Bidder ID private

Wig

I've seen before the bidders ID kept private, I think that is an option the seller can select for the listing ..... correct?

Why would a seller do this? As far as I can see it serves no useful purpose and only helps shillers. I would not bid on a listing which kept bidders ID private. Would you?

But I have just come acrosss this type that I've never seen before, so has this seller opted for partial anonimity for the bidders IDs?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BIODIESEL-1000-LITRES-FREE-IBC_W0QQitemZ9513560374QQcategoryZ26261QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


BTW the listing says duties paid...it does not say which duties so I have asked a question if "Use as a ROAD FUEL" Duty has been paid on this product and will he supply evidence on purchase.

tigrul

I think people selling slightly dodgy things like !!!!!! etc make the auction private so potential bidders aren't embarrassed by bidding.

I don't know why people with good feedback make their feedback private- I've had private buyers before, but they've always paid up on time and not caused problems.

Wig

tigrul wrote:

I think people selling slightly dodgy things like !!!!!! etc make the auction private so potential bidders aren't embarrassed by bidding.

No I don't think so, it can happen anywhere, the question is why? and why does Ebay allow it?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HOW-TO-KILL-YOUR-HUSBAND-KATHY-LETTE_W0QQitemZ8801857224QQcategoryZ64228QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
The seller does it on all their listings by the looks of things.

carrie483

I have only bought BIN's from eBay before where the id is kept private. I think things like that should be the only things allowed, letting the seller do private auction for anything just allows shill bidding in my opinion.

Carrie

scooter100_2

the id has been partially hidden because he made an offer and if the offer is declined the bidders id remains anonymous.this happens in all auctons which use "best offer"

Wig

scooter100 wrote:

the id has been partially hidden because he made an offer and if the offer is declined the bidders id remains anonymous.

Thanks

this happens in all auctons which use "best offer"

Do you know why?

carrie483

Just had a thought so i better add; the auctions i had bought weren't for dodgy !!!!!! films or anything like that :rotfl: :rolleyes:

angelcake

I would use a private auction for high priced items. I was selling a drill a while ago for £400 the bidders that didn't win all got contacted by scammers who said they had second chance offers etc and to click on the link to buy it now for £300-£200 - someone had been watching my auction and contacted the losing bidders by email. I acted quickly and report to each bidder and ebay otherwise it coulda been me in very big trouble!

Wig

I still wouldn't bid on an private auction high price item or not (actually even more so on an high value item). It's not the sellers place to do things which you percieve as helping your bidders avoid being offered deals. If you want to do that, just add a warning into your listing, to ignore (and report) any 'offers' they might get as a result of bidding on this item.

private auctions a shillers paradise I can't think why there aren't many more of them considering the amount of shilling that goes on.

spurs1234

Hi everyone just to recap on the seller that WiG picked out, look at this link its totally lagit this is there history all the private ones look fine to me, she's just protecting her buyers .

A bit like how you would expect a company to keep your details safe.

http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MfcISAPICommand=ViewListedItems&since=30&userid=spinsarah0&include=0&rows=50&sort=3&completed=1

Wig

spurs1234 wrote:

she's just protecting her buyers .

A bit like how you would expect a company to keep your details safe.

She may or may not be legit. Protecting her buyers??? From what? User Id's are anonymous anyway.

IMO it's not the sellers place to be hiding bidders ID, bidders know how Ebay works they don't need a seller to decide they need their bidding activities kept secret.

all the private ones look fine to me

How can you tell they look fine ?? The whole point of keeping it private is that you can't tell anything. You can't see if you're being shilled for example. The most likely reason for doing this is because shilling is taking place. But it's OK because "everything looks fine to you" oh OK then if you say so :rotfl: