How to Change Your Listing Duration on eBay?

How long should you keep your eBay listing active on your eBay store? It’s one of the questions many new sellers ask as they navigate the complex world of online selling on eBay.

If you’re scratching your head trying to figure this out, worry no more because I’ve got the answer for you.

eBay provides sellers with various tools to help them optimize their selling performance in the marketplace. But timing is everything – and that is absolutely true for eBay! Whether it’s a fixed price listing or an auction style listing, ensure you correctly set the duration for the listing to increase your chances of landing a sale!

Keep reading this post for the lowdown on how to set the duration of your eBay listing, or change it if you want to!

What is the Listing Duration on eBay?

When you create a listing for individual products you sell on eBay, you have the option to set a duration for the particular item you are selling. The duration refers to the amount of time that the listing you create will be visible on the website.

The duration of the eBay listing varies according to the type of listing you choose: auction or fixed price listings.

Auction Style Listing Duration

In an auction style listing, the duration for the items will be from 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 days. If you have any unsold items over that period, the listing will automatically become listed on the website again.

Fixed Price Listing Duration

A fixed price listing on eBay will be re-listed every month if you don’t have any sold items from those you create a listing for. It will continue to be listed again until you have sold the item. It’s called Good Til Cancelled Listing.

You can set up an item as a Good Til Canceled listing if you want to automatically re-list an item for sale on the site. It will re-list on the same day when you originally create the listing.

For example, if you listed an item on eBay on May 1st, the listing will automatically renew on June 1st unless sold.

How to Select a Listing Duration

Follow this detailed guide on how to set a duration for an auction style listing.

Step 1: Go to the bottom of the listing form. Choose ‘Change’ next to the current listing preferences.

Step 2: Click ‘Enable more options’ and then click on Save.

Step 3: Go to the Pricing section and click ‘Change.’

Step 4: Make sure to check the Auction starting bid box. Click ‘More Options.’

Step 5: The Auction Duration has a dropdown menu which allows you to select your preferred listing duration.

Step 6: Supply the information needed for your eBay listing and choose ‘List Item.’

The above steps are for the quick listing tool on eBay. You can also change the duration on eBay using the new listing tool.

To do that, go to the Pricing section and click on the number of days you prefer for the Auction duration based on the dropdown menu.

Scheduling Your Listings on eBay

For your convenience, you can also schedule your listing beforehand. It will save you time to plan the rollout of your listings on eBay a few days or up to three weeks in advance.

If you’re using the quick listing tool, go to the Pricing section.

Next, choose ‘Select your listing’s start time’ or ‘More Options.’ After that, you can specify the date and time when your listing duration will end.

Go to My eBay to view your scheduled auction listings. If you want to change the duration of the listing, simply go to the scheduled items on My eBay.

Choose the specific listing you want to change. Click on ‘Reschedule’ so you can update the date and time. You can also cancel the listing by clicking the ‘Cancel’ button.

Keep in mind that eBay’s dates and times are set in the Pacific time zone. You can use a time zone calculator to adjust the listing time if you want to target a specific time zone.

In addition, the listing duration will be based on whole-day increments. The listing duration will end at exactly the same time that it started.

For example, if you start the listing at 2 PM on a Monday and set it for a 3-day listing, its end time will be Thursday at 2 PM.

Tips for Choosing eBay Listing Duration

When selling an item on eBay that you think would be in high demand, listing it for an auction is the best way to go.

It will help you reach more potential buyers and maximise the sale’s value. An important thing to consider is that timing is more crucial for auctions than for fixed price listings.

With auctions, you want to take advantage of that sense of urgency and

Here are some tips you must consider to help you pick the best duration for your listings.

1. Run a 7-Day Auction

The ideal duration for auction style listings is seven days. Keeping the listing open for this period will allow eager bidders to see the item and place their bids on it if they’re already interested buyers.

The goal is to include a full weekend in your listing, which helps reach more people and get higher bids on your item.

If you think you have an item that will sell fast, you can run the auction for a shorter period, such as three days. It will be enough time to generate a buzz on your item and get bids for the said item.

It is usually the case for rare and collectible items. It creates a sense of urgency among potential bidders so they can place their maximum bids within that period.

2. Days of the Week

Auctions run on eBay 24 hours from the start to the end time you specified. Therefore, knowing when to start the auction listing duration is critical so you can target more bidders.

First, note you should always schedule your auction listing to include a full weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Most eBay users log on to their accounts frequently over the weekend. Take advantage of it by scheduling your auction to run over the weekend.

If it’s a holiday weekend, that is all the more reason to run your auction listing on the weekend. You can end the listing on the Monday immediately following the holiday.

Ensure you give your bidders enough time to determine their bidding strategies for the items they have their eye on.

Do not end your listing on a Friday or Sunday (even if it’s a holiday).

3. Time of Day

On top of the day of the week, you must also consider the time of day when the listing goes live. Schedule your listing to go live at the peak hours of operation on eBay, which is 5-9 PM Pacific time.

At this hour, most people are off their work and will have more time to spend browsing and bidding on eBay.

But still, you must research the ideal time when the auction ends and timing strategies to determine the ideal time to start and end your listing.

Conclusion

When you are selling on eBay, every little advantage counts. Researching and building the best strategy on when to create your fixed price and auction style listings are the best ways to ensure you can reach more people and compel them to shop online.

This platform is unique from many online marketplaces due to the eBay auctions. Therefore, you must take advantage of the timing and duration to complete your eBay listing to attract more buyers and get the highest possible bids at the eBay auctions.