Items in custom lists are not marked as being watched, which does not sound logical

[maksym_kozub]

I often watch quite a number of different items, and I organize some of them into custom lists, which is a very convenient feature.  At the same time, I keep some items in the main watchlist, if their number is so small that it does not make sense to make a separate custom list for them. To avoid cluttering my main watchlist, I delete from it those items that go into custom lists, which seems quite logical. I will provide an example. Suppose I have the following lists: 

"Fujitsu U729" list, with 10 laptops in it;

"Fujitsu U728" list, with 8 laptops in it;

"SDR" list, with 11 SDR receivers, antennas etc. in it;

main Watchlist, with 1 DVD and 1 desktop PC in it.

However, when I visit eBay and open the page of an item that is e.g. in my "Fujitsu U729" list, the item is not marked as "Watching", and I may accidentally add it to my watchlist again, just to realize a bit later that I already have this item in my custom ("Fujitsu U729") list.

It would be nice to have a mechanism on eBay whereby items added to custom lists and removed from the main watchlist would still be marked as watched.

[mudshark61369]

@maksym_kozub,

Below is a screen shot of what I see at the top of my watch list, on my computer, not on the app. Removing an item from the main Watch list also removes it from a custom list.  But removing an item from the custom list does not remove it from your main watch list.  Items have to be in your main watch list in order to be sorted into a custom list. Their reasoning is probably to prevent accidental removal of an item you only intended to be removed from a custom list,  from your Main List as well.

This is what I see at the top of items that are saved  in both my main watch list and a custom list.  Items That I save using the Add To Watch List button are automatically added to the Custom List. 

You may be seeing something different if you use a phone or tablet and the app for shopping on ebay.  Because you are located in Ukraine and your home site may be one of the European ones, the page views may be different, from what we see here on the U.S. based site (ebay.com)

If you use a computer and just above the main search box and button you see to the right;

[  Watch list v    My eBay v ] and you click on the Watch list,  the page view is different from what you see if you click on the My ebay down arrow and open your watch list from the menu that appears.

[maksym_kozub]

@mudshark61369, thank you for your reply.

First of all, about local sites. I use different eBay sites at different times, but here I was talking precisely about ebay.com. That said, right now I have checked ebay.de and ebay.fr, and there is absolutely no difference in terms of how they handle those lists, other that different languages.

Second, you wrote "Items That I save using the Add To Watch List button are automatically added to the Custom List". I am wondering whether you might mean categories when mentioning custom lists.  In your screenshots, categories are those "Action Figures & Accessories", " Diecast & Toy Vehicles", etc., The matter is, these are _not_ custom lists. In fact, you have not included any screenshots with a custom list. A custom list is a list that you create and name on your own. For example, I have created two custom lists now. One is Test, the other is Test_2. I have added one item to both custom lists. After adding it to those, I have deleted it from my main Watchlist, and the item is _not_ deleted from any of the two custom lists, it remains in both of them.

I am not aware of any method to add an item to a _custom_ list (not to a category under the main watchlist!) automatically. 

[woodland_gnome]

The Listing Page on the full website has the phrase "Saved in your [name you gave to the custom list]" at top left, where the "Saved in your Watchlist" would be if that's where you have it.

An item can be added directly to a custom list by clicking the down arrow "v" to the right of the Add to Watchlist button.

[maksym_kozub]

@woodland_gnome, thank you, but there seems to be something strange. I would like to repeat that I am using the full website, not a tablet version, not a smartphone app, etc. etc. Please see the screenshot below: there is no down arrow to the right of the Add to Watchlist button (the one under the Add to Cart button), nor to the right of the Add to Watchlist link in the top right corner (next to the "Share" link).

Any clarifications much appreciated.

[mudshark61369]

@maksym_kozub,

I haven't visited any of the European sites except for the U.K. one in many years, before there were custom lists available, so I didn't know if there were any differences in the displays/functions of the watch list.  I did know the U.K. site exactly mirrors the U.S. site. in terms of those things. 

I do have several non-category named custom lists, but I chose those for convenience sake. Taking a screen shot of my complete set of custom lists would also give out info I'd rather not be made public. I should have chosen an item to take a screen shot of that is in 4 of my lists.

My customized list titles mostly contain at least one category word in them so that items I want added to them, are done so automatically.  One list I have without a category is titled Slot Car.   All that is needed for an item to be added to that list automatically, is those words in an item title.  However, because I do have a toys and hobbies list it also those items show up in it as well because of the category they are listed in.  Again I prefer that items that I watch, be automatically added to the other lists.

  You are right that none of my lists are as generically named as your two are. Maybe because you have to manually add items to those lists, that is why when you remove them from the Watch list it remains in the custom list. It might also be the reason why the listings do not display a watched or watchers message. 

Maybe I will create a generic custom list entitled "Must Have"  just to see what happens.

I do not worry too much about how many items are in my main watch list, because at least once a week I go to the last page(s) and remove all of the ended items. As a matter of fact I just removed over 40 items last night. 

Ukrayina naviki 

[maksym_kozub]

@mudshark61369, thank you for your detailed reply. Special thanks for your last phrase, which matters a lot to me. I joined the ranks voluntarily in July 2014 to defend my country, was seriously wounded near Luhansk in August 2014, got back to the frontline in 2015 after recovery, and voluntarily joined the army again in May 2022, after the full-scale Russian invasion, so I have been in the army for a year and four months by now.

Back to the topic, I have just found another discussion that explains a lot, namely, Has anybody else about had it with eBay? - The eBay Community. It seems that eBay has messed things up. One of the commenters there, @eburtonlab, has different eBay accounts, and explains (with screenshots) that the Add to Watchlist button is quite different between those two. One of the two accounts has that down arrow for custom list selection to the right of the button, while the other account does not have it.

Sigh...

[maksym_kozub]

@mudshark61369, now, regarding "I do not worry too much about how many items are in my main watch list", my situation seems to be a bit different from yours. I watch some items for quite a long time (e.g. some relatively rare electronic items where I expect the price to go down at some point, etc.). As I said, my main Watchlist is basically sort of a "custom list" for "everything else", i.e. items that do not fall under any of my real custom lists :). With this "architecture" of my list system, I would prefer for my  custom lists the same behaviour as for my main list, i.e. items to be marked as watched irrespective of whether they are in the main Watchlist or any of my custom lists, etc. 

[mudshark61369]

@maksym_kozub,

There are a lot of things people would like to have ebay make changes to, but unless enough people beg for them, they will just plod along as they are now.  Unfortunately, when they do make changes, they often cause more problems than solutions. So be careful of what you wish for when asking for "improvements" to the site.

Bud' laska