eBay 'watch' on BIN

[rox0r]

This may be a fairly blonde question when I sit and think about it, but why when I have items for sale on eBay that are a Buy It Now format only do people mark them with a 'watch'?

Generally speaking you use a 'watch' to see how an auction is going so that you can gauge whether it's worth slipping a bid in near the end. But a fixed price listing?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This may be a fairly blonde question when I sit and think about it, but why when I have items for sale on eBay that are a Buy It Now format only do people mark them with a 'watch'?

Generally speaking you use a 'watch' to see how an auction is going so that you can gauge whether it's worth slipping a bid in near the end. But a fixed price listing?

It could be:
1.)They are also bidding on a similar item,so if they don't win it they might buy yours
2.)They might be interested to see how much your item goes for,as they have a similar item to sell also

[Agent]

Easy bookmarking to compare prices. Also useful to see if an item has sold quickly if you have the cash in a few days or so, but not right now.

[idimmu]

i do it whilst i decide if its exactly what i want at the price, or if i see it on my phone but want a better look when i'm home.

[lostp]

I do this all the time, using it as a 'wish list' kind of thing

[technodean]

Many people do this, even me. Depending on what your selling depends on why they are watching. If its a car etc, people will watch and then offer you a reduced price stating how long you have had the listing going for. Others will watch just to get an idea how much a game etc is worth that they also have. i.e, if you had battlefield for sale and can't get even a tenner for it, is it worth the effort trying to sell my copy. others watch an auction and a buy it now, if the auction price went too high then they may just use the buy it now.

[Ferral]

I just chuck stuff on watch to remind me when I have the cash to make a purchase, makes it easier to find the item I am wanting

[Unique]

people will watch stuff they aren't going to instantly pay for to remind them to buy it later, or see if it's relisted later at a lower price or auction, as they get an email to tell them. i don't use BIN but i start items at the price i want it like a BIN but others can bid more than that. if it doesn't sell at that price i'll then relist at 99p and the watchers then fight it out and sometimes pay more than the original start price. so clearly people look at things based on lowest price first. i'll also watch items i have to see how much they go for, as sometimes i see things listed at daft prices and occasionally they get the daft money they want, but usually they don't, so sometimes i slip in with the same item with a 99p start and sell it

[scaryjim]

Watch list is the default list, basically. You can set up other lists to stick items on, but who's going to go to the bother of setting up special lists for different items they're interested in when one click drops them on the watch.

I do it to save items I'm interested in while I shop around. A couple of years back I had a whole range of BIN mic stands and speaker stands on watch so I could compare prices while I got my PA rig sorted.

So yeah, it's mostly because people are lazy

[Saracen]

I go with the flow. I often stick something on watch, and it may mean nothing more than "I'll think about that, when I have time to look into it".

It doesn't necessarily indicate an interest in bidding on that item, or at least, not right now. It's a cross of a post-it note stuck to my forehead, and an easy search.

[sammyc]

It doesn't necessarily indicate an interest in bidding on that item, or at least, not right now. It's a cross of a post-it note stuck to my forehead, and an easy search.

This is why I never watch items now, I used to in early ebay days of buying, as a reminder, when I hadn't quite realised the seller was aware of it. Later I felt it wasn't worth making people get false hope I was interested, and especially once I started selling, & realised knowing you have watchers is mostly totally misleading. I do wonder why some people watch at all because apart from checking if your item has made its price & therefore helping them decide how to price theirs, I can't see any much reason to have 12 watchers on an auction item which goes on to not sell - apart from idle time wasters (fume, you know who you are that were watching my item this Sunday... )

Then again I also can never fathom why people buy one item for more money over an item in much better condition, or bid on an item that is currently available at less at BIN - ebay is just a very weird world.

[Saracen]

This is why I never watch items now, I used to in early ebay days of buying, as a reminder, when I hadn't quite realised the seller was aware of it. Later I felt it wasn't worth making people get false hope I was interested, and especially once I started selling, & realised knowing you have watchers is mostly totally misleading. I do wonder why some people watch at all because apart from checking if your item has made its price & therefore helping them decide how to price theirs, I can't see any much reason to have 12 watchers on an auction item which goes on to not sell - apart from idle time wasters (fume, you know who you are that were watching my item this Sunday... )

Then again I also can never fathom why people buy one item for more money over an item in much better condition, or bid on an item that is currently available at less at BIN - ebay is just a very weird world.

I hear you, but as far as I'm concerned, Watch is useful to me. If the seller reads to much into it, that's their problem. Until /unless I bid, it's merely an expression of interest, not a commitment to buy, much like going to a physical auction and inspecting items of interest.

As for the weird world, I'd say it's people that are weird. But one possible explanation for paying more may be if it's local, and collection is an option. First, overall, it may be cheaper, but second, you don't have the hassle of deliveries, or of sellers not sending what they said, or it not being in the described condition. I'd pay, up to a point, a premium for something local over the other end of the country.