eBay

rhapsody423 · ‎11-12-2017

I think sellers should be allowed to see who the ebayers are watching their items for sale. I have multiple items for sale that are being watched. It would be nice to be able to see who is watching the items I have for sale. If a ebayer is watching more than one item I have for sale, I could make that ebayer a deal. But since sellers can't see who is watching their items, I can't make any deals.

mod-designs4u · ‎11-12-2017

Indeed, most "watchers" are other sellers who want to spend the time as a voyeur. I realized this when the amount of "watchers" diminished after I changed my auction to a 30 day But-It-Now fixed price.

thatsallfolks · ‎11-12-2017

@chipper01work wrote:
@chrysylys wrote:
@rhapsody423 wrote:
If a ebayer is watching more than one item I have for sale, I could make that ebayer a deal. But since sellers can't see who is watching their items, I can't make any deals.
And that is EXACTLY why the system was changed years ago to hide watcher IDs. Sellers were spamming watchers.

Not everyone who is watching is interested in buying. Many are collectors or other sellers trying to guage selling prices and values.

I don't ever remember being able to see a watchers ID-- I remember being able to see a bidders ID in the bid history on any auction--but never watchers. Perhaps I have not had enough caffeine today, though.

We’ve never been able to see who the watchers are.

mod-designs4u · ‎11-12-2017

If a seller identifies the watchers and pitches an offer to one it's done through Ebay's email server. How could a seller get away with avoiding fees since it's in Ebay's system? I've had buyers email me with offers and I simply relist the item at the negogiated price.

castlemagicmemories · ‎11-12-2017

That is what Ebay wants to avoid, you making buyers deals.

They are afraid as to where those deals may occur.

castlemagicmemories · ‎11-12-2017

@cinjamanbooks wrote:
I would not want people to see that I was a watcher on their item. I watch items for a variety of reasons, none of which are to receive sales pitches from those sellers.

And this is why they don't let you know who is watching. It is against policy to contact a buyer if they have not requested it. It violates the Spam policy.

You might end up driving away more sales than you would get.

d-k_treasures · ‎11-12-2017

@chrysylys wrote:
@chipper01work wrote:
I don't ever remember being able to see a watchers ID-- I remember being able to see a bidders ID in the bid history on any auction--but never watchers. Perhaps I have not had enough caffeine today, though.
You show "Member since: Jan-16-99 in United States", so I can't say as I remember exactly when, but I know it was there. Way back when.

Nope - watchers were never identified. Only the bidders were, and they were the ones who got spammed by sellers of similar items.

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

d-k_treasures · ‎11-12-2017

@mod-designs4u wrote:
If a seller identifies the watchers and pitches an offer to one it's done through Ebay's email server. How could a seller get away with avoiding fees since it's in Ebay's system? I've had buyers email me with offers and I simply relist the item at the negogiated price.

What if an item being watched is but one of many similar types of items the seller is selling - like a group of antique toys?

They could sell one to the buyer, get their payment, and go from there to make a deal off-ebay for a few more of what the buyer wants.

Doesn't anyone remember the short-lived try by ebay to get members to give ebay access to their registered ebay/paypal email addresses?

_____________________________
"Nothing is obvious to the oblivious"

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎11-12-2017

Nobody knows who "most" watchers are but people make a lot of assumptions. There has never been a study as far as I know and I've been here since 1999.

watchrs have NEVER been identified. There was a snippet sold by a user called bacon buttie back a bunch of years ago but ebay shut him down. It was a gross invasion of privacy.

i watch 2-300 items at a time and I do NOT want sellers contacting me with offers EVER.

the watchlist was created for the benefit of buyers, not for the sellers to spam and make money. Leave it alone.

kate_lily · ‎11-12-2017

@rhapsody423

I understand what you are saying. I have 10 watchers on x-item and 6 watchers on y-item but then it ends up not sellng. I always wondered how so many people could watch but not a single person buy.

Thank you all who responded, including @mistwomandancing. You all have very valid points, and have changed my mindset on this matter.

I have been told that the more people watching an item, the higher it appears in the search result. If this is true, then other sellers watching my item is kind of giving my item a boost.

In a world where you can be anything, be kind.

arisdisc · ‎11-12-2017

Since we're discussing 'watchers', (and btw, I've been selling here since '99 and we've never been able to see 'who' is watching), I liked it better when buyers could NOT see how many watchers an item has. (I think the visibility started a handful of years ago).
Since I'm a seller and a senior I really don't 'buy' a lot of thing here in Ebay anymore. But when I 'am' interested in something and I take a look and see no watchers, I automatically thing 'huh, maybe it isn't such a good deal after all' and then move on.
I realize that could go both ways, but I always liked it better when only 'we' the sellers could see if anyone was 'watching' it.

flyinhawaiiangirl · ‎11-12-2017

@rhapsody423

As someone mentioned above, I constantly receive emails from Ebay about items on my watch list and/or items I just clicked on to get a closer look. It has been helpful in the past to snag the item discounted before anyone of the other 12 watchers did, and it's been annoying, especially on the items I just clicked on.

But with that being said, how about you lower your price by a penny, or ten cents, or something small like that which will shoot off a bunch of emails to your watchers without you doing a thing. You may have had to agree to receiving these along the way, but since I have found it helpful in the past, I don't get upset by the unhelpful ones.

Just an idea

flyinhawaiiangirl · ‎11-12-2017

Also, my watch list is usually reserved for auction items, or items I want to see how much they sell for. BIN or BO items I actually plan to purchase are filed neatly away in my folders which are viewed daily for any drop in prices, so you would never know I'm interested in purchasing your item anyway unless it was an auction because it's not on my watch list. It's in my "Shoes" file.

the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth · ‎11-13-2017

It is even worse IMHO that they let sellers know how many people are watching. It tends to make some sellers think that watchlists are for their benefit and not the benefit of buyers. They want to find a way to monetize the watchers without ever considering what it might mean for the watchers.

Like I have been saying a lot lately. Some ideas sound pretty great until you think about what they will mean if a lot of people did it. Buyers would be even more inundated by unwanted SPAM than they are now. Seriously I have 300 items on my watchlist right now. Do I want 300 strangers sending me emails for no good reason?