[fashion4forward]

Question- lately I have been using private listings to prevent my buyers from getting those annoying spam emails from people trying to sell fakes in China. Is this bad? Do you stay away from buyers who list private listing auctions? Thank you!

[HandbagAngel]

I don't think private listing will prevent fake sellers contacting you from China. Its purpose is to protect buyers' privacy. In the meantime, it opens an opportunity for sellers doing shill bidding. Also, it is hard to check seller's feedbacks from private listings. Choosing between privacy and safety, I prefer listings not being private.

[sailornep5]

As a buyer, I definitely steer clear of private listings. Makes me feel like the seller is hiding something, even if they tell me it's because of spam.

[caannie]

I hate private listings. But now if your item goes over $200 (or even less if it is Louis Vuitton) the user ID becomes private anyway, just saying Bidder1, bidder2, etc... But at least you can still see the basic information on Bidder1, like amount of feedback and time registered. Private listings you can't tell if the person outbidding you is a 0 feedback newly registered bidder (or shiller) or not.

[QueenLouis]

I prefer private listings. I don't like that when people look at my rating they can see everything I've bought on eBay. Or if I buy something on eBay and post a pic here, maybe someone can connect my tPF name and my eBay name. The less info about me on the internet, the better.

I don't understand how it would impact ratings? You still give feedback on a transaction even if your ID is kept private.