In my experience, Sunday evenings are a good time to end listings for computers and related toys, except on holiday weekends (when people are too busy spending time with their families to shop on eBay). Friday evenings and Saturday evenings can also be a good time for geeks to shop on eBay. (How do I know? Well...)
You need to take into account the fact that the West Coast is three hours behind the East Coast. When it's 8:00PM in California, it's 11:00PM in New York. You don't want the auction to end too early in the day for people on the West Coast or too late at night for people on the East Cost. I'd say sometime between 7:00PM-9:00PM PST (or 10:00PM-midnight EST) is a good time to end the auction.
If you set a Fixed Price, then the auction can end at any time, you don't have to wonder how much money you'll get if someone buys it, and you won't have to haggle with anyone. (If you put it on Craig's List, be ready to haggle.) A Fixed Price listing might cost a little more than a bidding auction that starts at, say, 99 cents, but it might be worth it. Legally, if you set a Fixed Price, the customer has more legal rights than a customer who wins a bidding auction, and you can't say, "It's an auction, so I have no responsibilities." But if your items are in good condition and you ship them in a reasonable amount of time, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.
dartworth made an excellent suggestion. Look at other's people listings for the same item, and try to figure out which category works best based on
completed listings.
The title is important, but so is a good photo and a concise, informative listing. Don't pollute your listing with a huge technical description that a normal human being could never comprehend (obviously copied from a website you never bothered to read yourself) or a bunch of "policies" that make you look like someone who has a chip on his or her shoulder.
Try something like this:
"Here's your chance to buy a Nintendo Wii with a great game bundle. Includes one Wiimote + Nunchuck, two Gamecube controllers, component cables, and the following games:
- Super Smash Bros Brawl
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Super Monkey Ball 2 (Gamecube game)
(etc.)
Special features:
(whatever)
Everything is in (fair/excellent/like new) condition. It has (some scratches/no scratches).
You get (a xx-day guarantee/no guarantee). I (do/don't) accept returns. If you have less than xx positive feedback, please (contact me before bidding/do not bid).
I accept (PayPal/money orders/whatever). I will ship the item (within one business day/when your payment clears). The item will be shipped via (USPS Priority Mail/FedEx/whatever). Please use the shipping calculator below for shipping charges. I (do/don't) allow local pickup.
Thanks for looking!"
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