Private auctions are auctions with a special setting that hides the identities of all bidders. This means that people who view your auction page cannot see any of the bidders on the item. It also means thatdoing a buyer search on anyone who has bidded in a private auction will not show up any of these auctions.

Private auctions should be used when an item is highly collectible (to prevent another seller from poaching a bidder) and to hide bidders identities on items that could be embarassing if anyone viewed their recent bids list.

When Should I Use a Private Auction?

You should always use the private auction in well thought-out circumstances. For one, many people refuse to bid on an auction that is listed as a private auction. This is because bidders cannot tell if an auction is being bid unneccessarily high through suspicious bidding, so many just won't bid at all.

Private auctions are really only meant for two circumstances. The first is when an item is highly collectible and sought after, and there is the danger of another seller contacting bidders to offer the item to the bidder for a lower price, effectively cutting you out of the profitable deal, even though you were the one who did all the work.

The second instance is when an item could be potentially embarassing for bidders to be bidding on. When the auction is private, bidders can bid with confidence that friends and family surfing their buyers list won't see the embarassing items they purchased. This is done in many adult auctions.

If you use the private auction option frequently, unless your item fits well in one of the above two scenarios, you could potentially lose money from bidders who will pass on your auction and head to another sellers instead.