With The holidays fast approaching, it seems to be more and more difficult to find those last minute deals on Ebay. Especially during the month of November, when it seems that everybody and their uncle wants exactly what you’re looking at and will start a bidding war in order to get it.
All to often even though there may be six of the same thing and as soon as you bid, suddenly there is a flurry of other bidders pushing up the price to a ridiculously high amount regardless of the fact that is $10.00 cheaper in the store and you don’t have to pay shipping.
Buying things on Ebay during holiday gift buying season you can expect that from the end of October through the Christmas you are going to be paying more than you would have just started in September.
While writing this article I found that what I paid $3.00 for in September the same item is now averaging $5.00 during off peak hours. Which in September $5.00 would have been the maximum bid during the peak bidding times, now however peak hour bidding can bring those bids 5 to 6 times higher. So how do you wade through the bidding frenzy so often found in this month prior to Christmas?
Everyone knows the tactic of slam-dunking your bid in the last 45 seconds of an auction. For those that don’t, this means that you wait until the auction is less than a minute and then swoop in with your higher bid. Unfortunately during the month of November it becomes increasingly more difficult to do so during peak hours and it will cost you.
As the month of November continues keep in mind that the peak hours on Ebay will expand normally an hour in either direction. Ebay Sellers know this and count on it to increase the bidding on their items. The majority of Ebay Sellers will plan their auction ending times during the months of November and December especially geared towards the peak time bidding wars.
The majority of Ebay Sellers have these selling tactics down to a science, which may have you thinking why even bother. But you can use these selling tactics to your advantage, even during holiday peak times, by planning your bidding strategy.
Search out auctions that end on early morning weekdays before people are able to arrive at work. The weekends especially during the month of November are going to be peak times since most people are home able to sit before the computer, making it much more difficult to swoop in at the last minute.
Auction times that end before five to six AM, east coast time, are less likely to have people sitting there refreshing the page, especially on an early Monday morning, as most people are too busy getting ready for work. Alternately, if you’re a night owl seeking auctions at the end at between 11 PM to 12:00 AM are also good choices as most people are already in bed.
Traditionally Ebay’s peak times go up and down but generally they are higher in the afternoons during the workweek, up to about 10 PM. Weekends are very heavy times up until midnight. During the holiday gift-buying season, plan on these windows to expand a bit, but there still are deals to be had on Ebay during the holiday gift-buying season, if you plan ahead.
