eBay

pinetreecottage · ‎04-08-2018

This is crazy. I have an auction item that had 11 watchers. So great joy, BUT as soon as I had the first bid, the watchers on the site went away, they only appear on my landing page. This is the time potential buyers should see others are interested. After the bid yesterday, there were no more views. I'm hoping some of those who's watching come back to bid. I'd really like to know, what the purpose is of watchers, if not to encourage buying. Also why some are in red, right in your face, others just barely visible, if you look hard enough.

Sorry folks, this is my last rant for a while. Ragged nerves and high blood pressure is not worth it. lol

momcqueen · ‎04-08-2018

I’m sorry, I don’t understand. The watchers themselves ghosted, like Unwatched the item? Or eBay ceased display of it.

pinetreecottage · ‎04-08-2018

Yes, there are now 9 watchers (down from 11) showing on my landing page, not on the item, you as a viewer would see. But as the item ends tonight, some have probably (unwatched) . It must be ebay deciding nobody needs to know if anyone is watching except the seller. There's no point in the seller sees watchers, if nobody else can. BTW it's a Hudson's Bay blanket

momcqueen · ‎04-08-2018

Hmm, yes. That seems counterintuitive. It might be the one Watcher unwatched it after bidding, I do that sometimes. But it seems like other bidders would want to know who’s watching what? Or...? Too many watchers on an auction reduces interest from other bitters? That seems unlikely. Maybe it’s a glitch.

p.s. Great blanket!

pinetreecottage · ‎04-08-2018

Just got a message from another member, he put a watch on it, so now there are 10 watchers showing on the listing on .com., but not on .ca.

The plot thickens.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎04-08-2018

In my checking (On a PC) this item seems to display differently between dot ca and dot com

Dot Ca displays currently:

Current bid:

C $45.00

[ 1 bid ]

Place bid

Enter C $46.00 or more

Add to list

Add to collection

100% positive feedback

**********************************

Dot com displays:

Current bid:

C $45.00

Approximately US $35.22

[ 1 bid ]

Place bid

Enter C $46.00 or more

Add to list

Add to collection

100% positive feedback

10 watchers

Why the difference? And when I check my items that should have watchers on dot com, nothing displays.

-CM

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎04-08-2018

Just attempted screen shots for that item of the difference but it will not display.

Dot ca shows no watchers.

Dot com shows 10 watchers

When I check my listings that should have watchers, nothing displays on dot com whatsoever.

-CM

pjcdn2005 · ‎04-08-2018

I don't see watchers on that listing on either site. I added it to my watch list to see if that made a difference but it didn't. So don't get too excited at the extra watcher as it's just me.

I have a couple of items with more than 20 watchers but that doesn't show up on those listings at all. I do see a few with a smaller amount of watchers that do show up so I don't know if there is any rhyme or reason to the system.

I really don't have an opinion on whether watchers showing up make a difference in sales. The first few years I sold here a seller could chose to show the number of watchers but the buyer had to open the listing to see it and I don't think it was all that noticeable so I've never paid too much attention to it.

pinetreecottage · ‎04-08-2018

I just checked the .com listing. Watchers show on the actual listing, to those who want to read the description, but not in the category with all the rest. Small faint grey text, so it's easy to miss, if you're not looking for it.

Those listings showing watchers in red in the category, must use a different format, there also seem to be an option to show how many are left when selling multiples.

lotzofuniquegoodies · ‎04-08-2018

It appears the watcher feature is not working like it used or is supposed to and across the different sites. I would think more watchers directly translate as interest. Those watchers could equal a bidding war for an auction item and an advanced purchase for BIN items based on total number of watchers for an item if someone is desperately looking for that particular item. And at your discretion you could lower an items price to possibly cause a purchase.

-CM