Ebay Watchers & Seller Offers

[mrmopar]

I have seen a number of posts about the various habits of both sellers and buyers when it comes to watching. Some sellers wonder why buyers watch low dollar items, for example (Just buy it already!). Sometimes people watch something just to see if it will sell (I have done this). A lot of times, I will watch something that I am on the fence about or something I want to research further. Sometimes I just want to save the image from the listing. There are a variety of reasons why people will watch and it is not always about wanting the item.

One thing i really have grown to like is that sellers can make offers to watchers. It's anonymous and I assume it goes to anyone watching (if you are not the only one), but this is a good way to possibly sell an item you are flexible with.

I added an item to my watchlist tonight. It looked like a good deal at the $15 BIN price (3 JD Drew autos, including the one I really wanted that drew me to the listing). Not long after I watched it, within minutes, I got an offer for $10! Needless to say, I accepted it.

I wish more sellers would consider using this option, even if it was just a few % off asking. I have items I have been watching for MONTHS and the price has not budged. i am not talking about great/popular/hot items obviously either, as they wouldn't last that long if there were anything but grossly overpriced. Too many stale BINs that would probably sell with a motivated seller.

 

[banjar]

Interesting. I didn't know sellers could extend offers to watchers.

I rarely watch things, but when I do it's to see if someone bids on the item. I'll watch items that are a) overpriced, and b) are rare enough that I'd still bid if I saw another interested party bid on it. And if it goes unsold, I would expect it to be relisted at a better price. There's one right now I'm watching, a 2012-13 Panini Basketball card (yes, basketball) which is a Robbie Alomar patch/auto #'d to 10. Odd item I'd love to have, but will only bid reluctantly if someone else does.

And I'm not too worried about getting shilled by posting this, the seller is across the Pacific

 

[Pinbreaker]

I will put some cards on my watch list from some sellers in Minnesota.. I will get an offer which normally is a joke anyway..

But some sellers will make me an offer that is pretty good for a decent card..

 

[swish54_99]

Ebay implemented this in the last 6 months maybe. I really like this feature as both a seller and buyer. From a sellers perspective, I've not had very good luck with people accepting my offers, maybe 5% or less actually accept. If I'm bored, I'll sort my listings by watchers and send out offers to slower moving listings. I could send out on 20-30 listings and maybe get 1 or 2 to accept. Granted, most of what I have is readily available, usually not high end, and like I said, slower moving which is probably more of a reason why my % is low, even if the offer is in line with recent comps.

 

[bstanwood]

My watch list is a cavern of things that are overpriced, decent prices I'm on the fence if I want to pay and some items I already own that I'm wondering what they will go for. I've gotten several of these offers from as little as 5% to as high as 30%. It is a pretty cool tool as I find many of the listings inwatch that don't have a BO take forever to drop in price

 

[jszczech]

I watch a lot of things just to see if I get a decent offer. It has worked out several times so far.

 

[sjm76]

I also like the fact that sellers can now extend offers to watchers. As a seller myself, I've done it a couple of times.

I watch low dollar items though I know I could buy it if I wanted to because sometimes you can get the item for even cheaper than the already low price.

 

[mrmopar]

i sell infrequently and do not know how to send the offer. Hopefully it is fairly obvious to figure out.

 

[phillyfan0417]

Over the last few months i've probably accepted a half a dozen offers as a watcher...they are normally a 10-20% discount. I don't really add things to my watch list that are way too overpriced.

 

[sjm76]

i sell infrequently and do not know how to send the offer. Hopefully it is fairly obvious to figure out.

When you're selling something, go to "active items" on your MyeBay page, go to the items that you're selling and see if there are any watchers. Then see if there is a "send offer" option. Oddly enough with mine, sometimes there is and sometimes there isn't.

 

[Letch77]

Here's another "watching" scenario. I'll add some items to the watchlist with interest to buy if/when ebay puts out a Bucks promotion.

 

[mrmopar]

When you're selling something, go to "active items" on your MyeBay page, go to the items that you're selling and see if there are any watchers. Then see if there is a "send offer" option. Oddly enough with mine, sometimes there is and sometimes there isn't.

Thank you. I will try that.