anyone have a suggestion on how many days to hold an auction?

Which amount of days works best for ebay auctions? 3,5, or 7a days? Im still having a tough time selling my merchandise on ebay... will accept all tips!!!

There is no easy answer to that. If it is a high demand item shorter auctions are fine. I will give you a example. I just sold a Iphone on a 7 day with no bids on day 6... I start to panic a bit but then it takes off and sells for $266. There are so many Iphones that no one looks at them until to end. In that case a 3-5 day auction will be fine. I usually start my opening price very low on a 7 day auction with a reserve. This gets some quick bids and alot of watchers. You need to get the bidders invested in the sale. If they bid once or put it on  a watchlist they are likely to bid more. Sometimes I will put a item that I think won't auction well but has a approx value on with a buy it now. I don't do this often but remember to have a good auction you need 2 bidders. Example I part out old 4 wheelers and stuff and I will sell a carb for like 29.95 on a buy it now. I do this cause there are probably not alot of people looking for a carb for a 1984 Honda TRX 125 but there is someone that needs one..... They are likely to click to buy now rather than wait for a bidding process. Take alot of good pictures sell things that you can easily ship disclose everything and if it does not sell then relist right away!

Thanks rouge!!!!! AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME! !!! THAT IS SUCH GOOD ADVICE! I DIDN'T THINK ABOUT RELISTING. IF IT DOESN'T SELL DO THEY CHARGE YOU FEES AGAIN? Thx again.

Think 7 days gives the item more exposure.Also have the item end between 6-7 PM Pacific time.That way its not to late on the East Coast and people can get home for work on the West Coast.If it sells you are not charged the relisting fee.

No prob, they do give you credit for your listing fee if you re-list so it doesn't cost you anymore money...... Auctions are funny I have lised things that didn't sell and then re-listed them and they went crazy...... If you re-list Ebay emails all of your previous bidders and watchers that it is available again! I always try to have a story or additional info about whatever I am listing also...... I will google the item and copy sales ads and such to paste into the auction.

thanks monkey and rogue---
update:

sold my vsmile for 25 bucks which was double the average win price of 12 dollars.  was happy about that until i made a mistake and shipped it ups ground and it cost me 29 dolllars so i lost 4.00. 

i dont want to charge for shipping as i would think it would generate interest in my items.  and wanted to use ups cause i hear our usps system loses packages all the time and i dont want to have a ****ty feedback rating.  what do u guys do regarding shipping???

i dont want to charge for shipping as i would think it would generate interest in my items.  and wanted to use ups cause i hear our usps system loses packages all the time and i dont want to have a ****ty feedback rating.  what do u guys do regarding shipping???

Well, how does that $4 loss feel? Not good I'm sure.

When you do your listing you have the opportunity to offer several (2 or 3) methods for the buyer to choose from.
The buyer when he pays his invoice can choose the one he wants.

The only time I give free shipping is when it's something like a shoulder patch or a booklet that I can mail in an envelope for 44 to 88 cents, and that's when I have gotten 8 to 10 dollars for the item.

Buyer's expect to pay for shipping; eBay likes to push the idea of "free shipping" as a buyer incentive, but that doesn't work for me. I even charge a $3 handling charge which typically covers my cost of placing the ad. Sure they ding me a bit on ratings (I have a 4.8 for shipping/handling) and 4.9 and 5.0  for the others.

I am a power seller and a "recommended seller" or whatever eBay calls it. This helps a bit...the rep as being someone who sells some quantity and gets high ratings.  I give feedback AFTER I have received feedback. Have to be careful NOT to get negative feedback...it's a matter of pride more than anything else.

I once got a negative from a buyer who claimed the item wasn't Princess House as advertised. It was PH; it was in a box from PH. The buyer had 10 feedback; I had 300 at the time. I gave them neg feedback too (allowed at that time). Each year at Christmas I send an email to that person (who still has 10 feedback as a buyer) and my feedback is now at 850 ..... as a seller.  That negative feedback stayed around A YEAR before it dropped off. eBay's philosophy is that MOST buyers will see the OVERALL PICTURE on a seller's feedback, but most sellers hate seeing the red feedback.

Edit: ....if you have 900 or so feedback a neg won't take you down much, but if you have 5 feed back and get a neg you will be sitting at 80%...that would be painful though even the dumbest buyer should be able to figure out what was going on.

Here's a newbie waiting to make a name for himself in Florida....and if he charges for shipping on eBay, he probably will succeed ! 

hahaha movieman to effin funny! you are a smart cat!  yeah did you see the pic of me and my boys... thats why i work my ass off--- and to stay away from my wife! hahah lol j/k  yeah that page was meant to be a name for an ebay store but i don't think i have one--  did u like the name tho? lol 

about the advice.. yeah i will start charging for shipping.  my lady chewed my butt a bit for losing that 4 bucks (shes an accountant)  i have updated my 4 items up for sale and am selecting "standard shipping" and flat rate to all buyers... but how much do i charge for shipping? do i loook into calculated shipping?  btw smart about handling charge to cover the fees. that way u never pay ebay!  i like that.  again, thx for the advice and impressed that u found me and my store on ebay... or is it not a store? lol

did u see my items?

J Honda...

A fun pic and saw your boys as well. Keep up the good work for all involved in your family's well-being. Hard work is what does it.

Look into calculated shipping. That's ALL I use.  I measure and weigh my item when creating the ad. If it measures 10 x 12 x 20 I add an inch in all directions. If it weighs out at 9 pounds I might call it 11. This gives you some leeway and protection and will not kill the buyer either. Learn about DWT...that's dimensional weight. If an item is oversized you had better acccount for that or you will REALLY lose money. I had an item that weighed out at 21 pounds, but because of its dimensions, DWT came in to play and the buyer was paying for 41 pounds. Can you imagine how much of that would have come out of my pocket if I hadn't known and accounted for it when creating the ad?

Keep at it...learn and prosper.

yeah hard work has been instilled in me since i was a young'n myself   I got a quote from my mentor who recruited me into the car biz---its about greenpeas (newbies) "When you're green you're growin, and when you're ripe you're rotten."    here is my favorite from him-"The will to win is worthless without the will to work!"

Thanks for the calculated shipping info and lesson on weight.  i guess I box the item, then measure it and weight it then apply the info. got it!

by the way how did you find my profile?  again, that was pretty crafty Movieman!!!!

I'll leave you with this one by good ol Dr. Suess...
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter... don't mind."

Thx again my new friend!


Enjoy the dig!

Don't be afraid to charge shipping costs.If you charge only what it costs you shouldn't get negative feedback.USPS can be more cost effective especialy with flat rate boxes.You have to find what works best for you.

Thanks for the calculated shipping info and lesson on weight.  i guess I box the item, then measure it and weight it then apply the info. got it!

by the way how did you find my profile?  again, that was pretty crafty Movieman!!!!

You're welcome and all that comes with just plain doing it too; I'm sure there are tricks I don't know.

As to the finding of your profile I'll try to tell a quick "movie" story.

Paul Newman as a pool hustler is told by a young man he trains...."You taught me everything I know."

Newman replies, "Yes, but I didn't teach you everything 'I' know".

Don't fuss about the detective work...concentrate on your new ambitions.  

touche' my west coast brotha! Touche'!

Just to add my two cents about the duration of an eBay auction - if you post something twice in a row and it doesn't go either time, then something is wrong:

Either the market is saturated or you're asking too much as an opening bid (so few people realize exactly how well starting everything at .99 works)

Try terapeak if you're looking for an awesome ebay market tool. It will tell you exactly how your item has done on ebay in the last 90 days.