Why? Watcher count removed

[dazed_n_confuzed]

Why has eBay removed the ability to see the watcher count on other sellers items?

this was a huge help for me to determine whether or not to purchase items to resell if the sold/completed listings didn’t give me decent results. It also was a good tool to determine starting price.

i was hoping this was a glitch but it seems it is not.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

The watchcount was designed for buyers and it was years before it was visible to the seller then years again until it was displayed on the listings.

ebay runs tests on everything and they must have realized displaying it discouraged sales. Perhaps because buyers stopped using their watchlists because they didn’t like being spied on. It could be that some buyers were discouraged when the count was low, wondering what was wrong with the item. Or when the count was high on a BIN and nobody was buying.

As a buyer I’m more likely to bid on low watcher items then high. Fortunately the count still shows up for higher counts, I think when it hits 5.

[dazed_n_confuzed]

I also see this detracting from buyers. I also buy on eBay and if I saw an item had 0 watchers, I found the seller is more apt to take a lower offer on the item, especially if has been out there for a while.

as a seller, this sure holds true for me. No watchers on an item that is sitting there for months and I get an offer for less— heck ya ill take it and move on! 

as far as privacy - all the item was showing was the # of watchers. It wasn’t giving any info as to who was watching. Seems like there were many advantages for both buyer and seller.