How to Synchronize Your Computer’s Clock with eBay

To become the most precise eBay bidder around, you can synchronize your computer’s clock with eBay’s master time. By paying attention to the clock, you can learn about your competition, beat them out, and end up paying less for your item.

eBay's Official Time page, located at the very bottom of almost every eBay page.

Most auctions on eBay run for a week; the auction item page always lists how much time is left. However, sellers can run auctions for as short as one day or as long as ten days. Synchronizing your computer’s clock to eBay’s master time can help you customize your bidding strategies, based on how much time is left in an auction.

To synchronize your clock, make sure that you’re logged on to the Internet and can easily access the eBay Web site. Then follow these steps:

Go into your computer’s Control Panel and double-click the icon that represents your system’s date and time functions.
On the eBay Web site, click the eBay Official Time link, located at the bottom of almost every eBay page.
Check your computer’s time against eBay’s current time.
Click the minutes in your computer’s clock and then click the Reload button (sometimes it’s called Refresh) on your browser.

Clicking Reload ensures that you see the latest, correct time from eBay.
Type the minutes displayed on the eBay Official Time page as soon as the newly reloaded page appears.
Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to synchronize your computer’s seconds display with eBay’s.

This process takes a little practice, but it can mean the difference between winning and losing an auction, especially if you do a lot of sniping.

Keep in mind that you don’t need to worry about the hour display if you don’t mind your system clock displaying Pacific Time.

Most bidding on eBay goes on during East Coast work time and early evening hours, which gives you a leg up if you live out West. Night-owl bidders will find that after 10 p.m. Pacific Time (about 1:00 a.m. Eastern Time), lots of bargains are to be had. And believe it or not, lots of auctions end in the wee hours of the morning. Monday holidays are also great for bargains, as are Thanksgiving and the day after. While everyone is in the living room digesting and arguing about what to watch on TV (or getting up at 5:00 a.m. to buy the big discount deal at Wal-Mart), fire up eBay and be thankful for the great bargains you can win.