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Watchers

I am the first one in line when it comes to getting a good deal but I am not afraid to bid on what I want. I try to sell as much as I can here but, I am tired of those people watching and waiting till the very end and either not bidding at all or getting my stuff really really cheap. I thought this was an auction. Is there a way to limit the amount of time someone can watch your ad and either force them to bid or stop watching?

Message 1 of 14
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Re: Watchers

OK...  I think part of your irritation here is that you are thinking that watchers are people who are interested in buying your item.


 


But when you understand the reasons listings are being watched, you can relax and just not pay much heed to whether your listing has any watchers or not, and the number of watchers isn't very important either.


 


A watcher might be interested in buying what you have.  If it's an auction, there's no need to bid at this time if the auction has a few days to run yet.  (Maybe another item like this one will appear and be even cheaper!)  If your listing is a BuyItNow, there's no need to buy at this time if there are days yet to go... another similar item may get listed shortly for a lower price.


 


Some of those watchers are undoubtedly other SELLERS!  They have an item just like the one you have listed, and they're waiting to see how much you sell yours for, so they know what the current selling price seems to be.  Or they had one they think they sold too cheaply, and they want to see if you are going to get the price you're asking for yours.


 


Sometimes it's just in interesting item.  Not interested in buying it, but it's interesting enough to see how much it brings on the eBay market.


 


Currently I have a brooch I'll eventually list.  I'm watching this same brooch listed by several different sellers.  It's not rare.  But I want to know about where it will sell so I don't waste my time listing it too high, or let it go too cheaply either.  So I'm watching how other sellers do with their listings.


 


If you come to terms with the fact that Watchers are most often NOT buyers, you will be able to just ignore them and relax.

Message 2 of 14
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Re: Watchers


I am the first one in line when it comes to getting a good deal but I am not afraid to bid on what I want. I try to sell as much as I can here but, I am tired of those people watching and waiting till the very end and either not bidding at all or getting my stuff really really cheap. I thought this was an auction. Is there a way to limit the amount of time someone can watch your ad and either force them to bid or stop watching?



 


I put items on watch sometimes to wait until I can afford it, to make it easier to find. Even if online shopping is faster, it still takes time. So when I have time, I put things I want to buy at a later date on watch, sometimes for a couple months. Then when I have the cash, I buy it.


 


As far as people buying at the last minute, that's why there are reserves. If you put up an item for auction, you may get a lot, you may break even or you might bust. It's all a chance you take. Don't like it, set a BIN price and leave it.  

Message 3 of 14
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Re: Watchers

Congratulations!  You sold the item you posted for auction. The alternative was it didn't sell at all.  If you felt you wanted more for the item then you should have listed it for more to start.


All buyers want an item at the lowest bid they can win it for. Including me!


 


Indeed, I love watchers which shows me that someone / anyone is looking at my listings.


 


The solution to your problem is simple.


1.) Post all listings as a Buy it Now with the price your comfortable with.


2.) Checkmark the listing so it must be paid for right away with paypal to avoid any nonpayers.


 


That way you get the price you want. And it either gets paid right away or they can't buy it.


Simple!

"Four Score and 10 years ago ebay was once a fun enjoyable place to do business." - NOW - "The Beatings will continue until seller morale improves." And if there is no improvement the Cassini Search will delete all your listings from its Search results.
Message 4 of 14
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Re: Watchers

Very well said.

Message 5 of 14
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Re: Watchers

Never count your watchers before they bid:^O  Watchers here are the equivalent of window shoppers with no money or comparison shoppers.  I am happy that my items have watchers but I never count on those watchers to place a bid.  You have been here long enough to know that unrealistic planning of getting bucks from those as yet un-bid upon items only leads to disappointment.  Heck, lately even won items don't guarantee you will get paid.  It's the circle of ebay life....

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Message 6 of 14
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Re: Watchers

I have found that in the past several months since I began regularly listing and selling items here on Ebay that having watchers on items rarely means anything!!  Don't misunderstand me...it is nice to see that an item I have listed has people watching it and that there is interest among potential buyers but rarely have I seen this make much difference in the end.  In fact, what I have come to realize quite often, is that items that I end up selling are ones that have had 0 watchers or at the very best maybe 1.  Items that have multiple watchers on them have given me false hope that it would ultimately sell and more often than not I end up having to relist the item.


