This is what Ebay are sending your watchers

[lane-ends]

Example of email send to YOUR watchers by Ebay

"You watched at AU $27.95. We found one similar for AU $23.95."

Actively directing them away from your items. One of the reason they are tightening up on product identifiers so they can do this more accurately.

This is like Westfield Shopping cenyter management actively going into sportsgirl and accosting customers browsing the racks and telling them they can go and get similar cheaper at Jay Jays.

[enigmabear]

I am not even opted into their spammy advert emails,but I still get 'suggestions' from time to time

An example being  dvd movie I had on my watch list, ebay sent me an email 'suggesting' the same movie cheaper from another seller

I had  a look

The seller was based overseas and their feedback was disgusting (something like almost 300 negs in the past month)

Yeah,right 

[collect247]

It's called competion lol,just like a coles employee goes into woolies checks out the prices and then goes back and makes theirs lower.

It's also called smart business practices NOT hahaha

[powersports57]

A little different too retailers price bashing. As was previous stated it would be like the centre management of a shopping centre suggesting a customer purchase an item from one store because it is cheaper than the one they are looking at...only one store wins. Sure have competition but not from the host of the competitors, that is all EBay is really a web based HOST site after all. Can you imagine the outcry if a manager of a newspaper group suggested to a potential home owner to not look at one of their advertisers properties because they are too expensive? If it is the case and EBay are doing that then I would think it is just bad business and a poor marketing exercise, I wonder what their thought process is/was?

[enigmabear]

Ebay think?  

[lyndal1838]

Unfortunately it is not new.....it has been happening since at least the beginning of the year.

I have been getting notifications of price reductions  of items I am watching for ages and I have been directed to sellers with cheaper prices for the same items since at least January.

In one case I was watching some DVDs and I was redirected to a seller based in China with horrifying feedback for selling fakes.  I was caught some years ago buying a fake DVD fom China and vowed never to buy from there again so I was unimpressed at being directed there by ebay, especially as the feedback mentioned fakes.

[lm-entertainment]

it makes it even worse that they're redirecting potential buyers to sellers based outside of australia.

[the4masters2013]

No wonder sales are down for a few of us!!

[redders_60]

I was watching an Aussie seller's item with reasonable post to Melb & I got one of those shonky ebay messages - Yes the item was $1.00 cheaper; but GSP of over $60.00!  It seems the price match is only price - not price & postage.

Redirection of Aussie buyers to overseas sellers is just not on! How many gullible people may buy from bad sellers without realising they are buying from overseas? Or incurring high shipping costs? Then come to these boards (If they can find them) to complain - Thinking they are sending a message to ebay staff? The new board format is very unclear for newbies & oldies alike!

[jfmgray]

I had noticed that my items with product identifiers were the only items that eBay provides me with "performance improvement" recommendations on the seller hub - clearly as product identifiers are the only way of comparing like products.  Never thought eBay would use the identifiers to advise my watchers of cheaper like items.  As most of my items are used, I am not required to use product identifiers but I had been including them believing eBay's "spin" on improved search results via google.  Might need to re-think this strategy.