Making a listing invisible while keeping the listing active

[bigdental]

Hello-

I'm new to selling on eBay, and I have a question. Is it possible to make a listing invisible, while keeping the listing live and active?

You might be asking why I would want to do that. But, I essentially would like to use the eBay platform for selling my item, because it is trustworthy and easy. However, I have a private list of buyers that I would like to market the item to. It's not illegal or anything. It's just niche. And, I just don't want to tip my hat to any would-be competitors. 

Anyway... let's set aside my reasoning for making the listing invisible, while still active. Can anybody tell me if it is POSSIBLE? (I've looked through forums already and I do not see the answer that I'm looking for).

Thank you in advance!

[bonjourami · Accepted solution]

No, you mean only visible to certain people? Not possible.

[globexk]

Sure put the inventory for the listing at zero. This will keep the listing alive and no show on the listings.

[clemowbooks]

Your eBay ID already masks your identity. Your competitors can only learn who you are by buying from you or from gossip with your customers.

You can send your private list regular emails about your latest eBay listings. This can even be done through the platform.

If your item is niche, there won't be many existing competitors, and I would think product would also be hard to come by, since "niche" usually means a small market of customers.

I think you are overthinking this.

If you leave your listings visible, you are more likely to find new customers than you are to lose the odd sale to a competitor.

Do you imagine that your private list covers every collector of your Thing in the entire world? Because eBay has an international customer base.

The only invisible listings are when the seller's Store is in Vacation Mode. But those listings can't be purchased either. It's really a labour-saver for sellers who can't service their store for a few weeks.

[mam98031]

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@clemowbooks wrote:

Your eBay ID already masks your identity. Your competitors can only learn who you are by buying from you or from gossip with your customers.

You can send your private list regular emails about your latest eBay listings. This can even be done through the platform.

If your item is niche, there won't be many existing competitors, and I would think product would also be hard to come by, since "niche" usually means a small market of customers.

I think you are overthinking this.

If you leave your listings visible, you are more likely to find new customers than you are to lose the odd sale to a competitor.

Do you imagine that your private list covers every collector of your Thing in the entire world? Because eBay has an international customer base.

The only invisible listings are when the seller's Store is in Vacation Mode. But those listings can't be purchased either. It's really a labour-saver for sellers who can't service their store for a few weeks.

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Seller ID's are not "masked", only buyer IDs are.

[mam98031]

Why do you want to use Ebay and pay the associated fees if you have a list of people that you only want to sell to them?  What purpose does Ebay serve for that?  You can do that on your own without Ebay.

What is missing here as this doesn't make sense?

[dhbookds]

Frankly, it sounds like you want to display your items on ebay, but not make sales here?  i.e. send your buyer list  links to the items and then have them contact you privately to buy? 

If that's the thought.......you would be trying to circumvent Ebay fees........a grave mistake that could get you thrown off Ebay quickly and permanently.........

[bigdental]

No. Definitely NOT trying to circumvent the eBay fees. I understand that this is a No-No. 

I don't mind paying the fees to a marketplace that is trusted by buyers. That makes the sale easier when the buyer has confidence.

[jayjaspersgarage]

You literally signed up yesterday (10/19/2020) and are asking this type of question today (10/20/2020).  You have no idea how small this perceived problem is compared to what seasoned sellers have suffered through for ten to twenty YEARS.  Unless you have a supply issue just list everything with the price you want and let your special buyers know they better show up or they might miss out.   

[clemowbooks]

And I am a six foot tall  green eyed ethnic Chinese whose first language is Swahili.

Until you are my customer, you don't know my real name or address.

Every now and again, on another hobby ID, I find my customer is another dealer who I have met at trade shows. We usually have a nice conversation when that happens. But none have ever specifically purchased because they knew who I was before buying.

[clemowbooks]

And don't forget to allow for fees when you are pricing.

We get some breaks on shipping label prices (just what depends on what country you are in) but allow at least 10% of your selling price, 10% of your shipping price, and 2.9% of your customer's payment (plus 30c) for various fees.

More when you start selling internationally.

But don't do that until you have at least 10 DSRs, know what DSRs are, and understand their total unimportance.

[mam98031]

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@clemowbooks wrote:

And I am a six foot tall  green eyed ethnic Chinese whose first language is Swahili.

Until you are my customer, you don't know my real name or address.

Every now and again, on another hobby ID, I find my customer is another dealer who I have met at trade shows. We usually have a nice conversation when that happens. But none have ever specifically purchased because they knew who I was before buying.

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I'm not sure what that has to do with the OP's questions.

[jayjaspersgarage]

Off topic:  I used to buy coins from a guy at a local flea market less than three miles from my home.  He was a nice retired guy who sold authentic items.  The flea market closed down so many months later I saw an ad for a garage sale in San Francisco that listed coins.  It sounded promising so I went with another coin collecting friend to check it out.  We live close to San Francisco but the drive was about 45 minutes on a Saturday morning.  We walk into the garage and low and behold my contact from the flea market is the person selling coins at his daughter's house near Fisherman's Wharf.  Small world.  Great lunch on the water!