@ricarmic wrote:
I agree with the folks here, although I also believe that sometimes (at least in my world) folks watching eventually translates to a higher purchase rate. Generally speaking the more watchers an item has the sooner it sells.
I have also noticed that when a smaller item with watchers sells, the next larger (or similar) item generally sells quickly - was it the watcher that decided to act because someone got the one they were watching?
Also note that if you relist the sold item, the watchers get a notification which also seems to sometimes create the secondary sale because now they know the missed it last time because they didn't act fast enough.
These are all very cogent observations, and I agree with them all. The third comment is especially important to consider, since many sellers claim they get better results by using "Sell Similar" to relist an item in order to make it appear like a new listing on eBay. I've always felt that if an item had several watchers, I would rather not lose them completely by starting over from 0 with Sell Similar. My own experience has been that the higher the number of watchers, and the shorter the time period in which they accumulate, the higher the likelihood of a fairly quick sale.
However, I also get the impression that there is considerably less money out there now for discretionary purchasing than was the case even 5 years ago. When such a purchase is made now, buyers are looking for the absolutely best deal they can get at the lowest possible price. This has put pressure on a lot of us sellers.
My theory is that 8 or 10 years ago, when baby boomers were in their late 40's or early 50's and at the height of their earning power, there were far more people with "mad money" to spend, and avid collectors of every sort in the central stratum of the economic ladder than is the case now. Much of that demographic is now easing into retirement, and not only is money now looking like quite a different proposition, but needs and tastes have changed. The generation immediately following the boomers is still in the throes of raising and educating kids, a much more expensive experience than it was 20 or 30 years ago. And as we know, wages have not kept up with costs.
So I think these factors are also currently playing into why watchers don't become buyers. Personally I feel a lot of watchers really want to buy, and very much like the item(s) they're watching, but are just hoping they'll come up with the cash -- most are probably never able to do so. The days of having buyers competing at auction for a desirable item are over (at least in my categories). The good news in that respect is that for buyers who do have the cash, it's open picking.
I'm not sure that I agree that being allowed to contact watchers, even once, would be a good thing, as mentioned by 'treasurehunter'. I agree that it might entice some "fence sitters" to finally make a decision, and certainly there are many sellers who would treat their prospective buyers with respect, not pester or browbeat them. However I think the potential for abuse of the privilege would also be pretty high. Also, as a buyer I don't think I'd want every seller on my watched item list to be contacting me directly. As a seller, I'd be concerned that allowing contact would eventually stop buyers from watching items at all.
On the other hand, I was glad when eBay began to display the number of watchers on an item (once it got above a certain level). This, I believe, can act as a bit of a gentle push to someone who was otherwise waiting for the right moment to decide to purchase, or who thought the item would be sitting unsold forever. Clearly eBay realized there was an opportunity there to create incentive for buyers to follow through without having to divulge who they actually were.
Lastly, on this subject I wanted to add that interestingly the same type of items that garnered large numbers of watchers for me (and quicker sales) several years ago are still the same types. The only difference is that whereas 5 years ago such items would attract 30 to 50 watchers and sell within a week or two, often even within days, now they attract 10 or 12 watchers and take several weeks to sell. The interest is obviously still there, but the numbers of buyers are much lower, and the ability (or desire) to actually pay the money to get the item, has drastically waned.
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