Private Buyer - Any Advice?
I received an offer on one of my listings.
In considering the offer, I went to check out the account and found out it's a private account, meaning I can see the FB numbers but not any actual FB comments.
The FB number is in the thousands. This is an account that buys a LOT.
Makes me a bit wary -- because I always like to check FB before negotiating -- but I don't know if I'm being reasonable about that.
This is a listing that will go through authentication.
Does anyone have advice for me about transacting with a private buyer?
14 comments
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoI avoid any buyer who does anything out of the ordinary when it comes to a decision. A price negotiation requires a decision. Since I am loath to negotiate price at any time, try to limit negotiation to people I know, it does not take much to make me refuse any offer.
Why experience with sellers who turn their FB to private is that they have something to hide.
I really do not care what it is. If they pay full price, a seller with Private FB can buy from me.
adamcartwright
OP8 months ago@tobaccocardyahoo Well, this account is not selling. If you're a seller, you cannot have a private account.
Now maybe he used to sell and doesn't anymore? But at this point, the account is only buying.
But yes, my knee-jerk reaction was to be wary.
sin-n-dex
·8 months agoMost of the time private buyers just don't want people to see what they buy and who they buy from. Sometimes it's a stalking issue.
The only situation I came across where you'd have to worry is if the private buyer received false positive comments in FB identifying them as a scammer, and then hid the feedback so they could keep buying with no one seeing that. These people had less than 100 FB. Someone who buys in the 1000s I wouldn't worry too much about (not impossible to be scammed, but less likely if they've been on a long time and bought a lot). It could also be that they're reselling and don't want a trail of any kind to show what they paid for it, even though not using their selling account.
As for the scammer who hid their FB, that happened twice (with the same scammer but different accounts). Someone identified them as a scammer and then shortly there after they hid the FB rather than trying to get eBay to remove it. The account was NARU not long after.
C.
adamcartwright
OP8 months agoI think maybe you nailed it. Even if not, that's a great reason for a private account.
sin-n-dex
·8 months agoI knew someone 20 years ago that didn't want people to see what he was buying because Customs in Canada was tagging his packages for extra duties (they were all undervalued, and customs was on to him, they nabbed every single parcel with the accurate value). Perhaps if he had private FB and people couldn't see what he bought, he might have gotten away with undervaluing his stuff.
C.
kensgiftshop
·8 months agoI've sold to a few that had private feedback and didn't have any problems, but I don't sell anything that expensive.
Could be they don't want other members seeing who they are buying from, if they buy a lot of expensive things.
adamcartwright
OP8 months ago@kensgiftshop
Maybe so. This account has many hundreds of FB in just the last month alone.
simply-the-best-for-you
·8 months agoSold to private set FB buyers many times, don't recall any problems ever. Unless something else abt the tx concerns you, pack & ship.
slippinjimmy
·8 months agoI have a couple of accounts that I use for buying (and posting here), they all have Private Feedback.
Personally I so rarely look at buyer feedback that I have no idea how common or uncommon private Feedback is.
I have it private because I don't want people to see who I am buying from.
tarotfindsandmore
·8 months agoI think you may be able to see the feedback they've left for others, but I'm not sure. If you can, that's the more important thing for you as a seller. If they buy a lot and are keeping their feedback private, they may be hiding it from a spouse or family members who they buy gifts for. They may also purchase a lot of "spicy" stuff that they want to keep private.
kensgiftshop
·8 months agoNo, when they have it set to private, you can't see any of their feedback.
adamcartwright
OP8 months ago@tarotfindsandmore
No, I cannot see any FB whatsoever.
None received and none left. Only the numbers.
tarotfindsandmore
·8 months agoIn that case, I'd just go with what the others have said. If the communication with you seems normal and the offer is in line with what you want, I'd say go for it. I think the other posters have probably hit on why it's private. It's probably just another seller's buying account.
With a high feedback number it's unlikely the buyer is a scammer, they just don't want others see what they're buying and from whom.
kibble-net
·8 months agoIs the price to your liking? Are they registered in a country to which you ship? Is this a low risk item that's not expensive? If you said yes to all, then I'd go for it.
The bottom line though, if anything makes you uncomfortable about transacting with someone with a private feedback profile, you don't have to do it. It's your store 🙂