Shill Bidding on Private listings

JQ.

I'm watching an auction for a car, where the listing is "Private" - why do people do private listings, what is the benefit?

I'm slightly concerned in that the seller's view of value (the Buy it Now price) is massively inflated and they may therefore look to engage in a bit of shill bidding to get the price up - With the listing being private, once it's finished I presume I won't be able to tell who bid against me and whether they've bid on an other auctions belonging to this seller. Is this the case?

Am I being overly cautious, it's just I don't understand why people do private listings? This particular seller is not a trader and sells bits and bobs from time to time, but it's only the expensive items that are listed as private, the rest are open.

Thanks

sham63

Yes you're right - it's an easy way to try and cover up shill bidding & I'm always suspicious of 'private' listings.

However, if you are aware of what's going on and only bid what you're happy to pay (regardless of the circumstances) it doesn't matter too much.

It will only affect those who don't set themselves a max price and are drawn into a bidding war.

Just treat it as an auction with a 'hidden' reserve!

samutiana

I list private listings, but then again I sell a lot of (new!) underwear and some buyers don't want details of the items in their feedback history!

vax2002

Its the best way to make sure 3/4 of buyers Ignore your auction.

porto_bello

vax2002 wrote: »

Its the best way to make sure 3/4 of buyers Ignore your auction.

Yes, I've noticed that private auctions hit a glass ceiling well beneath that of a transparent auction, for an identical item. Nobody with an understanding of shill bidding - and an understanding of eBay's unwillingness to accept it happens - will go near them.

JQ.

vax2002 wrote: »

Its the best way to make sure 3/4 of buyers Ignore your auction.

That sounds like good news then, as I only ever snipe auctions, so my max price will be my max price and if the seller outbids me then, no doubt they'll be back to me as second highest bidder. Although that does mean they'll get my highest price out of me - I'll just have to adjust my snipe accordingly. I certainly won't be bidding market value, it's only worth buying if I get a bargain. So fingers crossed it does put off all the other potential bidders.

I can understand people not wanting certain items of under wear in their history, but making the listing for a car private seems odd.

Cheers for the help.