posted on September 28, 2000 10:12:54 PM
How am I supposed to know if my auctions are being watched? Or for that matter if they are being tracked?
Any and all information is appreciated....Thank you!
posted on September 28, 2000 10:15:09 PM
As far as I know, there is no way to tell.
____________________________________
The only place you'll find success before work is in the dictionary.
posted on September 28, 2000 10:56:34 PM
There is no way on Ebay. As far as I know, Yahoo is the only one that has the feature to track if your auction is being watched.
I would love it if ebay added a feature so that the seller could keep track each time an auction was added to a watch list.
It would help the seller see if the item was attracting any interest.
At the moment, the only way to do this is count hits.
posted on September 28, 2000 10:57:45 PM
I think it would be nice to see how many people are keeping track of my eBay auctions, too. I love the way that YAHOO shows the seller how many hits each page gets and how many people have tracked ( "watched" ) my auction in their "My Auctions" section.
It doesn't improve my final bid, but it does help me to gauge what type of traffic I'm getting. For instance, it's helpful when trying to figure out the right category in which to list certain items....
And at YAHOO, I notice that my "watched" auctions most always end up with a bid, even if the bidders are holding out until the last few hours of the auction to bid.
I can't wait for eBay to get that bright idea. But then again, I was hoping they would set it up where you could view ALL listings by photo (not just Gallery Items, but all listings).
I hope that eBay will set it up sort of like YAHOO-- at least to let the sellers see how many times their auctions have been "bookmarked" through eBay by bidders.
posted on September 29, 2000 07:09:04 AM
I think it would be interesting to be able to know how many people are watching an auction. You'd be able to identify patterns and trends in your auctions.
posted on September 29, 2000 07:52:13 AM
Kawikalyn - you can get free "hit" counters to put in your auctions, from Honesty or Ruby Lane or other sources. I believe that these provide as useful of information as a "watch" counter would.
I have my "watch" page full most of the time -- but that doesn't mean that I plan on bidding on all of them. I have a lot of reasons for "watching" an auction. I prefer using the "watch feature" over traditional bookmarking because it keeps it organized in a manner that takes less effort or mouse clicks to access than bookmarks. So knowing that I have your auction on my "watch list" wouldn't do you any more good than knowing it has been looked at x number of times.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on September 29, 2000 08:10:32 AMfeistyone I use a free counter in every one of my eBay auctions...but wouldn't it be nice if eBay did that without me having to setit up with somebody else? I never have to set it up when I use YAHOO. They do it for me. And it's still free.
And as previously stated.... it would be helpful to know how many people "watch" my auction when considering how to categorize a new item.
For example: When I place an item under "Artist Dolls", I get many hits, but no one interested enough to bookmark it. It turns out all of the buyers of this particular doll browse the "Cloth Dolls" section instead. More bidders "watch" my auction in the category "Cloth Dolls", and are interested enough to come back and bid.
Does that make sense? The more people who bother to watch an auction, the more of a chance I'll see bidders coming back in the end to place a bid.
I miss the good old days of marker bids... even though I've always bookmarked auctions with my browser (before "watch"...), if I was serious enough and didn't want to take a chance on forgetting to check my bookmark, I would still place a marker bid. NOw I don't bother... I just WATCH. I wouldn't mind the seller knowing that I watch their auction.... at least then antsy sellers woudl think twice before pulling an auction with no bids. If they knew that 15 people were watching it, but knew the competition, they would know to wait it out.
posted on September 29, 2000 08:13:05 AM
Just seeing hit numbers doesn't give a picture of any real interest. Yahoo's mechanism shows hits, watchlist additions, and emails to a friend.
It is fast as well, where many of the hit counters (not mentioning names AW) don't update fast enough to give any real, usable information.
posted on September 29, 2000 08:22:03 AM
Heh, heh -- I still put "marker" bids on some items I want. That keeps me from having to use one of my precious "watch" slots for an auction I'm interested in. But not on all -- I try to keep my bidding unpredictable, so that my competitors won't be able to second-guess me.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on September 29, 2000 08:37:04 AM
krs -- My point is that having the watch numbers won't give an accurate picture of interest either. Because people do not ONLY watch things they plan to bid on.
I don't do Yahoo because they violate my privacy. If I did, I'd be sure to work in such a manner that the info they give you (beyond hit count) would be useless. I don't have anything against you (or the seller), but I feel that they have no right to track my shopping patterns or emails sent. (I know ebay tries to track me, too, but I have a program installed that prevents them from doing that.)
In marketing, you are always going to have to deal with unknowns -- because consumers object to being tracked and will avoid merchants who track agressively. Hit counters are valuable for showing interest (and do not need to be intrusive).
Before lisitng an auction you can do your own market research on ebay, to figure out which category is the best one to list your widget in.
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on September 29, 2000 09:42:36 AMvioletta You misunderstand... Yahoo doesn't tell you WHO is watching your auctions, just how many people have opted to mark your auction for special interest. I have NO IDEA who watches my auctions, but I know someone is interested enough to come back for whatever reason. And since we're talking AUCTIONS, I'm going to be bold here, and say that at least SOME of the ones who watch, are going to bid.
The number of times my auction has been added to a WATCHLIST gives me a stronger indication than hits could of potential buyers. But you do it your way. I still wish that eBay would make that option available.
posted on September 29, 2000 09:53:31 AM
And market research is dandy, when you have an item to sell that has been sold before. But when you sell unique items...that may not be possible.
