website is at max capacity; don't want to decide what to remove and can't afford more picture hosting space!

..back..