 


And of course, if an item that has watchers on it ends up selling, you have absolutely zero idea whether or not it sold to someone who was watching it or to some random person who just happened to come along and purchase it.  So it really is just speculation at this point.


 


I liked it when Ebay briefly changed listings to show how many watchers an item had...not only to the sellers (which is still available to them) but to other buyers as well.  I think that was a great thing especially for items such as what I primarily list.  If a seller is listing an item for sale where they have multiple quantities of that same item available then knowing how many other watchers it has doesn't necessarily mean anything to me if I am thinking about buying their product because I know they have several of this item on hand and available.  But if I am interested in purchasing an item where there is only 1 of them (like pre-owned clothing) then knowing if that item has other watchers is a huge benefit (not only to the seller but to me as a buyer).  I may be more apt to purchase it then versus placing the item into my watch list and waiting, risking the chance that someone else may come along and purchase it before I do.  Probably if an item I am interested in would show that it only had 1 current watcher I might still place it into my watch list.  However if I saw it had multiple watchers on it I might act much more quickly.  So I think that Ebay did everyone a HUGE disservice when they changed this to where only the seller now has access to the number of watchers an item has.


 


Anyway, I must admit that I still will look to see if items I have listed have watchers on them but in the end, I know it doesn't really matter at this point.  It only matters if an item actually sells and again, even if it does and it had watchers on it, you really have no idea if the buyer was a watcher.


 


One thing that I wish Ebay would do is to change their listing policy so a seller only had to pay the listing fee ONE TIME instead of EACH TIME they listed the same item.  Then it wouldn't matter if it took a few months before an item actually sold.  But when sellers have to pay money to relist items that don't end up selling, the fees have a way of adding up.  I think this is especially true if you pay good money out each month to pay for an Ebay store.  If you are paying $50 each month (or more if you have the most expensive store) then I think you should be allowed to list as many items each month for that fee as you want.  Or again, I don't mind paying .10 to list an item the first time but I don't want to keep paying that out month after month if I have to end up relisting the same item multiple times before it sells.  Let's face it...Ebay and Paypal are both going to get a final value fee in the end when it ultimately does end up selling so do they have to be greedy with the listing fees too?


 


And if Ebay would change their policy so that sellers only had to pay to list an item the first time and then pay the final value fees when it actually sells. I think that would help the seller out a lot.  They could then determine the price they wanted for an item and just leave it at that versus eventually feeling as if they pretty much need to give an item away to a buyer because each time they have to relist it takes money out of their pocket.


 


Another thing that I hate is when I get messages from potential buyers asking me to accept an offer for an item far below what I have it advertised at.  Seriously folks...if I am willing to entertain lower offers than I would set up my listing that way to begin with.  That is what the best offer option is for.  If an item doesn't specify that a seller is willing to accept a best offer bid then don't insult me by offering one!!  I like it when you have a really nice, good quality item listed for say $19,99 plus shipping and a buyer comes along and offers you $5 including shipping.  And they think I am seriously going to consider that?  PLEASE!!!  All you have accomplished in doing at that point is upsetting me.  I mean, if you are going to ask me to consider a lower offer when my listing doesn't indicate I am willing to even accept best offers, than at the very least, don't be insulting with the stupid offer!!  I mean do you really think that an offer of $5 is acceptable with shipping included?  By the time you factor in that I had to originally pay for the item, I have had to pay to list it (often multiple times), and I have to pay both Paypal and Ebay a final value fee based upon the actual selling price...at the $5 you are offering I may as well throw the item straight into the garbage because I have gone into the hole.


 


Well I guess I got a bit off topic with the whole subject of watchers.  But I had some things that I felt I wanted to get off my chest.  And maybe other sellers share some of my same frustrations and opinions.  Where the subject of watchers is concerned I will close by saying this...I am always happy to see an item has interest as shown by the number of watchers it has, but in the end the only thing that really means anything, is how many items you actually end up selling!!  And it has been my overall experience that I have had to end up relisting many of my items that have had several watchers on them so I have long since learned to not put too much stock into how many watchers there are as this helps prevent me from becoming too overly disappointed when an item doesn't end up selling.  And many of the items I have ended up selling are ones that I wasn't even expecting to sell.

