Ebay "Watchers" Psychology

I have a higher priced item for sale with several "watchers" but no one has made an offer on it. In the past, I have sent offers to "watchers" for a $30 garment and they have been accepted by zero feedback buyers with so far no issues. For this item because it is high priced and there is somewhat of 'buzz" around it in its category, I am hesitant to send an offer to the "watchers' because I have no idea who is "watching" my item. Should I raise the price and then send an offer to those "watchers" explaining to please respond with an offer so I can look at their feedback before deciding to accept it?

I can understand "watching" an item with a fixed price or an auction, but what's the purpose of "watching" an item with a best offer? Why not just make an offer, which is what I wish the "watchers" would do.

I used to place a lot of items on my watch list in order to not lose track of them and also to see if they sold and how long it took in a given price range. I was interested in some of them but would track them for price reductions. If something was a no-brainer good deal, I would not watch it, I would buy it. Comparative window shopping if you will.

Let them make an offer and don't feel pressured.

If the item is desirable it'll sell itself.

There are many reasons why someone might be watching a (best offer) BIN listing:

1. They are interested in the lot.
2. They have a similar item to sell.
3. They are uncomfortable making best offers, and they know:
4. Many sellers will send out offers to the watchers, with the
ability to negotiate after that (counter-offer) if the seller allows that.

I'm sure there are other reasons, but these are the ones off the top of my head.

John

Sigh. At the risk of being brutally frank: You REALLY need to not worry about the possibility of a zero-feedback buyer purchasing your items. This paranoia of low-feedback buyers is really not a healthy perspective IMO. You're approaching your sales with the assumption that people are out to rip you off.

If you're selling online through an ecommerce platform with a shopping cart, you're NEVER going to be able to 100% control who you sell to.

If risk is THAT worrisome for you, then consider alternative methods:

1. Sell it to a dealer at a show at a wholesale price so you don't have to deal with the public.

2. Consign the item to an auction house and be willing to pay the 20% commission and also not being able to control the selling price.

3. If you're an APS member, send it in to the APS Stamp Store and you have no risk at all... as long as the item is exactly as you have described it.

4. Offer it here for sale in the Sell forum where you can interact with and vet prospective buyers prior to purchase... maybe have them fill out an application to be able to buy from you. (that was meant in jest... I do NOT recommend that.)

As much as eBay sellers rail about "problem buyers", your mindset screams "problem seller" to me, as I can only imagine the difficulty a buyer might encounter should the need for a return ever arise...

I don't mean sound harsh and critical, but it's really not a good look... if you're that uncomfortable with the risk of loss on high-dollar items, then you shouldn't be selling them.

I put items on my watchlist to keep track of them to see where they land, I might bid on them at the end if the price is reasonable. It's most useful for bid auctions instead of buy-it-now. Although, I've gotten offers on buy-it-now items that have rolled a few times with no bids and seller just wants to move it along.

I agree caspian65, more useful for me for auctions.

I also will watch an item and not bid too early so I don't show my hand.

I 'watch' items on ebay very heavily. ebay has a limit and it only lets you watch up to 400 items (at least on my account). Every day I probably delete 100 old items and add another 100 new items. Most items only stay on my watchlist for a week, but a small number are longer term, i.e. very rarely listed items. The main reason to watch (for me at least) is to get an offer from the seller. Never 'Buy it Now' (unless it brand new listing and a great deal), you watch first and much of the time you will get an offer. My standard procedure for any item I want, is to find the item from around 10 different sellers, and watch all of them. Wait a couple of days and see where the best offer is. Usually I unwatch as soon as I get an offer. Unfortunately, ebay's interface for watchlist management is not great, and notably missing search. So when I do buy the one item, sometimes it is hard to clean up the other ones I watched but no longer need.

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For me selling on eBay for some time makes me have this attitude.

If someone does not like what they have or never received instantly fix the issue pleasantly. This has worked for me with many repeat buyers.

Ask me for a cash refund and that is different story.

I also do put many times items on my watch list in eBay. This are always items of the areas I collect or plan to start to collect.
As a seller of similar items, I just want to follow the prices realized if that item sells.

Quite often do I receive special discount offers from the seller. Sometimes I accept this offer, but most of the times, not.

As a seller on eBay, I assume that all my buyers are honest. I agree with revenuecollector, if you feel nervous all the time about being cheated, than eBay selling is not for you.
In all my 24 years on eBay, I only got cheated once, the buyer claimed that he received an empty envelop with no stamp inside. eBay sided with me in that case.

if the stamps I sell are over $20 and there is a buyer with feedback below 5, I will first contact the buyer by eBay messages. If I do not hear back or do not like the response, I will not mail the item out and will re-imburse the buyer.
Some of my buyers with zero or low feedback turned out to become my loyal repeat customers. So having a positive approach seems to work out well.

I'm wondering, does ebay automatically send offers on behalf of the seller?

I put items in the watch list because I am interested but other things have priority or I can't afford to buy it now. By keeping it in the watch list, I don't have to try to find that item again, of course someone else may buy it before I can do so, but that's the breaks. He who hesitates...

Only if you configure it, typically through third-party software (Sixbit, Inkfrog, 3dsellers, etc.). I don't think you can automate offers to watchers through eBay Seller Hub directly. I will periodically manually send offers to watchers.

I use the watchlist for items that I consider "nice-to-have" rather than "must-have." I don't need them bad enough to BIN at the current price, but if the budget allows later or the price drops to make them more attractive, then I can easily find them.

I'm assuming this might be the same vintage piece of electronica that was discussed a while back?

Have you ruled out selling on a forum that caters to this item? There could be some forum policing that you can avail yourself of. Because it's likely that your only other viable online option is ebay. Yes, there is some risk, but it is quantified. Practically speaking, you can't really lose more than your item.

"Yeah, but that would suck!" Yes it would. Sell on craigslist or facebook Marketplace? You might bleed out in a fast-food restaurant parking lot waiting for a response to your 9-1-1 call following a face-to-face exchange gone bad. That would suck worse.

ebay gets you the ability to get a near-retail price in a sanitized environment without any of the traditional hassles and expenses of being a retailer. It usually goes right; sometimes it goes wrong. It's the cost of doing business.

The item is taking up space, and obviously not necessary to your day-to-day living. In particular, it feels like it's taking up too much space inside your head. Move it along, and when you get paid for it, consider it to be serendipitous.

I know, easy for me to say.

My 2d.

Yes it does, but this is initiated by the seller. It goes to all of those who are watching a listing, as well as those who watch it later. The seller can also specify whether or not they will entertain counter offers on the discounted offer the seller sends out. During this process, of course, the seller has no clue WHO is watching, just the fact that there is one or more watchers.

The buyer may find themselves in a better bargaining position by waiting for the eBay generated offer to go out. In effect, it lets the buyer see what the buyer is thinking for their bottom line, and is helpful if a further negotiation ensues.

John