I am fairly new to e-bay, and was also wondering about the etiquette and protocol around bidding. I’ve seen things that made me wonder too, like private bidder names, not just partially hidden names like a*****5. I’ve wondered if the sellers might be trying to inflate the bids by inserting their own higher bids.

On one auction for a custom knife, the opening bid was set at $0.99, and for over one week there were no bids. The day before the auction closed, I requested information about the knife. As soon as I sent a message to the seller requesting more information, the private bids started coming in. Within a few hours, there were 10 bids (from two private bidders) bumping the price up to over $68.00 + shipping. I wondered if I had shown no interest in the product if those private bids would not have appeared.

Regardless, I have walked away with some good purchases at great prices. Most recently was a vintage (1969) wool “girl’s kilt” in the Morrison green modern tartan, from the Hamilton House in Edinburgh. It was listed as a size XS (24”-26” waist). I was the only bidder and walked away with it for $12.99 + $4.00 shipping! And it included a gold-tone safety pin style kilt pin! I thought it was a steal!!!

On this one, I did watch the seconds tick down at the end of the auction, and then celebrated the win.

Now to find someone in my family with a 24"-26" waist.