I really liked having the replies visible, as many would shed additional light on the items for sale. e.g. someone might ask a specific question about it, and the answer would be posted there for everyone to see.
As it is now, that question might be sent to the seller in a PM, but the reply would only be known to the PMer in a PM reply. However, that question is likely to be something that lots of people want to know...
Sure, people can theoretically edit their posts, but I'm not sure eveyrone knows how to do that (as evidenced by all the items "for sale" that are actually long since sold), and besides, it's much more interesting to see what questions people have actually posted.
That's my two cents....
So yeah - I think Jimmy's suggestion is the best way to go. Stops the bumpage, but still allows questions to be answered publicly.
