As far as end times go it is best to avoid times when your target buyers are most likely to be unable to bid i.e. when they are sleeping.

You don't want your auction to end during the eBay Friday morning down time (you should be advised when you list your item if it is going to end at this time).

You don't want to end your item at any other time when large numbers of people are going to be doing other things like watching the World Cup Final, Christmas Day, July 4th, Thanksgiving etc.

There are many differing thoughts on the length of auctions

• Some sellers use a 3 day auction starting on a Thursday afternoon / evening and ending on Sunday.
• Others will list on Sunday for 7 days.
• Some list for 10 days starting on a Thursday or Friday which gives the items 2 weekends of exposure.
• Some people, usually traders, will run 7 day auctions started on Monday to Friday during working hours.
• Some will list for 3 days and if they get no bidders will extend the duration one increment at a time until they reach 10 days (this is done via the item revision link on the description page).

Some say that potential bidders on long auctions might not bid immediately and might forget to bid whereas with a short auction there is more urgency and they are more likely to bid straight away

With a longer auction the item is available in the searches for longer so is more likely to be found by occasional browsers

Even with UK only auctions there are going to be people searching for items at all times of the night and day, every day of the week, accessing the Internet from home, work, college, libraries etc etc.

I would advise listing for at least 7 days to improve your chances of reaching all potential bidders and to avoid ending between midnight and 8am.