For example, I found a lady who makes soft sculpture collectible dolls. She moved here from Germany, having closed a shop there. These dolls are collectibles, around 27-30" tall each. They are soft sculptured by hand, then handpainted. This lady makes all of the clothes herself. The dollsa re incredible looking.
Now do I list that under cloth dolls, or Artist dolls? Or perhaps somewhere else? I won't know until I've had a few test runs, and develop a market for them.
She has never had an item on eBay before. And I can't find any dolls like hers on eBay. I sell other types of collectibles dolls, and each goes in a different category, for different reasons. I could sell my soft sculpture Cabbage Patch Dolls under Artist Dolls, but I can easily check around and see that those collectors look under Modern Dolls (judging by the final bid prices they bring when placed under that category compared to the prices they bring in others). Could place them under cloth dolls too, couldn't I? At least with the CPKs, there is already a market. Then I wouldn't need a WATCH counter, I can look at completed auctions for CPKs. Can't do that for these new dolls though, can I? So the WATCH counter would be my market research.
posted on September 29, 2000 10:34:09 AM
Peachy77 -- I know that you don't know who is watching. But in order to get that information for you, Yahoo DOES. That is what I object to. Hit counters tell you someone is interested, for whatever reason. I suspect that watched auctions might have a slightly higher bid rate than hit auctions -- but how can you KNOW that? People are just assuming that it will be a more accurate predictor of bids. I don't know if that's true. I believe that performance expectations for such a feature are higher than reality.
I doubt that watch stats would show you any more accurately where to list your doll than other market research. All the articles I've read about buying behavior on ebay say that buyers search for items rather than browse categories. If your auction has the term they search for, their search will bring it up regardless of category. (But personally I think that small, niche categories still get browsed -- so perhaps that's what you're dealing with.)
Personally, if ebay ever institutes a feature that allows sellers to see how many watch lists they've been put on, I'll quit using "Watch." I consider that to be too snoopy (like looking through my drawers without permission). Right now it's my personal bookmark page which happens to give the current bid (which regular bookmarks don't do) and organizes the list chronologically (so I don't have to do it manually). I edit my watch list almost daily. (I wonder whether a "watch counter" would show when an item is removed from a watch list? If not, then you could be thinking you were being watched by xx number of people when in reality it might be significantly less.)
Violetta
(Not known by this nickname anywhere but here.)
posted on September 29, 2000 10:47:42 AMvioletta Good points, all of them.
I am speaking only from my experience at Yahoo auctions. The auctions that don't get a "watch" (regardless of the number of hits) seldom get bids. Whereas in the auctions that get WATCH hits, I get a bid later on....
You're right though. I don't know that it would necessarily help me at eBay. eBay and YAHOO are two very different sites. I get more traffic and different buyer behavior at eBay-- so what's true at YAHOO may not apply to eBay auctions.
posted on September 29, 2000 11:08:37 AM
I like the watch feature at Yahoo simply because it fun. I know that the person, whoever it is, liked my item enough to maybe want to take another look at it. And since I make 99% of everything I sell myself, it just makes me feel good to know someone was interested enough to want to remember my item.
Like I said, it is just fun, for me anyway.
"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."---Mark Twain
posted on September 29, 2000 11:26:16 AM
I recall reading in an earlier thread that using HumanClick will tell you how many people are "watching" your auction.
posted on September 29, 2000 01:39:54 PM
kawikalyn: I am not sooooo sure what you are apparently asking......
It seems that you want ebay to add a feature to the Watch Item, so that you, the seller, can learn if 3 people are watching your auction -- as oposed to say, three dozen people watching your auction.
HOW would this assist ANY eBay seller?????
Aren't you aware that any of your or eBay's competitors might have DOZENS of multiple i.d.s - and have, say 30 of them "WATCH" your auction.
Now, with the prevalence of muliple i.d.s on eBay, many of them for fake/sham/shennanigan reasons... HOW would you EVER demonstrate ANYTHING from how "many" eBay user i.d.s were watching your item??????
I certainly hope that were you to discover that sixty people had your auction in their ITEM WATCH, that you would NOT go out and purchase fifty more of the same item to place up for auction.
ITEM WATCHING tells the seller NOTHING -- it <i>might</i> be "nice" from a purely psychological sense, but heavens!
Absolutely NO accurate inferences could or should EVER be made offa Item Watch.
posted on September 29, 2000 02:31:34 PM
My experiences have been similar to Peachy's- I get happy when I notice I've been watchlisted cuz it usually does mean I get a bid soon after.
posted on September 29, 2000 02:38:53 PMAbsolutely NO accurate inferences could or should EVER be made offa Item Watch.
So I should just consider it a freak random occurrence that the items I have listed on Yahoo that are added to somebody's watchlist get bids at a higher rate than those that are not added to a watchlist?
posted on September 29, 2000 03:10:24 PMradh I have to disagree. Why would anyone take the time to do that? Or use up the effort.
Sure it's possible, to have multiple user ID's and watch the same auction with three ID's.... but I can't see how even purely evil Lex Luthor would find a reason to do it.
MUwah-ha ha ha "I've marked their auction four times!!! They'll never know it's only me!" <more maniacal laughter>
That wouldn't even begin to sabotage an auction, so why would the competition even bother? That's way too much bother, even for the sake of meanness.
posted on September 29, 2000 07:13:24 PM
I end my auctions on Sunday night and I rarely get any bids except on the weekends, so I get depressed during the week when I keep checking and nothing has bids. If I thought somebody was watching the auctions, it might make me feel better during the week. I know, I'm neurotic!
