Legit reason to keep ebay feedback private?

[LucreziaCA]

I am not an experienced ebayer...is there any legitimate reason that someone would choose for their feedback to be private? It smacks of someone wanting to hide something. :suspiciou

 

[Chanel4me83]

I think the reason they do it so that other ebay sellers don't contact you to make you offers. Of the same item or something similar.

 

[english_girl_900]

^^^ No, that's the reason they make the identity of the highest bidder private. Making feedback private, well......I agree it is very questionable.

 

[amanda]

keeping feedback private is always shady. i've heard some people do it that have bought, like, i dunno, fetish gear or something bizarre like that on ebay to keep it secret from friends, spouses, etc since the feedback links to what the auction was of. but if it's a bag seller that has private feedback, even if the bag looks real to me, i'd never do it. a lot of sellers keep their feedback private because even positive feedback might indicate that a previous bag was fake, thus discouraging future buyers. like "great bag, you'd never know it was fake!" or something like that.

 

[coco-nut]

Yes, let's distinguish between private feedback and private auctions.

There are good reasons for private auctions, as stated by Chanel4me83 and amanda, but NO reason for private feedback.

 

[LucreziaCA]

Hmmm, that's what I thought. Gosh, why do any business on ebay if that's the case- feedback is the cornerstone of the ebay model.

 

[chicky]

Hmmm...not sure if it's always down to something shady!

Once or twice, i have made my feedback private, one occasion was when a buyer left me some not very nice feedback slating i had sold something which was not genuine (It was only a high street top and was totally legitimate!)
So i opted to make my feedback private until that page had passed because i felt it was damaging to my profile, even through we agreed to remove the feedback, it was still there for all to read.
I was still selling several others of the same top at the same time so felt it would be damaging for future buyers.

Also, you may have bought a pressie for someone and you don't want them to know about it - this is only good if they don't know your user ID. But if they do know your user ID, all they'd have to do is click on advanced search to see what you've been bidding on anyway!

So, i think that, occasionally, there are justified reasons for wanting to hide your feedback profile, but not on a permanent basis.

 

[purselova34]

I really don't see any reason for it. Seems questionable. That's why I would not buy bags off of ebay.

 

[jasanna143]

Eh, I stay away from private feedback sellers. To me, it just seems too shady like "what do they have to hide?"

 

[ayla]

I've heard of some people that actually take the time to harass previous buyers through eBay's messaging system so the seller had to make her feedback private for that reason.

But you're right, I'm not a big fan of it, the neg feedback hurts especially when it's unjustified.

 

[peacocky]

The sellers who use Private feedback, nad it's actually accepted, are those sellers who sell adult items/toys/clothing/fetish who respect their buyers privacy. That way it keeps other members looking at who they sold to and what.

 

[coco-nut]

The sellers who use Private feedback, nad it's actually accepted, are those sellers who sell adult items/toys/clothing/fetish who respect their buyers privacy. That way it keeps other members looking at who they sold to and what.

That's a reason to have private auctions, not private feedback.

Feedback is just an 80 character comment, like "Fast shipping! Great item! Excellent communication! Thanks!" and rarely is the item or any personal information mentioned.

 

[peacocky]

Some sellers don't want family members or friends or co-workers to fall upon what they sell or buy. Ebay can cost people their jobs, families, and friends over stuff, so if they have a LEGITIMATE reason to hide it, then it is ok. Otherwise, you're a fraud.