Seller clicking something is posted, then says out of stock?

[brewhi-11]

Is a seller aloud to advertise something, then click its posted, then say days later no item in stock? And would i be intiltaled to roughly same product listed on their page but other listing is higher in price though? Thanks

[maranock]

If a seller buys a shipping label through Ebay then a shipping tracking number is generated and it is automatically shown as posted, even though the seller has not actually posted it.

This means that if a seller gets a sale on Friday night and gets everything ready to package up the item sometime over the weekend then on Monday morning when they actually go to package the item they find that they have sold out then they will tell the buyer that they don't have the item and cancel/refund (or offer a different remedy) but the buyer thinks that the item was posted days ago.

The seller doesn't have a lot of control over this problem so it is best to just accept it and move on, buy from someone else and wait for their item to come. 

[gutterpunkz05]

Your only entitlement is a refund.  If you can negotiate something else with the seller then that is a bonus.

[shoppingbag*]

This has happened to me also. I do suspect that some Sellers do not have the stock to begin with and  go and get it after you purchase. I say this because one admitted they had only just received the stuff two weeks after I bought. Another was "out of stock"  two weeks after it had been marked as "posted" Give them a miss and buy elsewhere. What about the ones who say "last one" on every item they have, but when you buy, the "last one" is still there.

[lane-ends]

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@shoppingbag* wrote:

This has happened to me also. I do suspect that some Sellers do not have the stock to begin with and  go and get it after you purchase. I say this because one admitted they had only just received the stuff two weeks after I bought. Another was "out of stock"  two weeks after it had been marked as "posted" Give them a miss and buy elsewhere. What about the ones who say "last one" on every item they have, but when you buy, the "last one" is still there.

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That "last one" note is added by ebay. If a seller has large quanities or even a constant supply then enter a token X number of items available, say 10 at a time, or even 1, as they have to enter something. Then as this quantity runs down when it gets to 1 Ebay add "last one", not the seller. Seller then opts to top up quantity avialble when last one sells. They top up the same listing rather than make a new listing each time.

Sellers are reluctant to take down regular listing just because they have a momentary gap in their stock as they loose the history and visibiliy, much like any regular store. It can be annoying for buyers though much the same as driving to the B&M store after seeing an ad only to find they have non on the shelves.

[brerrabbit585]

I thought the listings aren't visible to buyers while there's a zero quantity, so buyers aren't disappointed when they find there's none available.

I have a couple of listings on my other ID where I only ever have 1 available at a time and top it up as each one sells. That's because if someone bought 2 the postage would work out more than double and I'm not prepared to pay the extra out of my pocket as I'm only just getting back what the item cost me.