Another seller contacting my bidders

3card

I am selling an item on ebay, its an item of which there are a few similar for sale.
I have got this morning an email that the current highest bidder as sent to me that he as received form another seller asking him if he would be interested in "doing a deal" for his item.

I am thinking of contacting Ebay & letting them sort this out but I am thinking that in future I would like to protect my bidder's id's to stop this happening.
What would other Ebayers do in this situation & can someone help me find out how to hide the bidder's id on any future auctions??

TIA, 3card

HairyHatMan

When creating the listing, you can mark it as private. Then no-one can see the bidders ids'. Not sure if you change it once the auction is 'live'.

Forward the email to ebay. It's certainly against ebay rules to contact bidders of other items.

angelcake

does making the auction private make it look dodgey??

I have often thought of making auctions private but thought that I probably wouldn't get too many bids??

3card

does making the auction private make it look dodgey??

I have often thought of making auctions private but thought that I probably wouldn't get too many bids??

Hi Angel

I'd be interested in your thoughts as to why it might make it look dodgey?? All I am looking at doing is "hiding" the bidders names from anyone else.

I can understand it sounding dodgey if the sellers feedback is hidden (as i have seen a few times) but im not sure if im missing something in your thinking.

Thanks for the reply, 3card

bluep

I prefer auctions where I can see the other bidders as it means I can be "strategic" - check their feedback and other bids on other items to see if there is a pattern to how they bid - in small incretments and coming back to check just before the item finishes or one big bid at the start for their max, win or lose....etc.... Obviously this doesn't mean that's how they'd behave with this auction, but it makes it fun.

The only auctions I've seen with bidders private has been for lingerie/underwear, "adult pleasure" or fetish LOL.

Hintza

I tend to avoid hidden id auctions. Would be very easy for a shiller to operate.

jockettuk

i like to see others ids as well but then im a nosey sod. when im looking at something i like or are bidding on, i check the other bidders feedback to see what they have won previously and sometimes i have seen things that i hadnt come across check the sellers items and ive bought things this way.. so making the ids private means i might miss out on things lol

soolin

bluep wrote:

The only auctions I've seen with bidders private has been for lingerie/underwear, "adult pleasure" or fetish LOL.

I'm with you on that bluep, I temd to think of private auctions being for adult style goods.

However, back to the OP, definitely ask your bidder to report the email to ebay. The mail, will have to have been sent through the ebay system and there will be a direct link to report it as spam.

Soo

3card

Just to confirm to all of you. The item im selling is not of an "Adult nature"!!

Its a piece of computer hardware!!! LOL

Seems the general feeling is that I shouldnt hide the bidders id's.
If i was to report this guy do you think he would get suspended?? if so how soon would this happen?? His auction finishes sometime tomorrow evening.

Regards, 3card

soolin

In my experience unless the seller already has a warning, or unless ebay have more than one report on the same seller for spamming they will only warn him, not suspend him.

There is another thread on here today regarding contacting other bidders and it might be worth reading that to see the other point of view. I mention on that thread that I have seen sellers suspended after I have reported them, but I always assume that my complaint was one of many or that the seller had already been warned. I don't believe a single report from a user will get another user suspended unless the reporter is a platinum power seller.

Soo

angelcake

3card wrote:

does making the auction private make it look dodgey??

I have often thought of making auctions private but thought that I probably wouldn't get too many bids??

Hi Angel

I'd be interested in your thoughts as to why it might make it look dodgey?? All I am looking at doing is "hiding" the bidders names from anyone else.

I can understand it sounding dodgey if the sellers feedback is hidden (as i have seen a few times) but im not sure if im missing something in your thinking.

Thanks for the reply, 3card

Think many people have answered this question.....if an auction is private you can't see who has bid so any shilling activity is hidden!! I would prob steer clear!!