eBay

euro-luxe · ‎04-20-2020

Hi all, I just noticed a change today. Until yesterday, people were able to see the number of watchers on my listings.

I attached a picture for example of what I see today. Look at the yellow box, the number of watchers used to show there in that space. There used to be 27 watchers for this suit but, now the number is gone. This morning when I looked at all my listings, the watchers were all gone on all listings.

This happened in the past. My watchers suddenly disappeared & then a few weeks later they came back. I thought it was because Ebay was beta testing info & conducting tests with sellers. Well, now my watchers are gone again & I really need them to show up on my listings again.

This is frustrating, because I need the watchers to show. Buyers who purchase luxury items tend to want the "most wanted" items. There is more of a sense of urgency to pull the trigger & send an offer if many people are watching the item. I know this from experience talking to repeat buyers in Ebay messages over the last 18 years.

I spent time looking at my fellow luxury sellers on Ebay today, who sell a lot of Chanel items like me. You can see the watchers on all their listings. Why did Ebay hide the number of watchers on my listings but, other Chanel sellers have theirs listed?

I hope Ebay reads these messages. I really need someone to look at my account & have the IT tech support show the number of watchers again.

If any one of you gurus on this site has any info, please let me know. Thank you : )

euro-luxe · ‎04-20-2020

Here is what I see today. It says "shipped from the United States" in the place where the watchers used to be.

eburtonlab · ‎04-20-2020

@euro-luxe

I see the same thing when I view your listing: "Ships from United States".

Interestingly, when looking at your list of items for sale, the number of watchers for that item is shown:

eburtonlab · ‎04-20-2020

Here is a previous recent thread that may have some insight into how the number of watchers feature works, and why it may not always appear:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Watch-option-is-gone/m-p/30296383#M1492063

euro-luxe · ‎04-20-2020

@eburtonlab Thank you for responding. I appreciate it. I noticed the watchers is gone when I view my listings on both my desktop computer & cell phone.

I wish they were still visible on the actual listings. In my particular niche of luxury sales, it really helps & makes a difference.

So many buyers I have chatted with in messages over the years would tell me, they decided to send an offer & pull the trigger when they saw more watchers watching. They felt a sense of urgency & didn't want to miss out on the item.

What bothers me is, out of all the regular Chanel sellers on Ebay, I am the only one whose watchers are being hidden. I looked at listings from about 10 other sellers in my area & their watchers show on their listings.

Ebay is hiding my watchers un-purpose, probably to test data. I just pre-registered for Managed Payments a couple weeks ago & they are in the process of migrating my account. I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

It's bad enough that business is slow. It's just cruel to hide the watchers & make things worse for me.

eburtonlab · ‎04-20-2020

I suspect that someone has decided that "ships from United States" is much more likely to drive sales lately than the number of watchers.

I also notice that I am able to see the number of watchers for many of the items when viewing your store page. And the number of watchers also appears for items that I have saved on my Watch List -- presumably if that number is above some threshold level; there is no notice for 0 or 1 watcher. The smallest number I have seen lately appears to be three watchers.

euro-luxe · ‎04-20-2020

Spoiler

@eburtonlab Very helpful info thank you. Do you see the number of watchers on an actual desktop computer or from the Ebay app or from going to www.ebay.com from your cell?

Honestly though, shipping from the United States doesn't make a difference for the items I sell. It would make more of an impact if, I was selling popular, easy to find, less expensive widgets.

People would rather buy those widgets from US sellers then from international sellers. However, in my case, luxury items are more wanted or more highly coveted, when there is more hype about an item. I understand the classic female luxury buyer very well & they want something more when they see a lot of people watching a particular rare item.

A buyer will also send an offer quicker when they see the watcher number climb on the listing. I have had actual conversations with different repeat customers & random buyers over the years.

There is also major competition among women luxury collectors I have noticed. They try to pick something up faster when they see others are interested in it. They tend to think that item is super fashionable & the "it" thing when a lot of watchers are showing.

Oh.. Forgive the long rant & lengthy dissertation. I am just frustrated, because I see the watchers are listed on other Chanel sellers listings but, they are now hiding mine.

eburtonlab · ‎04-20-2020

I see the number of watchers shown in your "items for sale" list or store when using a desktop (or mobile browser in desktop mode). I also see the numbers if I add the item to my Watch List on the Watch List or Summary page when using a desktop (or mobile browser in desktop mode).

I do not see the number of watchers when using the app or a mobile browser in mobile site mode.

When using a desktop browser to view your item page, I do see a note at the top indicating that you have a new watcher in the last hour, however.