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I've put my store on vacation dozens of time with listings hidden and have never had anyone purchase, the Watch list loophole was closed long ago as far as I know from experience and from what others have experienced.
Most of the time when a seller complains it turns out they turned the vacation setting on but didn't hide their listings or they were running Auctions and didn't end them,
Extra long handling times may keep eBay happy in terms of Seller Performance metrics but it does nothing for buyers who either don't see or don't understand the notice the seller provides (they certainly are rarely taking note of handling times).
I always use 5 day handling and I doubt there are many of my buyers who realize this given the number of "has this shipped yet?" messages that I get (it's not a huge number) the day after payment.
@recped wrote:I've put my store on vacation dozens of time with listings hidden and have never had anyone purchase, the Watch list loophole was closed long ago as far as I know from experience and from what others have experienced.
Most of the time when a seller complains it turns out they turned the vacation setting on but didn't hide their listings or they were running Auctions and didn't end them,
I agree with your first comment, I've never encountered this problem myself, and I've used the vacation setting, hiding my listings, for as long as it's been available (years).
However, I'm not sure that the earlier poster (see Post #2) was confused about their settings when they reported a sale had occurred even when the listings were hidden. I suppose it depends when that actually happened. If recent, then perhaps the glitch is back, just in time for Christmas. The Glitch who stole Christmas? (Sorry, apologies, couldn't resist -- go ahead and groan now). 
[Edit: OK, so now I see we have another seller reporting the same thing. I'll bring this up on Dec. 7th with Raphael and see if he has an explanation].
[Edit: OK, so now I see we have another seller reporting the same thing. I'll bring this up on Dec. 7th with Raphael and see if he has an explanation].
Yes do that but keep in mind, making an offer is not exactly the same as actually buying. For an offer the seller has to accept for the buyer have any chance to purchase. I could see eBay's system allowing offers while still blocking purchases.
What I'm saying is that having an item on ones watch list might enable a buyer to view the listing, possibly even make an offer but not allow purchase (except maybe if the offer is accepted).
Just a bit of a follow up......I'm in another thread where the who Vacation thing is being thrashed out (seller didn't hide listings and suffered).
In reviewing the help page for Vacation setting I notice the disclaimer that IF you have IPR set on FP listings buyer can still purchase even when listings are hidden.
Making your fixed price listings unavailable
What it does: This option hides all of your fixed price listings so buyers don't see them in your eBay Store, in search results, in cross-promotions (where other items are promoted in your listing), or on any other eBay pages. Using this option prevents buyers from buying items and waiting longer than expected to receive them from you. This feature also lowers your risk of receiving negative Feedback and transaction defects for items not received.
Other information about this option:
Only your fixed price listings are hidden. All auction-style and other listings will continue to appear to buyers as they normally do.
Buyers who have already purchased items from these listings still able to view them.
Note: If you selected the immediate pay option on your listings, buyers can still purchase your items.
All other characteristics of your fixed price listings stay the same. For example, listings may expire if they aren't scheduled to be automatically renewed or relisted.
Your fixed price listings remain hidden until you turn off this option in your vacation settings.
Well, I brought this matter up with Raphael yesterday (see Post #16 in the thread below), but it appears it's still unclear (see Posts #22 and 23 in that same thread). Personally, I've never had a hidden item sell while my store was on vacation, but that's not proof that the feature actually works -- it could just be that no one tried to make a purchase from elsewhere than my store.
Since Raphael is leaving, chances are this issue will languish for some time. In the meantime, if we're unable to monitor and manage our stores while on vacation we can:
1) Lengthen handling time to cover the period of absence. (However, depending on how long you're away, I think this could be risky unless you use a tracked shipping method when you return, especially if you have an impatient buyer who didn't notice the delivery details);
2) End all listings; or
3) Zero out listings (if you sell multiple-quantity items).
Or ... don't take a vacation. 
Personally I don't want to have to end all my listings in order to put my store on vacation. What's the point then of eBay having a vacation setting with items 'hidden' at all?
We might actually be able to resolve the question fairly quickly ourselves if two of us sellers are willing to do an experiment -- SellerA puts SellerB's item on their watch list (something inexpensive); SellerB then puts their store on vacation with the "hidden" feature, and SellerA attempts to purchase the "hidden" item from their watch list.
It likely wouldn't even have to involve an actual purchase -- if SellerA gets as far as putting the item in their checkout cart, chances are there would be no barrier to completing the purchase. If SellerA gets an error message about the item being unavailable, then we know the 'hidden' feature is working as we'd expect it to.
Anybody game to try it?
