whowinsWhen to Take a Seat on whowins, and When to Wait
Every seat shows what it costs now and what was last paid. Those two numbers are enough to decide whether to take it today, take a different row or wait. This post is the decision method, with no formula beyond the one on the rules page.
Founders who take seats well do one thing before they open a board: they decide what a seat is worth to them. Everything after that is reading two numbers, the current price and the last payment, and acting on them. This post is the decision method. It adds nothing to the mechanic on the rules page; it only says how to use it.
Set your number before you look
The board is designed to be read in a second, and that is also how long it takes to pay more than you meant to. Before opening a board, decide what a seat on it is worth to you for the visits it sends. Write the number down. When you open the board, compare the current price to your number and act only if the price is under it.
This is the single habit that separates founders who are glad they took a seat from those who are not.
Read the last payment
The last payment on a seat tells you what the previous taker thought it was worth. A seat whose last payment sits far above the flat amount has been contested by people who kept coming back. A seat near the flat amount has not. Neither is a signal about your product; both are signals about how much it may cost to keep the seat if you take it.
The current price is the last payment plus the minimum step. If the seat is contested, expect to be taken from and to pay more than the current price to return. If the seat is quiet, expect to hold it for a long time at the amount you paid.
Take a lower row
The top row of a board is seen first, and the leaders page shows it. It is also the row most founders go for, which is why it carries the highest last payment. A listing in the third or fifth row is on the same board, in front of the same visitors, usually for a fraction of the top row’s number. Taking a lower row is not settling; it is paying for the board’s visitors without paying for the rivalry on one row.
You can move up later. Taking a higher seat is a new purchase at more than its last payment, and the seat you leave stays yours until someone pays more than you did.
Hold a seat quietly
A seat nobody contests is a seat you hold indefinitely at the amount you paid. There is no renewal and no second charge. Many of the best-value seats on whowins are rows that were taken once at or near the flat amount and never taken again, because the holder’s listing was good enough that nobody felt the need to replace it.
If you are holding quietly, keep the listing sharp. Exit clicks tell you whether it is working, and our post on writing a listing that earns clicks covers the parts to fix.
When to come back for a seat you lost
Someone paid more than you did and your listing dropped out of the seat. The question is the same as at the start: is the seat still worth your number? If the new last payment is under it, take the seat back. If it is over, take a different row or a different board. Coming back out of pride is how founders end up paying for a row that no longer makes sense for them.
When a clock changes the maths
On a board with its first ten seats taken, a seat can carry a clock. While it runs, the seat changes hands exactly as before, but two things differ: a take in the last ten minutes extends the clock, and at zero the holder keeps the seat for two days with nobody able to take it at any amount. The details are in the challenge clock explained.
For the decision method, the lock is the point. If two quiet days in a top row are worth your number, taking a seat on a clock near the end can be the best purchase on the board. If they are not, let the clock run and look at the row below.
Setting the number: a short method
The number is what the seat’s visits are worth to you over the time you expect to hold it. A rough way to set it: estimate what a visit from this board is worth to your product, multiply by the visits you expect the row to send in the period you care about, and take a share of that as the most you will pay. The estimate is rough by nature; the point is to have it before the board does your thinking.
Revisit the number when you have real exit clicks from a seat. A week of clicks tells you more than any estimate, and founders who update the number from clicks rather than from rivalry pay the right amount for the right rows.
A decision in four lines
- Decide the number before you open the board
- Compare the current price to the number; act only if it is under
- Prefer a lower row on the right board to a top row you have to keep defending
- Return for a lost seat only if the new last payment is still under your number
That is the whole method. If you want a second opinion on a specific board, the contact page reaches a person who has watched all of them.
Questions
Should I take the top seat first?
Only if the number on it is one you would pay without regret. A lower row on the same board puts you in front of the same visitors for less, and you can move up later by paying more than the last payment on a higher seat.
What does the last payment tell me?
How much the previous taker thought the seat was worth. A seat whose last payment is far above the flat amount has been contested; a seat near the flat amount has not.
Is there a best time of day to take a seat?
No. The seat goes to whoever pays more than the last payment, whenever that happens. Timing matters only during a challenge, where a take in the last ten minutes extends the clock.
What happens if I overpay?
The seat is yours at the amount you paid, and the next taker has to pay more than that. The amount stands as paid, so set your number before you look at the board.
Can I hold several seats on one board?
Yes. Each seat is a separate purchase. Holding two rows on a board doubles the visibility and the cost.