Message 7 of 14
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Re: Watchers

I agree I like the " buy it now" option. I have seen many sellers lose money on the items they put up for auction. I know they lose because I know where I item come from and what price they are paying for it. If that floats their boat, more power to them. There are millions of buyers on Ebay....those at cheap prices go fast, than sellers that are asking a little more get to sell theirs.

Message 8 of 14
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Re: Watchers

I never really think of watchers as actual buyers, because I usually have tons of items that I'm watching at any given time, but I'm not going to be bidding or buying a single one of them.  I am interested in knowing IF the item sold, and if so.. how much did it go for?  I have an item just like it, and I want a bit more input to decide on my own pricing plan for the item.


 


But, I rarely offer anything on ebay at auction, as I don't deal in much that is truly rare and/or especially unique, and those are the things that do better at auction, in my opinion. 


 


And, when I shop on ebay, I look for auctions first!!!  Because I can wait until the last seconds to bid, and I do love a bargain.  You are never going to discourage snipers from waiting because that is part of their strategy of acquiring bargain buys.  Wait until the last seconds, bid the highest you are willing to spend, and hope you get it for a pittance of what that single bid was.


 


If you want more for your auction items, start your auctions at the lowest amount you are willing to take for your item.  If the buyers think you're overpriced, they won't bid, but at least you won't be giving your stuff away.  And if the bidding goes up from your starting price,  Woo Hoo!

Message 9 of 14
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Re: Watchers

One thing that I wish Ebay would do is to change their listing policy so a seller only had to pay the listing fee ONE TIME instead of EACH TIME they listed the same item.


 


Your running an ebay listing is like running a classified ad in a newspaper. You pay to have the ad run X amount of days. If the ad doesn't end with a sale, the newspaper isn't going to let you run your ad a second time for free...you have to pay again to run it again. You're paying a fee to the entity (newspaper/ebay) to reach the buyer market the entity can reach out to = local market vs. national/worldwide buying markets.


 


And if Ebay would change their policy so that sellers only had to pay to list an item the first time and then pay the final value fees when it actually sells. I think that would help the seller out a lot. ...because each time they have to relist it takes money out of their pocket.


 


ebay exists to make money.


Sellers list on ebay in an attemp to make money.


The more money ebay can get out of the seller's pocket and put into theirs, the happier ebay is.


"It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business".....Michael Corleone

"They don't keep me here 'cause I'm GORGEOUS, they keep me here 'cause I'm SMART"...Judge Judy

Message 10 of 14
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Re: Watchers

 


When I'm going to buy something, I might search broad terms to get a wide selection, then as I see things I like, I "watch" them.   Then once I've browsed through, I may have 20-30 items in my watch list, from which I pick one to buy.  I often don't even think to go back and remove the others from my watch list.


 


As a seller, having several watchers kind of reassures me that my pricing is where it should be. (As opposed to super quick sale may mean I had it priced too low, and no watchers may mean I've listed it too high) but other than that, I don't put much weight on the number of watchers.  Like others said, it doesn't mean they're going to buy.

Buyer Opinion is Not Necessarily a Seller Defect.
Message 11 of 14
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Re: Watchers

I find that watchers rarely buy!!!

Message 12 of 14
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Re: Watchers

Tons of listings you watch??? No WONDER nobody can sell anything on eBay, it's because of folks like you who just like to watch stuff, then when the auction is over, y'all will contact and ask if it could be reposted! What the frick is that all about? What the FRICK??? Hey, how about Netflix? That'd be better to watch! Watchers give sellers a false sense that it's going to sell and usually DOESN'T. You guys make me sick, just saying. I apologize for ranting but watching stuff on eBay and not buying is bad business. 

Message 13 of 14
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Re: Watchers

This was very helpful. I am glad you posted it. It makes me mad also when I have already a low price and they contact me and want to offer 1/3 plus free shipping. Some buyers have no clue how long it takes to list and pack items. To let them have it for 5 dollars. I buy on ebay too. I have never send anybody an offer, I look for the price and shipping I want to buy an item for. Now I am always looking for a bargain, there is nothing wrong with that. Buyers should be considered when they send an offer.Thank you for posting !
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