Has anyone else been studying the "# of Watchers" column in My eBay while selling?  I'm noticing more and more that people are waiting to bid, but watching.  One item I have up right now has one bid for $0.01, and 27 watchers.
8O

Is this a side effect of sniping?  What do you use the watchlist for?  Personally, I use it to track weird purchases I might otherwise forget about later, but not for mainline buying.  I'm just honestly curious what's going on out there.
8)

It's not really sniping. I use watching when I don't know what an item is actually worth, and don't want to place a bid until I get an idea. I also use it when I am not sure I will have money when the item ends, so I don't want to do a useless bid.

I also use it as an anti-sniping measure. When I know it is desired, and the item will get sniped, I watch it so I can outsnipe them.

Does anyone use the Watchlist in AuctionSieve?
If not, why not? No need? Or does it lack something or you've just never tried it?

beyondthebreach wrote:Am I the only one here who doesn't use sniping software?

I use the watch list to watch items I am interested in. . . I check it regularly and when an auction will end soon I decide if the price is right and I still want it.  I then open up a window, place my snipe bid. . . open up another window and watch the auction - I F5 my keyboard a few times, alt-tab with a few seconds to go and submit my bid. . .

If I can't be there to snipe it (or I don't really care if I win the item or not), I simply place a bid as close to the auction's end as I can.

My watch list is always full of items. . . if I have time, I even note what my max bid is, so I don't have figure it out again later.

As a seller, I find the watch list to be a great resource.  By noting the number of watchers, it helps to gauge the interest in particular items and the price being asked for it.  If an item doesn't sell, but it had 4 watchers, I know that there is still enough interest at the listed price.  If an item were to not sell after a few listings and gathered no watchers, then it might be time to "bump" down the minimum bid and BIN.   Even if an item sells, the number of watchers helps to predict future interest (this is important, of course, as I resell).

Sometimes, I watch items for a quick link so I can see the final price (like woodgrains, ST1's, etc.).

It never occurred to me that others might not be using their watch list all the time!

I am typically watching up to 45 items at any given time.
Many of them I also bid on, but most of them I never really expect to win, but still want to keep track of for some reason.

As I have already stated several times, I have never used any sort of snipping program before, though I have done as you (beyondthebreach) have done snipping by hand (No programs) at the end of an auction when I felt a need to do so. That is however, a rare occurance for me, as most of the time I Place my highest bid and wait, hoping that it is high enough to win the item. Most times it is not, and that is usually because someone else (Cougar, or Harami) has snipped me.

Otherwise, I typically use the Watch list for the reason it indicates. I use the watch list to watch an item for any of several reasons. To watch the item, without committing a bid, or to keep track of an item, knowing that for one reason or another I cannot afford it, but still wanting to know what it sold for, or to watch an item that I am selling, so I have more than one way to get to it swiftly if I need to,

As for snipping by others? I have several thoughts on it, after having nursed an item for 7-10 days, and then being outbid with mere second to go, well that sort of thing gets real old real quick.

My problem is however, that I cannot blaim the snippers, as it is so obviously a part of the realm of existance on E-Bay. I have just never done it. They are simply using the system as it is set up.

I suppose it has to do with some sort of gut feeling that something about snipping does not seem quite right to me. Please don't ask me to explain this as I cannot. I have tried to think about my feelings on snipping and I simply do not know...

I think I may soon pony up and purchase some sort of snipping software, as I am getting quite discouraged and somewhat fed up at loosing bids in the last 10 seconds or less.......especially when it is a several hundred dollar item and I loose by a dollar or less.....  :roll:

its in the links some sort of program to help you find ebay stuff

If you wanna win bid high!  If you wanna get high save your money for drugs and not D&D books! :twisted:

As an unsolicited plug here -- AuctionSieve is amazing, and I do indeed use it daily.  Now if I only had the funds to actually win something....

Foul

darkseraphim wrote:Has anyone else been studying the "# of Watchers" column in My eBay while selling?

I didn't have this.  But I've just realised that you can add it using the "Customise " link.  I don't remember it being there last time I sold something.  But it is very interesting now that I've got stuff to sell.