Why do my items say watchers but there aren’t actually any

[spence0175]

This has puzzled me for a while. This morning I thought I would send out some offers. Quite a few of my items have multiple watchers. For example, one item has 15 watchers but when I send an offer it says your offer will be sent to one person. A number this morning say you have watchers but when sending an offer, no one was watching and a message came up saying you have no watchers.. One item says you have 6 watchers. When sending the offer it says 7 people have been sent this offer

So why do my items say I have watchers when so few or none are actually watching…

[therenewalworkshopltd]

I don't believe that watchers are the only (or even main) reason to get offers sent out.
It works with a number of factors.  I know this, because I regularly send offers and they do not always have watchers on the item.  Which leaves it being a pretty complicated algorithm. 

But the other part, is that if you have sent offers to them in the past, then you cannot send them a second time.

[spence0175]

Ah ok. The last part now makes sense. 
But why are eBay restricting that an offer can only be made once to a person who is watching. A watcher on the day the offer is made may not have the cash but may have a week/weeks later if the offer is made again.. That is really stifling potential sales with an offer..

[therenewalworkshopltd]

I disagree.  I like that an offer is time limited and once done, that's the end of it.
These kind of offers are there to push the undecided over the hill, to actually make the purchase.

The very fact that it's a one off and won't be repeated gives it higher impetus for the purchase to be made.

The number of people coming back weeks/months later to buy when they have the money is I think, extremely small.  Though obviously, it will depend on what you are selling.

[spence0175]

Sorry but  I dont think like that. If I didn’t know only one offer could be sent then its likely that the average buyer wouldnt know either…

You could initially send an offer and then give a second final chance offer weeks later. We are not all impulse buyers.

I sell in categories that are desires and not needs. There are many  different factors to buying

[therenewalworkshopltd]

First thing you see when you receive an offer in BOLD and LARGE text is as below:

Good news, you’ve got an offer for Boohoo Man Chino Sho...! It's valid for 23 hours.

[therenewalworkshopltd]

And I got that one, just for looking at the listing.

But it does illustrate exactly why it works.

Quick take action now, you only have a few hours to get it cheap!  🙂

And no, not everyone buys impulsively, but an awful lot do!  Especially if they think that they are getting a good discount.  But this is exactly what the offers are designed for.

[bookworm191472]

Often I click on a listing as I am selling a similar item and want to look at the listing more closely (but never click on "watch item") and receive an offer on the same listing soon afterwards so maybe this is the reason you are prompted to send an offer when no-one is actually "watching".