Why do so many people just "watch"?

[jellybirddesigns]

One thing I'm curious about - I have a couple of items in my store which have SO MANY watchers on them it's ridiculous.

All my items are Good Till Cancelled, so they are fairly permanent, it's just the quanity that changes.

A certain percentage have bought but I can't understand why one particular item has 73 watchers (with 25 sales), other items have between 20-45 watchers.

I mean.....why? What's the point of so many people just "watching"?

[joethenuts]

there is a number of reasons , lets say you are selling a dress , an abayer might like it and put it on there watch list  and keep looking around and then put up all there watched dreasses and pick which one suits her better. or they see an item that they might be interested down the track to buy but dont have the money right now..   100s of reasons   even competitors have others on there watch list.

[skyrider12-au]

I watch.. 'For me it's just like joe said about people having many reasons to watch. I look in catorgories that interest me and save items of interest to my watch list, meaning to come back to the list when the time is available to me  to compare the items and check sellers feedback - most of the time the items just sit in the watch list because of time constraints and nothing is ever actioned, on other occassions I will short list the watched items and simply procrastinate, again, without ever actioning anything. I think that a good many watchers behave in a similar manner but, being individuals, we all do things for reasons known only to those do those things... just like joe said, and there is no definite answer to your question. 

[*tippy*toes*]

Often it's competitors keeping an eye on your sales and prices. I buy my padded bags on eBay so I have them on my watch list so they are easier to find again when I want to rebuy. I have other things on my watch list that I'm still contemplating whether to buy or not. Some I probably will end up buying, but am waiting for the $$ to improve again (I know, I may be waiting awhile LOL!). I have a few things on there that I can never remember what they are called, so have kept them there as a reminder and also so I can do a "search similar" if I feel like shopping around to compare prices. Some things I just haven't got around to removing for one reason or another.

[lyndal1838]

I have a substantial Watch List of DVD sets which I would love to buy but can't quite justify it right now.

As soon as ebay has a promotion for $ discounts or % discounts I buy up big.

I even have items on my Watch List that finished weeks ago....if something similar is listed ebay lets me know.

[fjg260902]

 Like others I put items that I am interested in buying into my watch list so I know where to find them easy while I continue looking through the sellers other listings.

I also use it for search and compare prices.

If  I am interested in an item that is up for auction I will sometimes park the item in my watch list and then keep an eye on how the bids are going if the bidding is with in my price limit with a few hours to go I will then place a bid.

Then other times I will just place different items that I like in my watch list then a day or two later I will decide what I really like the most and either bid  buy or delete.

At the end of the day it all comes down to what I really like and how much I want to spend on the item.  

95% of the time when I put an item into my watch list it is because I am interested in buying it and I find it is much easier to find again later.

5% of the time I will put it into my watch list if it is something that is out of the ordinary like a 1930 penny and I just want to see how much it sells for . 

[dotm2004]

I occasionally put a 'watch' on an item which is the same as one I'm selling .... there are lots of reasons ....

[kopenhagen5]

For me it could be something I want as a reminder to buy for christmas. 

[jellybirddesigns]

Thanks for all replies - I defintiely understand people watching with the intention of buying or comparing, but my watch lists have been building up over the last  3 months so that I reckon that people who started watching an item 3 months ago simply have forgotten or not bothered to action a sale.

It just makes it hard to guage the actual interest level in an item with so many watchers most of whom have probably moved on to other things.

[chameleon54]

Thye ones that really make me smile are the messages from people AFTER the item has sold saying " can you please relist the item. I really want it, it hasnt sold has it ? " This is after it has sat forlornly for months with dozens of watchers and no buyers. It happens at least once a week. ( and recieved one of these messages today ) The items are usually rare and priced up reasonably well. I imagine many people are just sitting, waiting for a price reduction. Sometimes I do reduce the price of an item that has sat around for awhile and often get a same day sale. Most of the time I,m happy to just let the item sit for years if need be, until the right buyer comes along who is willing to pay the full price.

I figure it is better to wait a year and get $60 for something rather than sell it instantly for $30 and then have to find another one and go through the process of listing, photos etc. all over again. The profit margin on the $60 sale can be four or five times as much as the quick sale at $30.  I,m fairly busy now and could not keep up if I reduced profit and priced for a quick sale and would just end up working harder for less money.