[Shuie]

The intent is to prevent the bogus 2nd chance offers. Sure it conceals certain details from the general public, but thats kinda the point of it being private. Non private auctions get shilled all the time rather easily and people get burned in non private auctions all the time, so I don't buy the idea that it has anything to do with that.

I don't understand the 'bidder x' thing that went into effect recently. I still see a lot of auctions where I can see who is bidding on what.

The guys that I know that really wheel and deal on ebay all have half a dozen different userids, proxy snipe bidding accounts, paypal accounts, and will employ every trick in the book to get whatever they are after. There's nothing too shadey about this sutff, but its a global marketplace where people compete to buy and sell things. The more you know about how it works, the better your chances and finding whatever it is you need or want.