Private Listings - Is there any point?

[needsmorerobots]

Are there any benefits to keep listings that are not auction and not personal in nature private?

I've read that Ebay already blanks out part of a buyer's name anyways. How effective is this?

I've made my listings private since day one for two main reasons:

1. Protect the interests of sellers who purchase to resell.

2. Protect customers who are well known publicly.

I started questioning this practice after reading a 6 year old thread.

[pjcdn2005]

I don’t see private listings as a benefit unless  the items are adult or of a personal nature.  On the buyers feedback, there is no longer a link to an item and on the sellers feedback, a buyers ID is hidden. 

There have been a few times when I’ve been looking at a sellers negative feedback and  want to look at the listing to see if the buyer just missed something.  It’s a bit annoying not to be able to do that. Or, buyers could be giving raving feedbacks about something that you sell but I wouldn’t be able to see what it was.

[femmefan1946]

If a buyer wants to keep his purchases a secret from .... a nosy spouse? maybe?.... then the private auction might help disguise the nature of their purchases.
Unless the spouse is canny enough to click on the seller's name and check out his listings, which would likely give the game away if not the actual play.

The smart way for a reseller to buy is to use a different ID, and not tell anyone what it is or the password.

Same for members who are "public", but unless they are using @therealDonaldTrump as their eBay ID, they would remain as anonymous as you or I. 

[recped]

The only real "advantage" for a seller is that it hides the selling price of the items, maybe worthwhile if you are inclined to raise and lower prices frequently on repeatable items.