"private listing - bidder's identities protected"

Mimster

Member
Jul 20, 2009
3,435
8
What does this mean exactly? I have seen several auction like these on ebay and not sure what to make of it. There were a couple of auctions that ended but then the items got relisted again. Are the sellers not happy with the end bid or what? Are the bidders' ID already protected? Why this phrase?
 
No, no, no...not adult auctions, lol! They are just preventing anyone from viewing the auction/item later on when feedback is given. I have no clue how to turn my auctions private though (and I´m not selling X-rated stuff, LOL)
 
LOL i've gone looking at some of my buyers before (or the sellers) and have found private auctions. yet when i click on the seller to see what they sell, it is sometimes used bras and panties :roflmfao:
 
^lol on the adult content. No these are bags. the descriptions & pictures are visible but when you click on the bids history, it only shows the bidding amount and this phrase.

Like this:



Bidders:3Bids:3Time left:5 days 23 hours 22 minsDuration:7 days

Only actual bids (not automatic bids generated up to a bidder's maximum) are shown. Automatic bids may be placed days or hours before a listing ends. Learn more about bidding.
Show automatic bids
Bidder Bid Amount Bid Time
private listing - bidders' identities protected US $500.00 22-Feb-10 04:58:34 EST
private listing - bidders' identities protected US $500.00 22-Feb-10 05:52:28 EST
private listing - bidders' identities protected US $100.00 22-Feb-10 01:25:12 EST

Starting Price US $0.99 21-Feb-10 23:58:07 EST


lovely64, so this is the bidder doing this and not the seller?
 
i've figured that some of those auctions are probably "adult" auctions

Correct! And some are fetish auctions as well. I remember reading an article about a lady who would sell her used high heels and boots for outrageous sums to men with foot fetishes. I'm sure that's not the most outrageous "adult" auction on ebay...

No, no, no...not adult auctions, lol! They are just preventing anyone from viewing the auction/item later on when feedback is given. I have no clue how to turn my auctions private though (and I´m not selling X-rated stuff, LOL)

See above :P I'm sure there are people that make the auctions private for the reason you listed, but there are legitimate "adult" auctions that are private for a reason... trust me, you probably don't want to see them, lol!
 
I used to not understand why people made their listings private but now... I TOTALLY GET IT!

I recently had a scammer message the buyer of one of my auctions pretending to be me. They told the seller that they had to pay a different paypal account because mine wasn't working right. The seller almost paid but luckily they emailed me first and I told them not to do anything and that it was most definitely a scam. My buyer ended up backing out of the sale because they thought it was a "sign".

From that day on I swore to change my listings to private so no one could see who my buyers were. I keep forgetting though :sweatdrop:
 
I used this option at one time, when ebay didn't "hide" the buyers screen name. The option was there, that way other ebay members wouldn't be able to scam or spoof message the buyers.

Ebay now automatically hides the buyers screen name... so unless they're selling "toys" there's really no need to make the auctions private. (well for my selling sake at least.. :smile: )

Yes... exactly what Littlerock said~!
 
Correct! And some are fetish auctions as well. I remember reading an article about a lady who would sell her used high heels and boots for outrageous sums to men with foot fetishes. I'm sure that's not the most outrageous "adult" auction on ebay...



See above :P I'm sure there are people that make the auctions private for the reason you listed, but there are legitimate "adult" auctions that are private for a reason... trust me, you probably don't want to see them, lol!

Private auction doesn't mean that the auction itself is un-viewable. All it means is that you can't see the identity of the winning bidder :shrugs: