Am I a dick?

[Opethian]

if you are worried about selling games for too cheap on ebay you are doing it wrong...

[bob]

if you are worried about selling games for too cheap on ebay you are doing it wrong...

Nope, I don't sell games on eBay, just collect.  I sell some random stuff I come across.  I'm not looking to break the bank on eBay.  I'm just curious as to what the deal is with hiding the number of watchers.  I just didn't understand if there is a benefit to knowing how many people are watching an item.

[ProfessorProfessorson]

Off and on I have this sort of thing happen on auctions of mine. They will watch and wait until after it is over, hoping no one will bid, then contact me to try offer me a low ball price hoping that I will be desperate enough to accept it instead of simply re-listing again or selling outside of ebay, like on CL or something. They send messages like 2 mins after the auction has ended flat out telling me they did not agree with my low bid price, but asking if I would accept so and so amount. Usually they are resellers. The last guy who did this was a dvd reseller going by the name foxhound852. I told him instead of relisting my stuff I was selling it to a friend, that if he wanted it he should have bid, "you snooze, you lose".

The guy wanted to persistently message me after this anyway so I ended up reporting him to ebay for pestering me about trying to have a transaction outside of ebay. I had my fun with him too and added him to my blocked bidder list. It also happens that the guy had feedback from a recent seller that he tried to extort money off of on an already awesome 67 DVD lot he won for 79 bucks shipped. These people usually try to get things as low as possible for their resell business. They will make up complaints to try to get money back off you or free shit all the time that they will say arrived damaged and crap, but suddenly have listed for sale in the exact condition you sold it in.

[Vecanti]

You'd have to post a photo...

[Jibbajaba]

Ok, another scenario...
eBay, obviously doesn't show how many "watchers" an item has.
Why?
If I update my listing periodically to reflect the number of watchers, am I a dick?

What would be the point of doing that?  Whoever said it was right.  You just have to start your stuff at 99 cents and let the chips fall where they may.  Sometimes you'll get hosed, but you'll do well overall.  Just let your auctions run their course and don't even look at them on the last day.

Chris

[ProfessorProfessorson]

You'd have to post a photo...

?

If your referring to them falsely claiming damage, they don't push it far enough to do a claim or dispute. Its one of those things where they drop people messages claiming the such, asking for a partial refund, and they usually drop the complaints and say all is well when you ask for pics and tell them to save the packing etc and get the stuff ready to go back to USPS, so you can contact USPS and start a claim, which is what I do since everything I ship, I insure against damage.

[bob]

What would be the point of doing that?

Chris

I think you are misunderstanding my question. Because you are asking the same thing...WHAT IS THE POINT?  eBay obviously hides it on purpose within the auction, but again, is there a benefit either way (for buyer or seller) to show it?  If you (or anyone) knew how many watchers an item had, would it influence your bidding?  The "am I a dick" comment is just getting at, if I did post it, would potential buyers be miffed for some reason?  This all came from a question somebody sent me about an item I had listed and they asked me how many watchers it had. I thought about attaching the question to my listing with an answer, but wasn't sure if it was a good idea.

[Arkhan]

Its not really a dick move, its just kinda dumb.   One of those watchers might be watching it in case they lose a current auction they bid on, and want to then come buy your thingy.


The watch list is like a temporary bookmark system for eBay, really.

I'd stop doing it if I were you!

[Necromancer]

I'm just curious as to what the deal is with hiding the number of watchers.  I just didn't understand if there is a benefit to knowing how many people are watching an item.

I see no benefit to knowing (or hiding) the number of watchers.  The only thing that matters to me is the price, not how many people might want to bid on it at some point.

[Jibbajaba]

I agree.  Not a dick move, but pointless.  The bottom line is that you are being both paranoid and impatient, and not letting your auctions go to completion.  I ALWAYS use esnipe when bidding on eBay goods, so my bid doesn't get placed until 6 seconds before zero-hour.  I also add the items to my watch list.  By your method of auction-monitoring, that makes me a non-bidder, which is obviously false.

Chris

[SuperPlay]

When I see people list items and then remove them because they have no bids (especially close to the end of the auction). and then they re-list them a few days later it make me suspect Shill Bidding!

[Bernie]

Its not really a dick move, its just kinda dumb.   One of those watchers might be watching it in case they lose a current auction they bid on, and want to then come buy your thingy.


The watch list is like a temporary bookmark system for eBay, really.

I'd stop doing it if I were you!

This is why I watch items.    I use it as a bookmark system as well.

[csgx1]

www.watcheditem.com

Ebay probably doesn't show the number of watcher because it's not useful information to a bidder.  The site above supposedly shows how many people are watching specific auctions.  Not sure how accurate it is. I used the site once before for a poorly listed auction only because I was curious if anyone was watching it. 

Knowing how many people are watching an auction doesn't give any advantages. 

Also, I use a bid snipping service that keeps track of what I'm potentially bidding on.  I only use the ebay "watch" feature for auctions that I'm NOT planning on bidding.  

[esteban]

Q: Am I a dick?
A: Yes.

[esteban]

j/k!