Watchers

Why does eBay allow you to see how many watchers are "watching" your item. It doesn't seem to serve a purpose, especially when I see one or two watchers only to have the listing end with no bids.

 

Why do people watch if they have no intention of bidding? It's frustrating. I would rather not see who is "watching." Is there any way to turn it off?

 

Thank you.

Message 1 of 18
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17 REPLIES 17

Watchers

Simply don't look at it ! 😉

 

My record number of watchers was about 600! And still no sale! 😉

Message 2 of 18
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Watchers

how many time have you been on a car lot of walked past a store and stopped and window shopped thinking wow thats nie I would love that .... Same applies here ...

 

Wacthers are most of the time not buyers they are competitors or I wish I had the money people....

Message 3 of 18
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Watchers

It gets me excited like waving a sausage in front of a dog...then utter disappointment when my listing ends. Man Frustrated

Message 4 of 18
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Watchers

x3metal
Community Member

I like watchers. Tells you if there's interest and other things.

 

I once had an item, 3 identical ones. Within 20 minutes of listing, I had 3 watchers and 1 sold.

That got me to think. I searched for my item and the only one around, was 4 times my asking cost and the title made me realise it was vintage. So I edited my listing and doubled my price. Previous buyer got a great deal.

Message 5 of 18
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Watchers

Ya well I have had the same 30 items in my watch list for over a year so I hope those sellers aren't getting excited...

 

Most of your bids are not from watchers although for sure some would have to be at one time or another but I can not even tell you the last time I looked at watchers .. .

 

Right now I have 30 some people watching the same item and there has been an average of 30 watchers for over a year and I have sold one in over a year ...

 

Listing Views would be a more accurate thing to go by then Watchers

Message 6 of 18
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Watchers

Smiley Sad That's exactly how I feel.

Message 7 of 18
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Watchers

Watchers don't generally buy.

 

Watchers do exactly what I do.

 

I watch items that I will be listing to see what other sellers sell them for and then I get a good idea of how much to price my items for.

__________________________________________________________

Old enough to know better. Young enough to do it again. Crazy enough to try
Message 8 of 18
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Watchers


@rosscd57 wrote:

Watchers don't generally buy.

Watchers do exactly what I do.

I watch items that I will be listing to see what other sellers sell them for and then I get a good idea of how much to price my items for.


I find watchers are a very useful benchmark of item interest when considered together with the length of time an item takes to accumulate those watchers. 

 

For example, if I list an item and it gets 15 watchers in 2 days, I'm fairly certain it will sell quickly at a good price, and such items usually do.  If it sits and gathers 15 watchers over a few weeks, well, I know it may not be a good idea to list that sort of item again. 

 

Although some of my watchers may be competitors (I don't have a large number of those anyway), most are "window-shoppers" or wishful buyers, but there seems to be a threshold where a lot of watchers really quickly means a lot of intense interest.  And don't forget that visitors to a listing will see how many watchers there are, which can help to translate into a sale if you have a "hot" item.

 

To the OP: Try to use your "watcher" score in these ways, and you'll find it helpful instead of a tease!

 

 

Message 9 of 18
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Watchers

I someone puts a watch on a listing....

 

They will receive an email when the status of the listing changes

 

--- the listing ends

 

---listing gets revised... watchers wait for a reduction in the price 

 

or

 

If it's relisted watcher will be notified.....

 

You can also get alerts about items you're interested in

 

Competitors might be watchers.......  there are others looking to see a lower price without asking for a lower price....  more like a wait and see 

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/buy/watching-items.html

Message 10 of 18
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Watchers

Set up ... Getting alerts about an item...

 

A way to keep track of items without being on eBay

 

 

http://pages.ebay.ca/help/account/text-wireless.html

Message 11 of 18
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Watchers

If your wonder what kind of traffic on interest your listing is bringing in why new go by your Views...

 

Cumos brings up a USeful reason to watch but most people talking about seeing buyers interest I think would be better done by listing view counter...

 

2 Watchers 2 view not much interest

2 watched 150 views Lots of interest ...

 

Just my opinion thugh I could for sure be just making this up in my head but It makes sense to me ..

Message 12 of 18
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Watchers

I have both buying and selling accounts. I will frequently watch with both for different reasons. And I would agree with the above statement, neither are for the purpose of buying. Mostly for price checks, price drops, product info, reference material, etc...

Message 13 of 18
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Watchers

ontlady
Community Member

Exactly.  I saw a lot of listings in cosmetics even as high as 400 and item is still available and just sitting there. No bidders.  Sellers should not watch other sellers' listings. Ebay should hide this feature.  Just like years ago.  Buyers tend to bid and not discouraged. 

Message 14 of 18
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Watchers

When you make your listing, do you enable the Visitor Counter? That can be more interesting, if no useful than the Watchers.

 

I have an item that I have been watching for several years. One of these days, I will have both a reason and the money to buy it. Real Soon Now.

Message 15 of 18
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Watchers

I make a point of looking at Views/Watchers often.  I find it serves a useful purpose.

 

While I realize that some of the watchers are competitors and others are watching to see if the price goes down on re-listing, while others may have selected "Watch this item" with no serious intent, I still look at these figures.

 

If I see 50 Views and not 1 Watcher, it tells me that there is no interest at all in this item or no interest at that price.  I'll adjust the title, the description and/or the price and see if that garners any interest.

 

If I see a few Views only, but almost the same number of watchers, it tells me that this is a desirable item and will likely sell or may sell after only 1 or 2 re-lists.

 

If something's been for sale for a quite a while with very few Views, then it tells me that this is something that people simply are not interested in and are not searching for.

 

And, finally, if a Watcher likes that particular item, they may look to see what else you're selling.

 

I would suggest to amethyst that, rather than becoming hopeful and then frustrated, you should view this as a useful selling tip -- IMHO of course. Smiley Happy

Message 16 of 18
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Watchers

I agree with JT. Some of my stuff I know is popular vs other stuff, and the popular stuff always gathers watchers faster.

As well, the higher/quicker the number of watchers, generally the faster it sells, so some must be watching with the intention of buying.

In the last while, I've been relisting items with the intent of catching the interest of the watchers that were watching, because they get notification that it was relisted. That seems to be working as well.

All of the above pertains to my BIN "stamp world" so as always things might be different in other categories or with auctions, but I find higher watcher numbers very positive in my experience.
Message 17 of 18
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Watchers

Watchers are a good selling tool, I always relist items with watchers but  often lower price a bit to get buyers to bid....If item is quallity may even increase price.....

 

Message 18 of 18
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