* eBay traffic is heaviest on Monday & Sunday, so obviously, closing our auctions on one of those two days might pay off - although testing is always the only real way to know timing (or anything else) for sure

* eBay reaches more US citizens every month than any other "pure ecommerce property" (whatever that means)

* Visitors spend more time on eBay than any other shopping site and ebay claims the time is increasing. This statistic is dubious, I think. How can eBay possibly know the behavior of shoppers on any other site?

* More than 1/3 of all US Internet users visit eBay (Wow!)

* The majority of visitors enter eBay through the home page, which doesn't help us much. But the second most popular way is through a search page. Now that does matter!

* The most visited categories are:
1. Collectibles
2. eBay motors
3. Computers
4. Electronics
5 + 6. Clothes/Shoes + Toys

* Demographics for eBay users are:

1. Age: 45-54 (28%); 35-44 (26%); 55+ (22%); 25-34 (17%); 18-24 (7%)

This tells us who to focus on, doesn't it? And this statistic surprised me. I would have thought younger people would spend more time on eBay, but 3/4 of eBay users are 35 and up.

2. Income: $35-75K (31%); $25-50K (23%); $75-100K (19%); $100-150K (14%); $150K+ (8%); $0-25K (5%).

3. Gender: 53% male, 47% female

Fascinating stuff, although I always figure that income figures are suspect. But it gives us clues about where to focus our efforts. If your choice is between a teeny bopper product or clothes suitable for a 40 year old, choose the clothes.