Why do people do it if they dont plan on bidding, dont they have anything better to do! I have sold a few things lately with up to 30 watchers, yet there is only one bid at the end, WHY!!!! It would be interesting to know what the record amount of watchers to 1 bid is!!

I like to watch…

to see what things go for before selling or buying

😈

If I want to see how much something typically goes for then I might “watch” a few auctions of interest even though I have no intention of bidding.

I watch a load of stuff…then miss the deadline.

My ipod had 8 watchers and it didn’t sell. Which was quite frustrating because I assumed it would and spent the money.

generally I find that the number of watchers indicates how many people are also thinking of selling the exact same item, not an indication of potential buyers.

I had a bike a couple of months back with over 90 watchers and no bids. Then got several offers, why not just bid?!

Watching is there for people to monitor an auction, not bid on it. If you spend the money without having bids, then you only have your self to blame.

The ratio of watchers to bidders is about 6:1 apparently.
I watch because I’m nosey 🙂

I watch because of:

a) I Can

b) If i am planning on selling something myself it is useful to see what similar items go for.

c) I might fancy somthing if it goes for the right price

d) I plan on bidding on an item but forget all about it.

Aye people watch for any number of reasons – it might be there are more than one listing of the thing you are looking for and you want to keep tabs on them all, but you might bid and win on one item before the other auctions close.

I do it to gauge the value and level of interest in things I might want to sell, or might want to buy at a later date. With some things I’ve bought I’ve been in no hurry, so I’m happy to watch auctions for months on end before bidding on one that is getting little interest. I bought a £10k piece of woodworking machinery for £600 that way, but waited months and months for the right one to come up, watching hundreds of auction go by selling at 4 -10 times the price.

from the items I’ve sold I’d say i’d usually expect one bidder for every 20 watchers, but whos to say anyone who bids was a watcher.

It’s interesting to see what some nutters pay for old tat.

I like to watch so I can be amazed as too how much over the odds folk pay for used stuff when another 50p would buy them a new one with a 12 month guarantee.

i watch things purely as it saves me having to search for them again while i decide whether i want to bid on them or not. I only ever bid last minute too, and quite often miss the end cos I’m doing something else or forget.

I’m with Skidartist on this one…

I can quickly build a picture of what’s worth what, and then go after the good deals, as and when.

It’s a bit like fishing, maybe?

Pretty much as pk-ripper here. I try not to do complete impulse purchases on eBay. I’m sorry if y’all find that frustrating.

🙂