OT When is the best time of year to buy or sell on Ebay?

[almostdone]

I have been a collector more than seller over the last ten years on ebay. I thought I figured out the best time of year to either but or sell cards. However every time I think I have it figures out it seems it changes. My question is to those who do massive amount of deals through ebay. When is the best time of year to look for deals and when it the best time to save of some cards and then sell?

I'm usually talking about lower end (under maybe $200) per card. I'm sure very high end stuff has different circumstanses because the amount of buyers is less, but for the lower end stuff is there one or two times a year that are better than others?


I would appreciate any insite or experience in this matter.

Drew

[iwantitiwinit]

Ideally, I would think you want to sell cards when people have a monetary windfall, when they have some additional discretionary funds. Since a large portion of the population bets on NFL football games they know the results of the majority of their their wagers by 7:30 pm on Sunday. I would think that a number of card collectors would also be inclined to wager on football games. As a result you list your cards with auctions that expire around 8pm on Sunday's sept thru dec to capture as much of that winnings as possible.

[almostdone]

I used to think that December would be good. My logic was people are spending more freely because of the holidays and people who are not collector are looking at making purchases for others (ie my wife buying me a card for Christmas).

I found that the last few years though cards were being sold for less at this time than in January or February. Maybe because of early tax returns. I'm not 100% sure of this so I was asking others to see if this is true for them.

Drew

[xdrx]

Ideally, I would think you want to sell cards when people have a monetary windfall, when they have some additional discretionary funds. Since a large portion of the population bets on NFL football games they know the results of the majority of their their wagers by 7:30 pm on Sunday. I would think that a number of card collectors would also be inclined to wager on football games. As a result you list your cards with auctions that expire around 8pm on Sunday's sept thru dec to capture as much of that winnings as possible.

I like that theory. If I had thought of it last night I would have put up some healthy BIN prices for Yankees cards to take advantage of the Jets fans with fresh cash in the their pockets from that beautiful defeat of the Cowboys.

[majordanby]

you might get some good deals around major holidays because you can imagine less people paying attention to auctions and perhaps having less money to spend because of holiday related expenses.

Around tax time might be a good time to sell because of returns. Selling around late Nov/early Dec for christmas makes sense.

[vintagecpa]

Are there that many people that gamble on football to influence EBay auctions? I have heard of nearly every theory on the best time to sell. That is the first time I've heard that.

[rainier2004]

I dont think there is a best time necessarily. My 34 goudey psa 2 foxx sold for a whopping $80 on sunday night @ 930....1 month ago the card sold for $144? It all seems hit or miss w/o logic. Ive studied ebay for 8 yrs now and have these few certainties:
1) Auctions ending at weird times on weird days (ie not prime time) sell for less
2) When there are multiple examples up of the same card selling at the same time, dont expect a deal
3) The minute you think you got ebay figured out, it resembles your marriage...ie you dont have a clue what you're doing even tho you're convinced you do....eek:

[thetruthisoutthere]

In my opinion, it's totally unpredictable, although right now it is a buyers market due to the economic conditions in this country.

I always feel bad, as a collector, when another collector is forced to sell their collection during rough times (and I think we've all experienced that). But the bright side is that, unless you own something extraordinarily rare, you can purchase that same card or cards sometime in the future.

I can't count the number of times I've had to sell stuff, only to be able to retrieve it in the future. I can't speak for anyone else, but I certainly have an emotional attachment to certain cards.

[quinnsryche]

My experience has been that any sport sells better during playoffs/championships. Now I would never end an aution on Super Bowl Sunday or game 7 of the WS but during these times interest always seems to be exceptionally high due to all the news coverage. In general, auctions that end on Sunday nights (between 7-10pm) always seem to attract more bidders than other nights (especially Fri. & Sat.)
Hope that helps!

[E93]

Any time of year about five years ago.

[iwantitiwinit]

My experience has been that any sport sells better during playoffs/championships. Now I would never end an aution on Super Bowl Sunday or game 7 of the WS but during these times interest always seems to be exceptionally high due to all the news coverage. In general, auctions that end on Sunday nights (between 7-10pm) always seem to attract more bidders than other nights (especially Fri. & Sat.)
Hope that helps! I agree see my argument above about NFL wagering and disposable income.

[4815162342]

Any time of year about five years ago.

+1 Jim.

[bcbgcbrcb]

I seem to have made most of my best purchases in late-winter to early-spring, not sure why that is though. Maybe coincidence............

[rainier2004]

Phil:
Me as well w/ purchases in winter...I thought it was b/c I spend more time in here than freezing outside vs when its nicer out.

[almostdone]

I have always been in the mindset that the summer months is a good timew to make purchases on ebay because most folks are outside instead of on thier computers and also any extra funds are going toward other, larger expenses ie. vacations, home improvment projects etc.
Example: I bought my 68 Nolan Ryan rookie in vgex condition for $77 in July a few years back. Also helped a friend find a 56 Mantle PSA 3 for $230 last summer. I can't seem to find those prices starting up this time of year.
Does anyone find this true?
Drew

[Big Ben]

I seem to have made most of my best purchases in late-winter to early-spring, not sure why that is though. Maybe coincidence............

+1. Especially January into early February.