Private Listing Question

[namtrag1]

Other than for personal discrete items what does a private listing offer provide  for a customer?

[inhawaii]

That's about the only reason I can see for a private listing.

[heckofagame]

It really doesn't matter as others cannot see the user ID anyway.

[nobody*s_perfect]

But you might want to hide purchases from friends and family who know your eBay user ID. Not only personal stuff, but also gifts and other items that you just don't want people to know about such as "2021 Hot Wheels 53rd Anniv. Orange and Blue Series '62 Chevy & ‘56 Ford Trucks 8."

[ittybitnot]

But you might want to hide purchases from friends and family who know your eBay user ID. 

@nobody*s_perfect 

Even if I know your user ID, it does not show what you purchased.  It not longer shows if you are bidding on something.  Bidders on the same auction can't see the IDs of the other bidders.  I was also wondering the point of a "private listing" when the whole activity is not transparent and private in the first place now.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@ittybitnot wrote: ... Even if I know your user ID, it does not show what you purchased.  ...

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Listing titles can be tracked down via the feedback of your seller. For instance, the most recent feedback that you left for a seller was for "Vintage Groves sterling silver designer brooch lot.. One w/14k gold".

[house*of*paws]

Hi @namtrag1 

It provides cause for the buyer to be suspicious as to why the seller has made the listing 'private'.  If it's an auction ... many buyers suspect that shill bidding will occur.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@namtrag1 wrote:

Other than for personal discrete items what does a private listing offer provide  for a customer?

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In the categories I buy and sell, I am skeptical of sellers who have private listings. In my favorite categories, counterfeit items are common and I've seen too many sellers who sell fakes in private listings. Once those items are no longer viewable in completed listings, it's difficult (if not impossible) to research a seller's history. 

My own opinion is that in many categories, I question what a seller is hiding.