Watching

[flowers4market]

What is the purpose of "watching"?  Can anyone lend credence to this?  It is not like you can't go back and find out what an item sells for, so why the bother?  Over the years I have items that people watch for years.  Literally, what is the point of this?  Do they hope we will eventually GIVE AWAY the item?  From my experience when I put an item up for auction and get a bunch of people "Watching" I get the impression they merely watch to see if someone else bids first and then they might decide to bid when they see others are interested.

[rock.star]

Yes, you can go back and see what watched item sold for.

Some times people put items on their watch list and forgot about it and never take it off.

[eburtonlab]

Adding an item to a Watch List allows users to find an item again quickly without having to go through a search again.

The list of reasons a user might want to find a particular item again is quite long.

Watchers watch for many reasons, some not necessarily related to buying that item at all. Some watchers may be sellers keeping track of competition, or considering selling the same item and wanting more information about the market.

Interested buyers are interested in buying, though not necessarily your particular item or as soon as you would prefer. Some buyers may watch several of the same item prior to deciding which to purchase. Or they may watch an item that they perceive may be useful at some later point. The item might be part of a project that may or may not proceed until all the other parts are available. The watcher may be collecting a set, of which your item may be part. A watcher might watch an item to see if the seller lists other similar items that the watcher might be interested in buying. A watcher might be waiting to see if the seller raises or lowers the price.

Watching just means someone wants to keep track of an item and be able to quickly find it again without having to go through a search again.

What was the model number of the special part or battery that I needed for a particular device? I may not remember the number when I need to order a new one, but the part is already on my Watch List, so I do not have to remember.

[flowers4market]

Thank you for taking time with the lengthy explanation.  I personally think watchers are  frustrating for the seller who has multiple people watch an auction, only to receive no bids, i.e.  having "watchers" gives false hope on the seller side.  

[flowers4market]

Yes, I think that is the most likely explanation, i.e. "they forget and never take it off".

[eburtonlab]

I personally think watchers are frustrating for the seller who has multiple people watch an auction, only to receive no bids, i.e. having "watchers" gives false hope on the seller side.

Any "false hope" is entirely the product of the seller's own personal expectations, and has nothing at all to do with the watchers themselves.

If you stop viewing your watchers as if they owe you something for watching your item, your frustration will end.