Knowing the correct time to list and end an auction will ultimately depend on your targeted buyers. Your goal is to focus on the largest number of bidders within a defined group, that would be online toward the end of the auction. Choosing these targeted buyers correctly will generate the greatest number of possible bidders.

The most common practice is listing items for seven days and ending at 7pm Pacific time. The reasoning being, for the majority of people this is their non-working hours and the time most people are surfing the web. Most auctions will benefit from this strategy but others may require a different approach. You will have to consider who the likely bidders would be, and when they are more probable to be online. Example: you are selling copy paper by the case. Your likely bidders would be businesses. Would these companies have an employee placing bids for them from there home or would they have a purchasing manager in charge of such orders during regular business hours.

Knowing who your targeted audience is beforehand and posting accordingly will maximize the number of potential bidders.
by: Rod King