Setting up an ebay sale so its only available to a certain buyer

[daydream**believer]

I have something to sell and i have a buyer who wants it.

I want to set up the item for sale via ebay but i only want it to be available to this certain buyer.

Is that possible?

[the-kazbar]

No. A few years back it was but it is no longer possible.

The best you can do is put something like "private listing for blahblahblah" as the title and keep the description short. Then send the buyer the item number and hope they buy it before some smarty pants does 🙂

[daydream**believer]

oh ok. thanks

[leader-of-the-band]

While there is no function on eBay to do this as a private sale there are ways around it.  If you can sort out the details of the sale with your buyer you can make it happen in a number of ways.

One that I have used is to use the Buy-It-Now listing format with 'Best offer' feature.  Set your Buy-Now price outrageously high, say $150 for an item that normally sells for around $30.  That way, all offers have to come to you.  Tell your buyer to offer the agreed amount and that you will accept that offer.  I have used this method and it has worked for me.  If someone else hits the Buy-Now button before your buyer at least the outrageous price will ease your pain of selling to the wrong buyer.

Another method is to list the item to start at a date well into the future, say 3 weeks time.  This way you get an item number that you can message to your buyer.  Your buyer lets you know what time they will be able to buy and you either revise the listing to start a minute or two before that time (scheduled start will cost you 40 cents though), OR, you get online at the nominated time and revise your item to "Start immediately" and pay no fee for scheduled start as you will have disabled it.

The other ways I have used are less reliable than these two methods and involve listing titles that make no sense (e.g 'A widget for you') and two word descriptions like "For xxxxxx" where the xxxxxx represents the buyers ID.  Some buyers are not comfortable with these methods as titles and descriptions are useful in PayPal claims and if they agree to do it that way they need to trust you 100%.

[kopenhagen5]

I find the easiest is one of LOTBs suggestions. List it with a few words in the title and no photos, no description. Give the item no. to the buyer, very unlikely anyone else will buy it.

[leader-of-the-band]

and if someone else does buy-it you can send them something else that matches the title and description and keep the real item for the intended buyer.

Hard for someone to claim "Significantly not as described" if it is not described!

[kangarooislandleathercraft]

I have had success with setting up listings on request and stating that "this is a listing to meet a particular order" or something similar, no picture and send the item number to the interested buyer.  Have not had to play tricks with the price as these items are usually so far down the search list that they never show.

[lemmayj]

Another way is to list at auction with the agreed price as the start price, and (optional) put buyer's name in the title.

You get the buyer to bid, cancel any bids from any other bidder, and end the auction early by selling to highest bidder...

[patchoo78]

I think Kazbars idea is a lot less complicated..

A seller on here did the same think for me, just had the listing as "Private listing for Patchoo" then just messaged me the item number..

No one will buy it if they can't search for it

[the3coopers]

A seller on here did the same think for me, just had the listing as "Private listing for Patchoo" then just messaged me the item number..

No one will buy it if they can't search for it

The listing should STILL have a description etc... because otherwise the is a risk of a dispute later about what was offered and paid for.

Whether this is a real rsik re: Paypal claims... I am not sure. But I reckon it's poor form to not even describe your item (even in a private listing).

What I do is what LOTB mentioned - I make a normal listing with photos etc, but I make the title "SPECIAL ORDER" and I use BIN with Best Offer to set a unrealisticly high starting price