posted on May 20, 2003 07:00:25 AM
I know bidders often wait near the end of an auction to place a bid - I've done it myself. But, I wonder has anybody noticed - can they tell if an items is likely to get bids by the number of times it's been viewed?
Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to read this post. I have to leave the pc now - but i'll check back later.
posted on May 20, 2003 07:18:31 AM
Hi
Hits but no bids usually mean header brought them in to look but lot turned them off.
Lot turn-offs include price, wrong item, condition, restrictive selling conditions or just no real interest.
No hits might mean poor category choice, poor header wording or just no interest to bid. I used to take a lot of stock in hits. I seldom even look anymore
Good luck on your sales this slow period.
David
posted on May 20, 2003 07:40:01 AM
Could also be other sellers checking out their competition. Like David, I used to take stock in the number of hits an item gets, but no more. It really means nothing. What I'd be interested in knowing is the percentage of the people that "ask a seller a question" actually bid on the item they are inquiring about. My quess is not too many.
posted on May 20, 2003 08:08:25 AM
I use to check the hit counts quite often. Now I totally forget about them. Sometimes its depressing to see a 1 or 2 on the counter but it is a way to learn not to list those types of items that only get super low hits.
posted on May 20, 2003 09:07:05 AM
I use the counters religiously. If I list an item that does not get many page looks, then I know I need to change the title to drive bidders to it. Hi page views are good and can lead to more bids, but no guarantees. Moving to different catagories doesn't seem to effect page views as most bidders will do a title search for specific items they may be looking for. One thing for sure, low or no page views usually means no sale.
posted on May 20, 2003 09:38:46 AM
I'm with stonecold on this one. For a 7-day auction, if I have less than 8 hits near the end of auction, I go in quick and monkey with the title, doublecheck the description itself, maybe drop the price by a dollar. Sometimes I even change categories.
It is true, though, and it just occurred to me a month or so ago, that some of the hits may be potential sellers out there trying to see how that category does.
But as a rule of thumb, the higher the hits, the more chance of bidding.
And this is a slow period, I must say! It took me by surprise last week.
posted on May 20, 2003 11:33:52 AM
Many sellers change categories mid-auction ( it's free to do so as longs as no bids have been placed ). If an auction item fits two seperate categories very well then it's a good idea to do that not matter what the hit counter reads.
posted on May 20, 2003 11:42:58 AM
In the old days I could tell if an item was going to get a bid by the number of hits. Now who knows!!! Lots of people wait to the last minute or use snipe programs. I use a hidden counter with vendio. If something is only getting a few hits over 3-4 days then I play with the header. My feeling is the header is more important than category, get as many words as possible that relate to the item or will come during a key word search.
posted on May 22, 2003 07:14:49 AM
I asked this very same question over on the OTWA chat board less than a week ago, and it only received one flippant response before scrolling off to the second page, so I'm glad this is receiving some serious discussion here.
I am not a newbie seller--have been on eBay for 5+ years.
Most of my items routinely get over 100 hits. Some over 200. Three years ago, it used to mean multiple bids and a guaranteed sale. The last couple of years, it used to mean the item would get sniped at the last minute.
The last three months, number of hits has not correlated with sales AT ALL. I routinely have items getting high hits and not selling. Items that would have sold the first time out in '99 and '00 or within two tries in '01 and '02 are taking multiple relists (or never selling) now. I am chalking it up to the poor economy--people look, but they don't have the $$ or $$$ right now to buy.
I am understandably frustrated right now. eBay used to be a steady source of income for me, but lately, it has been very hit-or-miss. I know there's a "summer slump," but it seems worse than usual this year. I am self-employed , and non-eBay jobs are very slow in coming this year as well, so I think it *is* the economy, and not eBay, and not anything that any of us are doing wrong.
