# When are the best times to win Ebay auctions?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-the-best-times-to-win-ebay-auctions/232796>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [March 6, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-the-best-times-to-win-ebay-auctions/232796 "2004-03-06T00:53:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-the-best-times-to-win-ebay-auctions/232796/1 "2004-03-06T00:53:14Z")

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I wanted to buy a homedics back massager, but the good ones (the ones with 10 motors) were always going for $40 or so. however when i put off bidding until sunday afternoon i won one for $9.50. most of the massagers didn’t get any last minute bids, which is rare.

So sunday afternoon is a good time to ebay snipe i think. So is the middle of the night. Are there any other times when it is best to ebay snipe that you have found?

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-the-best-times-to-win-ebay-auctions/232796/2 "2004-03-06T01:05:18Z")

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It totally depends on what the item is.

If it’s a widget that is available in the retail stores for $49.95 day in and day out, then you might have a point.

If it’s a vintage(1949) cap pistol in near mint condition(which we just ran this week), then there IS NO TIME that is better or worse. The ultimate buyers will be there, no matter what your timing.

BTW, it brought $550.

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**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-the-best-times-to-win-ebay-auctions/232796/3 "2004-03-06T02:24:10Z")

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**samclem** is right-it depends on the item. What pisses me off is sniping software and services of which I’ve read that charge a percentage of the final bid if you get it.

For years I’ve done things the old fashioned way-timing refresh seconds and tapping ‘enter’ at the last possible moment. If you want to win an item, put some effort into it, people! 😃

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**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\
**Post date:** [March 6, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-are-the-best-times-to-win-ebay-auctions/232796/4 "2004-03-06T19:08:07Z")

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Holidays. I’ve gotten some great deals on eBay for auctions that end on a holiday – especially Christmas, Easter, and July 4th. Time of day/day of week rarely makes a difference, in my experience.