Ebay watchers

[Paul Barker]

hi all. can anyone explain why an item for sale can get so many just watching. what is the pleasure derived from just watching an item with no intention whatsoever of making a purchase. i would be interested in collectors views on this.

[Brian Fretwell]

Perhaps people who have something similar to sell that want to know how sales are going and trying to find the best time to list it. I can't tink of any other reason.

[Melvin England]

As one of the culprits, so to speak, there are several reasons why I, at least, do it.

See Brian's comment above for reason #1

A buyer is always wanting to buy an item at the lowest possible price. By watching, but not bidding, one is not declaring a vested interest in the item to the general public. One can still hide behind the screen of those watchers who are just nosey, checking the price coz they want to sell similar etc etc.
By bidding early on, one is subconsciously encouraging others to join in.....and so up goes the price of one's "must have" item.
I know that one can immediately place a top price one is prepared to pay for an item, but this also encourages high prices. Let's say, film X is currently £10. I am prepared to pay £50 so I place that figure as my top bid. Bidder #2 comes along, offers £20 and is denied the bid as mine is higher. Bidder #2 then keeps on bidding until he is eventually in the lead, and so I have to put in ANOTHER over the top bid to secure it. It is just creating that macho attitude of "just one more bid" that drives the price up.

Alternatively, it is a known fact that a lot of sellers on Ebay (NOT specifically film sellers, I must stress) organize themselves into groups so that if an outsider bids on an item, one of the group will outbid just to jack the price up. Naughty but it happens.

There is also the monitoring aspect. For example, I am currently watching (monitoring) a top grade super 8 feature. I can keep track of the price so that, come the last few minutes of bidding, if it is still at an attractive price (and, as I write, it IS still at a very attractive price) I will put my bid in the last few seconds. It also lets one know if the price goes beyond ones price boundary.

Then there is "nosey." Sometimes I see a print that, although probably having no intention of buying, I am interested to see what it is selling for these days. However, this can often turn into a last minute bid if the price is THAT attractive!



So they are some of my reasons. I am not expecting everybody to agree with my reasoning or methods, but, with respect, I don't care. They are not breaking any laws, they are merely tactics. It's a case of looking after #1 ! As Bogart once said.... "I'm the only cause I'm interested in." If it is any consolation, being a seller myself, I , too, can get frustrated when I am monitoring my items with several people watching, only to find the item ends up getting re-listed. It works both ways. I just have to put up with it. Mind you, It's great when an item with no watchers suddenly has a mad bidding war towards the end, so there are some good things happening !

[Paul Barker]

Perhaps on an auction item I can understand. but on a buy it now ?. My own thoughts . many are just nosey with nothing better to do. Sad in a way.

[Mark Barton]

I watch an item, to see where the bids are going, and wait until the last minute to start bidding.

[Joe Caruso]

I like to dwell on the probability to buy, also learn what others are after; potential re-sale value, etc...Shorty

[Osi Osgood]

Melvin really hit it on the head. Me? I sometimes just watch as I have the title already, but I want to see how much the winner will pay, and then, I can say to myself, "Sheesh! I'm glad I didn't pay THAT much!!"

[Gary Sayers]

I alway watch any 'buy it now' item that I am interested in, simply because more often than not, the seller will offer me a discount on the price. When someone watches an item, ebay contacts the seller and give them the opportunity to offer a discount (of any size).

I often watch several similar priced iidentical 'buy it now' items and then wait to see who offers the biggest discount before deciding on my purchase. I usually save at least 10% but have saved over 30% on a few items.

It's a useful tip and I'm surprised regular ebay users on here aren't aware of it.

[David Baker]

Ditto....ALL the above for me . But Gary Sayer's reason fits me best . I have gotten A LOT of cool items much cheaper that way .
But as a seller , " watchers " mean absolutely nothing ! Don't think for one second you WILL sell !

[Paul Barker]

43 watchers for a lens on buy it now and no takers. i find that madness.

[Melvin England]

I must point out that my previous contribution to this topic was only relating to watching auction items.

I was about to completely agree with Paul's comments regarding watching "Buy It Now" items. Totally pointless, has been my opinion for a long time.....until reading Gary's remarks about waiting for a seller to send a lower offer. C L E A V E R ! Brilliant tactic Gary ! As a seller, I have sold several B.I.N's by offering a discount but it never dawned on me that they might actually be playing games! Well...as the saying goes... if you can't beat 'em....!

Thanks, Gary, for the heads up.....

..... and David Baker is very astute, too ! Well Done !

[Gary Sayers]

Glad to have helped, Melvin.

[Paul Barker]

Happy to say the lens sold. But I might add. to none of the watchers. So they just wasted their time on this occasion.

[Gary Sayers]

Paul, how do you know it wasn't one of the watchers? The buyer could have been watching and got tired of waiting for a discount (I assume you didn't offer one) and just decided to buy.

[Paul Barker]

The buyer had only just seen it for sale and bought it instantly. He had not been a watcher. No discount was given the buy it now price was paid.