Private eBay Feedback

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Posted By: George Counter

What are your thoughts about it?
Do you guys buy/sell with confidence from/to "secretive" eBayers?

Am I missing something on why to keep feedback private even with generic positive/negative info showing?

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Posted By: Cobby33

Maybe they buy/sell a lot of porn and don't want people knowing about it? Just a guess-honest (my feedback is public BTW).

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Posted By: Dustan Hedlin

The way I see it, there is no reason at all for private feedback/private auctions on ebay. I have never understood how exactly it benefits ebay, the seller or the buyer.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

I keep my feedback on eBay private. I have no intention of selling items on eBay. I have zero negatives, zero grey zones. I am curious how sellers view this preference.

I do not see the advantage of revealing what I buy at auction. I have found knowing what someone else typically buys as advantageous in a competitive bid.

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Posted By: Josh K.

I may be mistaken, but I thought that even if another ebayer's feedback was private, you can still view any auctions he/she has won.

The only thing you cant see are the comments left by others.

I see no advantage to private feedback - particularly if you are selling. I usually will not buy from a seller with either a private auction or feedback.

Edited to add - I am mistaken. You cant see anything. Regardless, I see no advantage to private feedback. Just looks like you have something to hide.

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Posted By: George Counter

The reason I asked is because I don't feel that confortable selling to a private feedback buyer.
The fact of not knowing who posted those positive comments or the items involved in the transactions are my main concern.
With the private feedback option is impossible to know if the 100+ or 200+ positive comments are from shill bidding activities.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Well George, a seller has a legitimate concern regarding on line transactions. And there is very little information available to go on. As I indicated, there are reasons (although in light of Josh's statements, perhaps stupid reasons ... lets make that "uninformed reasons") that a buyer may choose to hide some information about his transactions.

But if you have a policy regarding private feedback bidders in your auctions, you should state that in your auction; so that a prospective bidder can choose to change his private status for you auction.

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Posted By: David Smith

Private auctions and feedback = scams and shill bidding to me.

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Posted By: andy becker

hi george,
since you are the seller, i think you need to attempt to complete the transaction. if the buyer does not pay in a reasonable amount of time, you request a final value credit through ebay. you will have to wait a week, and then you will get a credit from ebay and you can relist the item.
if the deal goes south, it will take you about a month to resell the item.
again, as a seller you really should try to complete the transaction.

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Posted By: Josh K.

I understand the concern about a private feedback buyer, but frankly, if he pays, it really doesnt matter if all his feedback is from shills or not. Just make sure you get a certified check and send the card out with a signature required. If he pays by regular bank check then wait ten days before shipping so you know the check has cleared. Finally, if he pays by paypal, sweep the money into your bank account as soon as you get it.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

I recall threads in this forum detailing some unscrupulous actions of buyers resulting in transactions going bad without seller wrongdoing. Not being a seller, I did not focus on the details, but others can recount their experiences, if they care to.

Regarding private feedback: the reason I initially stated appears valid. I checked the private feedback of the second high bidder in fkw's phoney n184 thread, and I could solely view the buyer's summary info, with no transaction detail.

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Posted By: bob d

To me a seller with private feedback is the biggest red flag there is and I would never bid on an item by such a seller.

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

Two different answers...

I stay clear of all private feedback sellers. Always. Initially becuase the stuff they sell looks like crap, or it is cut out photos from an old guide. (Which of it self seems blasphemous to a bibliophile.)

As for buyers, I understand the concern. If you don't want to sell to private buyers, mention that in your listing. Otherwise, I think you're obligated to sell to a private buyer.

If I were to win Powerball, I might get an additional identity, and make "big" purchases through it. And it would be private. A potential burglar could figure out who buys big stuff, and track them down. If you've made big strong bids on stuff, and a seller knows it, he might line up a shill bidder. Do you really want folks to know you're spending 4 and 5 figures on cards????

I think some folks should have 2 identities anyway. One for buying, and one for selling. A few regular seller dealers have outbid me on some cards that I was attempting to win, much to my annoyance. After that happens, it sticks in my mind. And if I see that they're the seller of some card I'm after, I pass on it. I figure I would have won a few of those auctions. They, as sellers, lost money because they outbid me on something. Petty? Probably. But it is the truth.

A fellow asked me to write a piece for a card magazine, and I was considering doing it, until he outbid me on a team photo. And unless he was totally clueless, he should have realized that it was me he was outbidding. I may well write the article, but it won't be appearing in his magazine given my current frame of mind. Maybe he'll contact me and mend fences... who knows.

So... I don't deal with private sellers. I think private buyers are ok.