How long do you list your items for on Ebay?

[MaryHuff]

Am about to start selling on ebay, after many years of being a buyer.

For those of you that have experience selling - how long do you generally list your items for? And does it depend on the type of item?

I know as a buyer that I always sort by time left to end of auction, and never look at items with more than 2 days left to run (impatient? moi? ). So is there much point in listing items for more than 3 days?

Oh, and if you have any other tips for a newbie seller, please feel free to impart them. (I am assuming it is best to send everything recorded post??)

5 or 7days and make sure it goes over a weekend as more people search then... also make sure it has an evening end time when most people are able to bid

Actually I read somewhere that if you put things on for a long time (ie ten days) watchers somehow got emotionally attached to the item and felt it was "theirs" and would therefore bid more.

I don't know if this is true though.

I did however do this with everything I sold- 10 days starting at 1p- and the stuff I sold did well.

i always list for 10 days, starting on the thursday so it gets 2 weekends. But i never buy on e-bay so i suppose i'm just looking at it from my point of view of getting the most people to look at it.

you don't need to worry about recorded post too much, if you pay for the postage by paypal through the royal mail website then it will print off a form you can get the post office to sign to prove you have posted it. I'm not sure if that means the item isn't insured though.

10 days, starting on a Thursday evening, so that they end on a Sunday evening - after about 9pm (especially good for kiddy stuff, as mummies and daddies unlikley to be sitting down with feet up before then). I always do a "Buy it Now" price too, so that if any one wants it sooner, then they can get it. My stuff usually sells on the "Buy it Now" option. It only costs about 6p to do.

Depends what it is.

If there are 1000's of similar items on ebay then list for 3 days. As you say you won't even get any hits, let alone watchers/bidders until it gets on page 2-4 of the listing. The sorts of things I am thinking about is mobile phones, iPods, that sort of thing.

If it is a rare item - 10 days so maximum number of people will see it. Here I am thinking about specialist equipment, niche products.

Most stuff I do 7 days - ending usually on a Sunday around 8pm.

Always use the drop-down "Item specfics fields" as people do use this to filter their searches. e.g. make sure you tell people it is a size 14 for example as people filter on that.

Describe accurately, and thoroughly. Format your text nicely - using paragraphs (you can spot hte new sellers as they don't use the description builder and end up with a single paragraph of text). But don't make it too frilly and garish. Preview your listing.

You get £30 insurance with standard first class. Just ask for proof of postage at the post office.

Do not sell outside the UK on electricals - it is usually a scam.

Check completed listings (using advanced search) to see how much your item is worth and whether they actually sell.

I usually start everything at 99p. Gets people hooked thinking they will get a bargain. You definately pick up more items quicker at 99p start (I have done a test with some of my twins stuff...)

This is all great advice - thank you so much. Some really interesting stuff I didn't know, particularly about posting (you can pay postage by Paypal on Royal Mail site? - wow!).

I think I will put DVDs etc on for 3 days and the rest for 7-10 days. Got to find the time now to take all the photos and write the descriptions.

Ikeahighchair - is the description builder a specific tool offered on ebay to sellers?

Malfoy - the emotional attachment aspect is particularly interesting

and be honest about any flaws / damage. I have even taken close up photos of small marks on items so the buyer knows exactly whay they are getting.

It just goes to show we are all different.

I'm never on line in the evenings and rarely on at a weekend, so if I'm bidding on something I put a maximum price in and see what happens. I win some, I loose some and I forget to bid on loads !!

I completely agree with Meglet too.

Use Completed Listings to see how much you might get. If something might only get 1 bid, 10 days and make the minimum bid the least you would want to get.

If it might get lots of bids, then could do shorter and start lower. If you get no bids, can always relist for free with a lower start.

I only list for less than 10 days if 10 days would mean ending on a Friday or Saturday when fewer people are online.

And get as many buzz words into your title as possible - except for things like clothes, most people just do a search rather than going down through categories.

When you do an item listing you select a category and then you have hte option to select "item specifics" for your item.

It is a series of drop down menus where you can give a crude describption of you item. So for clothelying for example there is a drop dwon for Brand, size, style (e.g. trousers, jacket etc.), colour, new used etc.

It is obvious - but some people don't bother.

Some people don't - and they do lose out on sales because of it.

Thanks for the continued great advice. I never knew about the Completed Listings functionality.

And I will be as detailed and honest as possible

Oh and use the item specifics so people can filter but still describe everything inthe listing as well so that people can find it with a text search too.

Also, the search function looks in the title and description of items, to try using common mispellings/alternative spellings of something in the description. Eg "Lambswool Jumper" and "Lambs Wool Jumper", "Mamas and Papas" and "Mammas and Papas", "Per Una" and "Peruna".

And be really open about flaws - stains, tears etc.

You are not allowed to describe clothing (don't know about other categories) as "similar to" a big brand. I had a listing cancelled once for saying that a Next coat was "similar style to Boden", but have got away with selling some sneakers as "styled very much like an established US brand of casual sports shoes". (They were a lot like Converses!).