eBay announced today it was extending Completed Item data from 15 days to 60 days in certain categories. (For non-sellers keeping score, this is good news.)Sellers look at eBay Completed Item data to calculate sell through rates (the percentage of active listings that actually sold) and the average selling price for products in their category - and many find the information so useful they pay third-parties for such data.
Completed Item data is more reliable than active listings - if you're looking at a current listing and assuming the item will sell for a certain price, you may be sadly mistaken! Listings can end without being sold or can sell at a different price than currently listed (for Auction-style or Make an Offer listings).
eBay said Friday it is increasing the "look-back time" for sold items to 60 days, up from 15 days, for sellers in the Art, Antiques, Coins & Paper Money, Dolls & Bears, Entertainment Memorabilia, Sports Memorabilia, Stamps, and Toys categories.
When
eBay expanded Completed Item data in the Collectibles category in the fall, sellers were underwhelmed with the announcement. eBay said today it would continue to provide 90 days of information on sold items and 45 days for unsold items in Collectibles.
This probably won't affect third-party vendor
Terapeak, which* licenses eBay data, cleans it up, and allows their paying customers access to sell through rates and average selling prices. That's because Terapeak provides Completed Item data going back 365 days plus two years of category trends in most categories. Terapeak also provides additional data, including eBay Top Seller reports and data from international sites.
If you use Completed Item data, make sure you're comparing apples to apples - for example, if you're selling a brand new item, but you're looking at Completed Item data for used items, this could cause you to price your item too low!
Here's a
link to the eBay announcement.
eBay Extends Completed Item Research Data to 60 Days 
