Online Auctions End Time and its Impact on Sales Success – Analysis of the Odds Ratio on a Selected Central European Market

Abstract Research background: E-commerce is developing rapidly, especially during the Covid19 pandemic. This fact can benefit individuals who want to sell their already used goods. Importantly, for sellers, it is not always a priority to get the highest price, but sometimes it is simply effective to get rid of the goods at a satisfactory price. Purpose: The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of the broadly understood time of the end of the online auction on the success or failure of a sale. Research methodology: In the study, the raw odds ratio was used for the effect of a single variable. Next, the impact of specific variables within the set of risk factors was determined using the logistic regression. Results: Auctions ending in the evening were found to be more than 150% more likely to be successful, while night hours reduced the chance of success by 50%. The day’s most favorable for sales are Monday and Tuesday, the opposite pattern was observed for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. An interesting relationship was found for the second half of the month, which increased the possibility of selling the goods by over 20%. Novelty: In the literature there are almost none that would focus on the analysis of the possibility of ending the auction with a sale (i.e. success) in the context of the auction end time on the Central European market. This issue is usually discussed on the side and has not been analyzed comprehensively – this paper is a step forward in this direction.