100's of FAKE "views" added daily to items I have listed for sale.

[mykelmont]

Items (pot plants) which normally sell or reach the end of their selling period with perhaps only 25 - 40 "Views" at most are suddenly receiving , starting on the second day of listing 100 exactly  "views",  and always at the same time of day. The next day, another 100 or maybe 110, and the next day another 100, and so on until at the end of the selling period of 7 days there are 700 plus of these "views.

They are most certainly FAKE. No doubt about it. They could not possibly be genuine arriving in the listings always at the same time and the same round number.

Is anyone experiencing this sabotage or knows where it comes from?  It has been occurring daily for 2 months and of course it is impossible to know exactly the correct number of genuine "views"

[davewil1964]

Can't help. I don't know how many views my items get. I'm interested in sales, not keeping count of tyrekickers.

I would be interested in how it is sabotage, though.

[mykelmont]

As it is obviously deliberate, can you think of any other reason for it happening?  Could even be a prank, but still deliberate and therefore sabotage.  770 views after 7 days listing when normally only 25? You tell me it's accidental.

I have had "chats" with eBay and a phone conversation with eBay Help which have been useless, someone insisting it's completely normal and I should be grateful for the numbers. But not if they're false, and no one could explain the exactness of the daily new 100 added at precisely the same time of day.

Thankyou for your reply.  I can only suppose if your system is stuffed up by something or somebody you might need some help. Tyrekickers are always a good method for a casual seller to judge community reaction to a listing.

I think that if you couldn't help it was a bit strange to actually go to the bother to tell me.

[imastawka]

Well I can't help either, but can you explain how it's sabotage?

No-one but you can see how many views your items are getting, so it doesn't matter.

And sabotage suggests that someone is stopping people buying - and it's not, is it? 

 edit:  OK I'm 'speshul' and I can see how many watchers your 2 items have - exactly zero on both.

[sandypebbles]

I find it a bit strange to post on a public forum and then complain when you do not like the response given

I find it strange you suggest that anyone here suggested it was 'accidental' 

Sabotage? no,

how do you equate more 'views' with someone/thing trying to slow or stop your sales?

And if you do believe such, it is strange of you to post on a forum which will quite likely generate even more views

Sounds more like a sales pitch 

[mykelmont]

Thank you.  I really do invite you to explain the phenomenon. This is an appeal for help, after all.

A sales pitch to help sell 4 pot plants? Come on.

I find it strange to suggest my appeal to good reason and help in a troubled situation will generate more views when only forum members will know what this is about and where they would find my 4 pot plants for sale.

All you have to do in spending your valuable time for which I am sincerely grateful is to equate these huge daily numbers with what has been normal for years and suddenly change, and make positive suggestions.

By the way, it was the EBay Help call centre agent who suggested it was accidental and another "sabotage", so I had expert tuition. But again, I invite your alternative sensible suggestions, plead for them, in fact, which is what this conversation is about.

[mykelmont]

I need an accurate number of viewers so I can get an idea of the coverage and a reaction to pricing.

This is not about Watchers, and these items usually sell locally (pick up) to people from only a few kilometres away after there have been maybe only 1 or 2 Watchers and I never expect more than that after perhaps 25 or so views. That is why it is so confusing to receive a DAILY 100 views throughout the period of the listing when I have 770 views instead of 25. I would greatly value your positive suggestion why this is happening rather than negativity.

Agents in the eBay Help call centre first used the word "Sabotage", so I don't have to explain my use.

All I want is some explanations of the phenomenon and, with luck how to stop it, not people taking the trouble to tell me they can't help. That would be helpful and really Speshul.

[twyngwyn]

to throw a spanner into the works....I currently have items that have ZERO 'looks' but have 'watchers'...please explain!

Algorithms are either bogus or all over the place....makes no sense!

[imastawka]

Relax Twynnie.

I do that all the time - put things in my watch list without opening the listing (if it allows at the time).  Just to see what it sells for, if I happen to have the same item.

OP,  my only suggestion is to either clear cookies and cache or change browsers.

Or possibly both, and see if that makes a difference.

[davewil1964]

Why do you think posting on a public board, which eBay don't read, will result in solutions to your non-issue? As has been noted, only you know how many views your items get.

If you are fair dinkum, which I doubt (more likely advertising to get even more views to be outraged by) then you would already know that the seller is the only entity who can see how many views their items have, and would also know that basing your prices on the number of views has no basis in relevance.

You should be basing your prices on what your items are worth, taking into consideration what the same items are being listed for by other sellers.