You Can't Take Any Chances
Smart move having people contact you privately because here on the forum, everything is fair game. In other words, someone might see a cue posted on your thread and swipe out from under you.
From the seller's standpoint, posting on your thread makes sense because even if you don't like the cue, someone else might. At the same time, other forum members get to see available cues and prices which helps educate everyone on fair cue prices. And other posted comments from Forum members on a thread are generally also helpful and educational.
Personally speaking, I think every cue should get posted with asking prices.......just my opinion.....if you snooze, you lose.....it's a free market system. I realize there's merit to the notion that your thread might act as a catalyst for cue offers from others and therefore you should have first, if not exclusive, rights to buying it. But that's not what I imagine the forum is all about......it's an open market.....and you can't always control the outcome.
Cudos on the idea to ask for cue replies via PM to keep things under wraps. However, I'd rather not see cue sales handled that way on the Forum and the more open and above board, the better off the cue resale market will be. Doing it in a way where everyone can see what's happening on cue sales helps to stimulate interest and also establishes a range of fair market prices useful for everyone..........Again, this is just my opinion.