loosecannon
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posted on May 18, 2001 12:48:05 PM
I wonder if, when an item gets a lot of hits, but it sits there without a bid for a while, do people tend to think "well, if 147 other people have looked and didn't bid I don't want it either".
How about invisible counters?
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kittykittykitty
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posted on May 18, 2001 01:00:10 PM
i was just wondering about the same yesterday, as i was listing. i always have had visible counters. but then i had an auction close last night that sat and sat with one bid at under $20, with lots of hits, and then closed at around $75 in the last few hours.
has anyone done any experimenting with visible vs invisible counters?
kittyx3
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skip555
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posted on May 18, 2001 01:02:21 PM
I don't use them anymore the can be deceptive it could be the smae guy coming back 132 times to show all his friends what a good deal he's getting
When I did use them ....Always hidden Peaple follow the crowd...Hmm 212 peaple have looked at this and only 3 bids What do they see that I am missing...Must be something wrong
I cant see any way that a hit counter seem by the bidder would benifit me.
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kittykittykitty
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posted on May 18, 2001 01:08:24 PM
skip555,
i'm 99% sure the counters i use only counts unique hits. think i remember testing this a while back.
when *i* see something i want that has a lot of hits, first thing i think of is 'uh oh, everyone's bookmarked it. looks like there's going to be a sniping war.' but do most bidders think this? don't know.
kittyx3
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loosecannon
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posted on May 18, 2001 01:12:36 PM
How do I do invisible counters?
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kittykittykitty
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posted on May 18, 2001 01:29:06 PM
i don't know what kind you use, but i use honesty. there's an option for invisible counters on my hit count page. if you use another source, go to their web site and see if you've got that option. and let us know the results!
kittyx3
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dottie
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posted on May 18, 2001 01:44:34 PM
The only way (that I can see) where hit counters may cause problems is if they are not working.
If the honestly counters aren't loading, I've heard that the listing won't complete the loading process for folks who are browsing with NETSCAPE.
Well... if the page gets hung up on the load, folks can't BID, since that appears at the bottom of the item listing.
For a while I stopped using the Honesty Counters... but I missed the fun of watching to see what kinds of page hits the item was receiving. Counters are good for tracking the page view hits of UNIQUE visitors to your listing... if the hit count remains low after a couple of days, it might be a good idea to try changing the category of your item to something that might attract more attention before the auction ends.
Six in one hand and a half dozen in the other, I guess.
- Dottie 
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dman3
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:06:50 PM
To funny you really believe the counter makes a difference in your bid 99% of the people dont even read the description 90% of the time how is it you supose they see or think about the auction counter.
most of the time people run a search and shop by title and starting bid there are some items you must zip through the description for size color or some such detail item like clothes or software but for the most part if people like your title picture and price they bid or put your item on the watch list.
This should come as no suprise to anyone who has been selling at any online auction for a while now.
a good discription with as much detail as you can fit a good picture and your in business.
Same goes for the EOA notice you send winners you can send out a very detailed Eoa with all the information and your address to mail payment to and many buyers will write back one or two more times asking for the mailing address and shipping costs.
funnyest I have had was one who wrote and asked me for my email address.
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
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reddeer
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:13:49 PM
Loosecannon ...... rubylane.com has hidden counters, and they work very well.
IMO Honesty sucks slough water ......
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loosecannon
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:25:38 PM
dman3
Some valid points. But I don't think that the majority of bidders skim and miss most of the text and details. And most certainly not 99% of them. Some of them do, for sure.
The thing is, I'm kind of shifting gears after 2 1/2 years, or trying to. Merchandise change-over, new customer base, the whole thing. So, I'm wondering about a lot of things and trying to figure out if I should change this or that.
I didn't have some of these questions a year ago when I felt I had the Midas Touch. Back then, I could sell about anything, find great merchandise at will (or so it seemed) and business was easier.
Now, I'm having to work a little harder at it, which I'm not complaining about, but I am looking for ways to work smarter. And I agree with skip555. There is no benefit to having a visible hit counter. I'm dropping it as soon as I get an alternative.
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eventer
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:25:43 PM
Honesty counters are HORRIBLE. They don't function half the time & slow down loading your auction. They BITE.
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loosecannon
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:35:06 PM
Thanks Redder
My wife set us up with the non-invisible Rubylane counters and we've had them for quite a while. I wasn't aware they had invisble ones too but I should have been. I'll check into that pronto.
Eventer
I still have those happy hands!
I agree that Honesty needs to fix something. We tried them a while ago too.
Oh, and thanks to kittykitty and dottie too!
[ edited by loosecannon on May 18, 2001 05:40 PM ]
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eventer
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:36:11 PM
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kittykittykitty
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posted on May 18, 2001 05:54:17 PM
i remember a little while back when there was a thread about problems with honesty being down and causing listings to hang or not load, period. i was seriously thinking of changing to rubylane, but the next day or so everyone was saying *they* were down and causing the same problems. so i still use honesty, and frankly haven't seen any problem. so maybe whatever was broke has done been fixed.
loosecannon,
did your wife ever forgive you for those bats?
kittyx3
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loosecannon
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posted on May 18, 2001 07:19:24 PM
I lost my happy hands, Eventer.
Yes, she forgave me, almost. 
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mildreds
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posted on May 18, 2001 08:44:58 PM
I use AW Hidden Counters.
It's a great tool. I always sell items which have over 100 hits. I am always delighted if I find "one of those" at a sale because I know it will sell.
If under 10 hits, still might sell but I do
not jump for joy if I find "one of them" at a sale. You really know it if you relist and get same results.
Its also interesting to watch if you have a couple similar items, to try them in different catagories and watch the hits.
I also use it to look at my titles. Some times I will have one word different for a similar item and one will have 6 hits and the other 46.
So all in all it is a wonderful tool to give you some insight to what is happening with your auctions.
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sadie999
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posted on May 19, 2001 08:18:18 AM
I don't use counters because even hidden ones slow down the page loading. I would use them if I wanted to do a comparison on something like two identical items listed in different categories. Or if I was starting to feel like listing fees weren't really bringing me enough lookers. Or comparing one auction site to another. Things of that nature.
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