Your record fastest and slowest Ebay selling times

[tectonicplates]

I recently sold something that I listed two years ago! I'd kind of resigned myself to the fact that it would never sell even though it had plenty of watchers, so I was surprised when it did actually sell. Admittedly I lowered the price a bit.

My record quickest time was half an hour.

Most of my stuff takes between a couple of weeks to a few months.

Anyone else?

I have sometimes sold things in the same day.

I have one long-running item that is a bulk listing of dozens of somewhat geeky collectable items. Every so often the same man buys a few more, presumably to fill gaps in his collection.

I have one item that just doesn't seem to sell. It is a nice evening dress from a recognised brand, BNWT. On for about £20. What on earth is wrong with it?

Under an hour for sure, maybe within 20 minutes, not sure. I always kick myself I should have listed the item for higher price if it sells within 3 days.

Definitely > 18months for some items. I call them 'Low sells'. As in low frequency sells. They will fetch a decent price, but only once in a rare while.

I have one item that just doesn't seem to sell. It is a nice evening dress from a recognised brand, BNWT. On for about £20. What on earth is wrong with it?

Mine was something similar. I still believe that people will often watch your shiniest, most expensive thing with no intention of buying, just because they like watching shiny things. Last time I mentioned this I was told I was being ridiculous, but I still believe it to be true.

So take heart, @MaybeDoctor, because it will sell one day! You'll feel really weird when it actually sells, almost like it's strange that it's gone.

Definitely > 18months for some items. I call them 'Low sells'. As in low frequency sells. They will fetch a decent price, but only once in a rare while.

I'm glad it's not just me then!

yeah... and lowering the price doesn't make them sell any faster. They just don't sell very often. So you have to hold your nerve.

Quickest is about 5 mins, a subetto set, should of put it higher. I often price on the lower end as I am just selling out old and unwanted stuff and want the space. The extra cash injection is also welcome.

Other stuff months, mainly expensive dresses. I've had a jigsaw dress, worn once, very on trend, size 12, on for months. It's got 14 watchers.

We listed a car at 10am. It was sold and collected before 6pm the same day.

I was listing a batch of about 50 items and before I finished I had sold one. It must have been about 20 minutes.

As for longest, I still have items listed that I first listed last November, and I am still occasionally selling them, so a year now.

Had a few things on for 2 years or more! They'll go eventually I'm sure...

Fastest is under 30 mins.

Thanks everyone! I feel less alone now

Just bumping this thread as I'm finding the comments interesting.

Oh good, I've been pondering this too. Quickest is probably less than half an hour, and yes I immediately kick myself for not listing at a higher price. I also have stuff listed for months that I assumed would be snapped up; great brands (All Saints, Jigsaw, Toast which usually sell well), new or worn once, recent season. Get loads of watchers. I also play around with the price and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I have noticed all of a sudden sometimes, my stuff will get loads more watchers quickly; all my listings, then I get a few sales all at once. Does eBay have an algorythm for highlighting listings or sellers other than the sort options you can use as a buyer?

I listed vintage Lego that had been sat Unplayed with in a box for at least a decade.

Within hours I got loads of messages off grown men desperate for me to sell it to them.
Didn’t realise it would be so popular.
There were loads of bidders and it sold for double what I wanted.

Whatsmyageagain0 that's slightly different, that's you not knowing their worth for years. Lego is massively popular once listed and you probably sold it for a bargain.

The point here is say you also had a similar listing for Lego that then sits unsold for months.....why?

Less than ten minutes for a sports fitness tracker.

Was kicking myself that I'd flogged it too cheaply.

I also have stuff listed for months that I assumed would be snapped up; great brands (All Saints, Jigsaw, Toast which usually sell well), new or worn once, recent season. Get loads of watchers. I also play around with the price and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Same here! These sorts of brands, including Boden, take ages to sell but I always thought they were really popular.

People keep things listed for years

I only ever list twice and if things don't sell I take them to the charity shop. I couldn't be doing with having thing lying about for years.

I use eBay less and donate more these days anyway, it's not the place it used to be. 15 or so years ago I was selling everything and anything and you got decent prices. It's flooded now

Yes, because I list everything as Buy It Now. Auctions cause far too much stress. If you switch to Buy It Now with immediate payment required, it means you never get non-paying bidders and you almost always get the price you want.

It makes me laugh on Mumsnet when people say sell on ebay on skint threads when I've got listings from March still on there! I blame cheap Chinese imports.

I listed vintage Lego that had been sat Unplayed with in a box for at least a decade. Within hours I got loads of messages off grown men desperate for me to sell it to them.Didn’t realise it would be so popular.There were loads of bidders and it sold for double what I wanted.

There's something hilarious about this It might just be the way you phrased it, but there's something about grown adults becoming like children again when there's Lego for sale. OMG LEGO!!!

I find it best to view Ebay as a way of constructively decluttering and ensuring that an item is re-used, rather than a 'get cash quick' scheme.

The item is going to someone who actually wants it therefore it gets a further 'life'. You get a portion of the purchase price back. It can then still be donated once they have finished with it.

From threads on here, lots of things that go to charity shops actually get binned or sent to the rag man pretty quickly eg. some shops just discard out of season items, or any item that doesn't sell within a few weeks.

I've just sold something that I listed last night, so it sold in under eleven hours! Really good. The rest of my listings are still just sitting there.

I once listed a pair of el cheapo payg mobile phones (bought them in a shop, we both used them for a day and decided they were not what we needed) Listed for the price I paid, went to make a coffee, decided to check the listing again and not to be found. It had sold, buy it now in the time it took to make a coffee.

Is buy it now the way to go then? We've just moved house and been using eBay to declutter but things either haven't sold or have gone for so little there was no point...