Ebay watchers?

pb21

I tried selling my bike on Ebay. I didnt sell it but thought I was going to especially as it had 25 people 'watching' it. In the end though I had no bids. I put it on again, but the same thing happend, this time it had 28 watchers.

Why do so many people watch an auction with seemingly no intention of buying?

Kendal Black Drop

To see whether it sells, or how much it goes for if it does sell.

danlikesbikes

Depends on what you have as the minimum bid, reserve or buy it now price IMHO.

Have sold quite a few items via Ebay and through BR. Some times items go on and it just takes a few bids to get things going and it just never happens, however if it does start the watchers then jump in and push the price up.

chrisaonabike

Did you have a reserve on it? It might have been just that no one was prepared to bid the reserve.

Bozman

I'll watch if I'm going to sell something similar or if I'm interested in an item but they've put a stupid starting price or reserve on it, then hopefully it'll be relisted it at a sensible price and you'll get an email from eBay.

raymondo60

I had over 200 'watchers' on a Touring Bike I sold recently, out of 900 views. Although it did sell I was hoping to get a little more, but that's the nature of the beast. Ebay is a 'buyers market' for many items right now - I buy/sell bicycles and classic cars and parts, and there are better deals buying than selling right now. C'est la vie.

dynamicbrick

Yeah, I had 95+ watchers on the Trek when I put that on eBay, ended up with three people squabbling over it in the end, and only eight people actually bidding on it.

The real trick is finishing time - if you ensure it ends on a Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, or Sunday morning (i.e. when people are normally free and at a loose end) then that increases chances of bidding. My mate sells a lot of collectible Ska gear on eBay, and swears blind on having all auctions finish at 11.30pm on a Friday or Saturday - higher chance of someone well oiled losing all sense of what the item is worth and getting into a bidding war.

pb21

I had a £300 starting price as I'm not prepared to sell for less. It's a fixed Wheel Bike so maybe more of a winter thing I guess. Still don't get why so many people care what it goes for!

goonz

I watch things I am interested in buying and if the price is around what I am willing to pay by the last half hour and I am around for it, I will bid but if the price is over what I would pay then I would leave it.

Still interesting to know how much things go for.

ben@31

Maybe they were interested in other bikes and were watching yours in case they didn't win the first choice bike they wanted? Your bike was their reserve choice / plan B ?

rolf_f

pb21 wrote:

I tried selling my bike on Ebay. I didnt sell it but thought I was going to especially as it had 25 people 'watching' it. In the end though I had no bids. I put it on again, but the same thing happend, this time it had 28 watchers.

Why do so many people watch an auction with seemingly no intention of buying?

They are waiting for you to relist it at a sensible price! If it is actually worth £300, you'll get £300 for it by starting it at 99p no reserve. People bid silly money on Ebay for bikes (I know, I just did! ) - if it is a decent quality frame (eg Reynolds something or other) in nice condition, then it will make a decent wack. It's one thing putting a first bid on for £300 and something entirely different bidding slowly up to £300 and beyond. There you have the comfort of knowing that other people think it is worth that much and that your judgement of its value is sound. That's why 99p no reserve works.

goonz

Sometimes 99p no reserve can bite you in the ass though, and if its something as expensive as that bike it makes sense to protect yourself slightly, but possibly not to the extent of starting the bidding at that price.

twowheelthrill

I know some sellers use this to make more sales, i.e. get featured in Popular Items. There are services this provide this, but never tried 'em. http://www.fiverr.com/roseandcrown/add- ... f-auctions

sloppyschleckonds

Didn't ebay up until recently show how many people were watching an item? Doesn't seem to work now.

Monty Dog

£300 is a high minimum for a fixed-gear bike - I only bid once for each ebay auction - 3 seconds from the end. I suspect the watchers were curious to see what the market value of their own bikes - obviously it's not as much as £300 for a used fixie.

JackPozzi

I'm an impulse watcher,will hit ebay hard on any given day for things I think I need or want, put them on a watch list then decide the next day that I don't really need them so forget all about it. Suspect I'm not the only one out there. Hope not anyway...

jimothy78

Rolf F wrote:

pb21 wrote:

Why do so many people watch an auction with seemingly no intention of buying?

They are waiting for you to relist it at a sensible price!

This - I regularly watch items that start too high, as 9 out of 10 times they get relisted with a much lower start price, and you get a handy email to let you know when this happens.

Also, I often watch items that I already own, to get an idea of how much they'd go for if I were to sell them.

redvee

I bought a Raleigh Banana cap off Ebay that had 20 watchers with a BIN price so snuck in and bought it before any of the watchers decided whether they wanted it or not.

Colinthecop

I've just sold my cateye strada on Ebay.

I assumed everone used Garmins now and it'll only go for a couple quid.

40 watchers and it went for £38

I'm pretty sure you could buy it new for less than that...? :roll: