[photo-3d] eBay statistics

[Tom Deering <photo-3d@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Many stereo people use Ebay to buy and sell cameras.  I did a 
numerical analysis of eBay auction patterns, which might be of some 
interest for those of you who sell or bid on eBay.

-  Friday night is the big night on eBay, followed by Saturday, then 
Sunday.  More auctions close on Friday than the other weekdays 
combined.

-  There are two peaks of activity.  The 6:00 and 7:00 slots are the 
two hottest, with the 1:00 and 2:00 hour also popular.  These times 
are eBay standard Pacific time.  The most activity happens between 
7:00 and 8:00 PST.  If you live in New York, wait until after 10PM.

-  One third of the auctions I analyzed had no bids.  21% had only 
one bid.  43% had two or more bids.

Details:  I collected a random 952 completed auctions, by looking up 
common phrases like "NR" and "bid".  The times and dates are for the 
ending time of the auction, not the bidding time.  I realize bid 
times would be more interesting, but teasing that information from 
the eBay servers isn't as easy.  You are welcome to do it if you like.

In summary, Friday night is a very busy time on eBay.  If you were 
thinking that you would wait until Sunday morning to start that 
auction, you might reconsider.

Cheers,

Tom

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tmd@xxxxxxxxxxx    http://www.deering.org