Advertised items not in stock

[oztopcat]

I have had a run of winning auction items and buying pay now items only to receive a message sometime after having paid that the item/s are not in stock.   This seems to be a growing concern and destroys the confidence in using ebay.   Are others having the same problem or am I just having a run of bad luck?

[zanadoo_56]

I've had the problem with out of stock books (US and UK) and dolls clothes (Hong Kong)...and one item (AU) where the seller thought there was one available but alas couldn't find it! 🙂

I find it particularly annoying when sellers continue to advertise the items for sale sometimes listing how many of the items they have left....which is a complete fiction.

[jplus*]

No, happened to me as well.

If its a small seller - consider letting them off and perhaps the dog ate it.

A big HV seller - consider the probabilities.

Theres are certain practices that occur (that I will not mention, do some research) with some sellers as to why this can occur.

And I personally think it should be discouraged.

However - reasons can vary. Its up to you to make the determination.

The seller takes a *risk* on listing items they are unable to guarantee for sale. That *risk* can result in a -FB if their plans fail.

If you've paid and it will take a while to receive the refund. Then what is the measure of the inconvenience and does it warrant -FB?

Make the call. 🙂

[purchases101craft]

Hi,

I sell quite a few item on Ebay ( under another ID) and I have had this happen to me as a seller and it is very annoying and embarrassing too, I don't know why it happens  as when I list the item I put into Ebay the exact quantity I have to sell. I always let the buyer know as soon as I realise the problem and either refund their payment or let them know how long it will take for me to get new stocks in ( if available) and give them the choice.

I have started to double check my quantities when I am getting down to the last 2 or 3 & I do find the occasional discrepancy with what Ebay says I have left to sell.

I don't know why it happens but Ebays counters could be thrown out when there are Non Paying Buyers (NPB's) and the item is relisted after a final Value fee refund.

It is certainly not a scam and it adds a lot more work of constantly stock taking when you can't trust Ebays listed quantities.

Ebays Best match search parameters don't help as it seems that an item can sit on the shelf for a months without a sale then one sells, so the listing goes higher on the page. Then suddenly a few more sell and it gets higher and higher on the search and then before you can restock they have all sold in just a few days after sitting for months without one sale.

Then when you finaly get more in stock the relisted  listing goes back to the bottom of the search, as my category can have up to 50,000 items no one ever searches through them all.

OOPS !!!

 look like I just had a bit of a whinge/vent,

SORRY EVERYONE

Bye for Now

[jplus*]

Sorry purchases101craft - thats just plain wrong.

Theres nothing wrong with ebay counters.

You also have other options available to you delist/relist/revise.

If a seller has multiple sales channels (ebay, online store, offline shop), then thats their problem if they're not keeping track of quantities.

For items < $100 then I'm sure most buyers will let it pass. For for items listed > $100.00 - sellers are playing with peoples money and making multiple bets (on different channels).

But thats the risk they take.

If a seller spreads out their stock over multiple sales channels, then they need to sync up their database with Ebays API.

Also if you have a NPB and ebay doesn't adjust for that - then you have EXCESS stock of 1.

Theres also another common practice among HV sellers in certain markets, when it comes to listing stock they don't have. But thats a whole other can of worms...

Buyers need to be aware and sellers should not whine when they receive a big fat -FB for causing an inconvenience with their money.

Roll with it or don't place the bet.

[digital*ghost]

This sort of thing has increased due to Best Match and the way items are sorted in search results. Listings with sales history generally rank higher than new listings or those with no / fewer sales, so when an item is out of stock, some sellers have taken to keeping a certain quantity available to ensure the listing doesn't end while they await new stock. It's against eBay policy and often will result in less than positive feedback, but for high volume sellers the benefit of maintaining their placement in rankings outweighs the consequences of a few neutrals or negs. 

I usually make less stock available than what I have, since I list on a couple of sites and also to account for any faulty items or non-delivery. 

[mjlcapdagde]

Yes this has happened to me. I tried to buy the same item, a particular Citizen quartz watch, from 6 different sellers in Japan. Six times, three of them after I transferred payment, I was told 'sorry, item unavailable/already sold' upon winning the 'buy now' auction.

The other three times I explicitly asked that the seller confirm the physical availability of the product I had just bought before sending payment. Infuriatingly, the answer in these cases would be 'yes, it's in stock', then I would make the payment, then I would get the 'sorry no stock' message!

I always receive a prompt refund from these absurd transactions, but PayPal refunds take a week to be released into my bank account. It's aggravating and baffling. And I agree it erodes trust.

Since you can't leave feedback after a 'cancelled' transaction, I don't know what to do about this issue; all I can conclude from it is that you shouldn't buy a watch on Ebay from Japanese Ebay sellers.

[beach_and_home]

Interesting thread. I recently bought a phone battery from an Australian seller, only to be told after payment that they had no stock. Ok, no problem. Then a few days later when I was searching again for the same battery I found that they had "preserved" their listing by putting the price up so high as to ensure nobody would buy it. Obviously they did this to keep the listing active while they waited for more stock. An interesting way to do it, and probably fairer than to just keep selling them.

[jameshouseofstyle]

Hi to all,

I still don't know and never will why is shopping on Ebay any different than  shopping anywhere else?

Maybe the ability to trash someone and leave bad f/back - and that's about it.

Being out of stock happens everywhere - so what else is new?

For me , most annoying are orders for grocery items from either of the two major supermarkets, when delivered they are  items either out of stock or substituted with a similar thing/different brand.

Last thing I want to do at the best of times is having to actually go to the supermarket, but especially not after getting home from work.

Most of the people I know - and that is hell of a lot of them - hate that,

yet like mugs that we are -  we go next week for more of the same!

I often read here on the boards that when something is out of stock it's major tragedy, it's this & that,

advice is invariably the same:

"let your feelings be known - leave a neg"

yet in real life, when one personally complains about the same thing they stand there behind the counter looking at you like you came from another planet, like saying: "get a life, these things happen, so what!"

[bsal6160]

True James BUT at least standing at the counter you WOULD NOT hand over money for an out of stock item.