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Watchers on ebay auctions - who the hell are they?!

post #1 of 12
11/12/08 at 4:00pm
Thread Starter 
There's been many occasions when I've put something up for auction on ebay and attract a decent number of watchers. However, at the end of the auction, only a few of them bother bidding (even when the price isn't too high). Sometimes, no-one bids at all (and the starting price is usually quite low). I know there are some people who forget that the auction's ending, and maybe some who are doing some 'research', but they all can't fall into these two groups. So, who are these people? Why watch an auction that they, inevitably, won't bother bidding for?

I'd always thought that the number of watchers was an indication of how much interest an auction has generated but, within the last year or so, this doesn't seem to be the case. Has anyone else experienced the same thing? Can anyone shed any light on such behaviour? Sometimes, it can really annoying especially during the last 24 hours.
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post #2 of 12
11/12/08 at 4:12pm
They're just window bidding....you know, like window shopping.
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post #3 of 12
11/12/08 at 4:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MadScientist View Post

They're just window bidding....you know, like window shopping.

LOL! How sad...
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post #4 of 12
11/12/08 at 4:41pm
I'm one of those ebay watchers who often gets busy or sidetracked and forgets to come back and make a bid in time. I can't answer for the rest of them.
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post #5 of 12
11/12/08 at 5:24pm
I tend to watch a lot of items on eBay and only bid on a few - the 'watching' category is sort of my version of a 'maybe' category. Also, if I feel an item is overpriced I'll watch it through all the relists until the seller drops the price. Sometimes this backfires of course. Then there's the research angle - certain obscure items I just like to learn what the market value is. If I miss the end of an auction I meant to bid on, often I'll contact the seller and just ask them to relist and let me pay their fees - usually they do.

I've sold a few items on eBay (but am mainly a buyer) and I've never found that the # of watchers correlates to the # of bids - which was confusing at first until I looked at my own eBay psychology.
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post #6 of 12
11/12/08 at 5:26pm
I go through stages where I will puts lots of different things on my watch list, just in case I may want to bid. I've learned to watch something a few days before bidding so I won't have bidder's remorse later.

If you have something on the watch list and then delete it, does that show up to the seller? It never occurred to me to delete something that I had lost interest in.
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post #7 of 12
11/12/08 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LedByMyNose View Post

I tend to watch a lot of items on eBay and only bid on a few - the 'watching' category is sort of my version of a 'maybe' category. Also, if I feel an item is overpriced I'll watch it through all the relists until the seller drops the price. Sometimes this backfires of course.

Fair enough but if it's overpriced I really don't see the point (unless you're solely referring to an item's starting price, which has no bids).

Quote:
Originally Posted by LedByMyNose View Post

Then there's the research angle - certain obscure items I just like to learn what the market value is. If I miss the end of an auction I meant to bid on, often I'll contact the seller and just ask them to relist and let me pay their fees - usually they do.

But surely, on most occasions, there's more than one, of a particular item you're watching available, at the same time? One auction can never be a true indication of the true market value of any item.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LedByMyNose View Post

I've sold a few items on eBay (but am mainly a buyer) and I've never found that the # of watchers correlates to the # of bids - which was confusing at first until I looked at my own eBay psychology.

Surely, based on the fact you're mainly a buyer, your watching habits would have changed accordingly? The reason for this thread is that I've sometimes had auctions where over 20 people were watching (low price, with no or a few bids) and rarely do more than five ebayers bother bidding (if any at all). Sometimes I wish sellers had the option to deactivate this tool/function because it's pretty meaningless and indicates nothing whatsoever.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shadesofbleu View Post

If you have something on the watch list and then delete it, does that show up to the seller?

Yes but the watchers remain unknown to the seller.
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post #8 of 12
11/12/08 at 8:45pm
I've noticed the same thing. i've often wondered if perhaps other people selling similar items had been the watchers.
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post #9 of 12
11/12/08 at 8:52pm
I'm often one of the watchers for niche frags but only if the item is located the US.

The item may be more then I want to spend but I still watch to see if it 1) what it sells at so that I have a better idea whether I can really afford the item and 2) if it doesn't sell, I want to see what it relists at.
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post #10 of 12
11/12/08 at 9:19pm
Quote:
Fair enough but if it's overpriced I really don't see the point (unless you're solely referring to an item's starting price, which has no bids).

Obviously if an item has bids it'll sell but often an overpriced item won't sell, so I just keep following it until the seller lowers the bid. If they relist it a few times without lowering the starting bid I usually give up on it.

Quote:
But surely, on most occasions, there's more than one, of a particular item you're watching available, at the same time? One auction can never be a true indication of the true market value of any item.

Not usually. I tend to use eBay to buy things I can't buy here at an actual bricks and mortar store. eBay is for rare vintage glassware items and specific pieces of clothing I've been looking for for ages (I mean specific brand, size, colour, season etc.).

Quote:
Surely, based on the fact you're mainly a buyer, your watching habits would have changed accordingly? The reason for this thread is that I've sometimes had auctions where over 20 people were watching (low price, with no or a few bids) and rarely do more than five ebayers bother bidding (if any at all). Sometimes I wish sellers had the option to deactivate this tool/function because it's pretty meaningless and indicates nothing whatsoever.

I don't understand what you mean - why would my watching habits change? Do you mean because I've sold things and would realize it's irritating to a seller to watch an item and then not bid? I can't say as it irritated me, as such, as a seller, I just found it a bit odd that one item would have 4 watchers and would sell, and another would have 22 and not get 1 bid. As Shadesofbleu said, I often need to watch an item for a few days to be able to decide whether or not it's really worth it. I'm pretty bad for impulse buying and the watchlist helps me be more conscious of buying decisions.

I don't think eBay always had the 'watch' function - or maybe hasn't always allowed sellers to see how many people were watching.

If I come to the London meeting next year, Trebor, maybe we can mudwrestle this out?
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post #11 of 12
11/12/08 at 9:46pm
i use the feature as a bookmark. if something interests me i want to be able to go back to it without having to search for the item all over again. i also keep a mental note of the item's relative value once i am ready to buy in the future.
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post #12 of 12
11/12/08 at 11:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LedByMyNose View Post

If I come to the London meeting next year, Trebor, maybe we can mudwrestle this out?

Well, at least it will do our skin some good...
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