Paid for item not in stock!

[reyno.clive]

Paid for EVA Massage Roller Stick from <Removed> seller who has just sent me a message to say the item is out of stock. 

Please advise re action. Why do you allow such people to 'sell' on ebay?

Clive Reynolds

[kopenhagen5]

Even normal stores run out of stock.

Just ask for a refund and find another seller.

[lyndal1838]

I assume you would be demanding that Coles should be shut down if they ran out of something you went in to buy?

Just accept the offered refund and buy elsewhere.

[enigmabear]

Why blame other buyers and sellers (the only people here) for what eBay does?

ebay Australia are not going to do anything about a seller in China,as yours is and eBay China do not do anything about sellers who REALLY are scammers and liars. They are certainly not going to do anything about a seller with 5 negs in a year when they allow sellers with hundreds of negs in a month to keep trading

By all means phone eBay and tell them this seller ran out of stock and immediately offered you a refund so you want them to be shut down. The call center staff read from scripts based on what the caller wants to hear though

[springyzone · Accepted solution]

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@reyno.clive wrote:

Paid for EVA Massage Roller Stick from 5billion-fitness seller who has just sent me a message to say the item is out of stock. 

Please advise re action. Why do you allow such people to 'sell' on ebay?

Clive Reynolds

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I'm pretty sure they are breaking ebay guidelines by selling you something they don't actually have in stock. It's annoying when it happens but realistically, all you can do is accept the refund.

Make sure the cancellation is not marked off as being at your request, and keep an eye out on paypal to make sure you are refunded quickly. 

If you are not, open an item not received claim.

[eol-products]

I don't think ebay cares that much anymore if you have items not in stock. 

[fixnwear]

springyzone, 

not a very smart advice to the OP!

Appart from giving him a very detailed instructions on how to crucify the seller (I think I see that quite regularly in your posts),  the choice of cancellation can only be "BUYER'S REQUEST TO CANCELL" if indeed that is his choice - rather than to wait for the stock.

And no, there is no punishment  for people running out of stock, they could have the items listed on numerous sites, which is their right - to do as they see fit as Ebay can't dictate anything to anyone. Running out of stock happens all the time everywhere, part of life.

That is why there is always a choice: wait for it or get your money back.

Ebay has or should have no say in everyday operations of anyone - they are merely the company, just like any other company that fasciliates sales on line, they get paid for the service - end of story.

[springyzone]

Good grief, I wasn't aware I was regularly giving advice to crucify sellers, but if that is what it is here, then so be it.

I was under the impression that sellers could cancel a sale for other reasons but things could have changed.

My advice to the buyer was to accept the refund and if it didn't come (the refund, that is), then to open an item not received claim.

The reason I said that is because the buyer seems fairly new to ebay. I suspect the seller is from China and although they have offered a refund, they may delay in actually giving one. If they give a refund quickly, no problem. But if they don't, then the buyer needs to know he can still get his money back.

[imastawka]

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@fixnwear wrote:

springyzone, 

not a very smart advice to the OP!

Appart from giving him a very detailed instructions on how to crucify the seller (I think I see that quite regularly in your posts),  the choice of cancellation can only be "BUYER'S REQUEST TO CANCELL" if indeed that is his choice - rather than to wait for the stock.

And no, there is no punishment  for people running out of stock, they could have the items listed on numerous sites, which is their right - to do as they see fit as Ebay can't dictate anything to anyone. Running out of stock happens all the time everywhere, part of life.

That is why there is always a choice: wait for it or get your money back.

Ebay has or should have no say in everyday operations of anyone - they are merely the company, just like any other company that fasciliates sales on line, they get paid for the service - end of story.

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Oh no?   No punishment?   It's automatic.

Sellers get a defect for 'Out of Stock' cancellations.  It's the seller's responsibility to check listings for stock levels.

And ebay can certainly dictate seller terms.

Transaction defect rate

The transaction defect rate is the percentage of your transactions where one or more of the following has occurred:

• eBay Money Back Guarantee or PayPal Buyer Protection case closed without seller resolution (i.e. eBay or PayPal was asked to step in, and found the seller responsible)
•  
• Seller-initiated transaction cancellation (i.e. a transaction cancelled by the seller when the item was out of stock, or sold to another buyer)

https://www.ebay.com.au/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy?id=4347

[yeoldecoinco]

I thought there were quite severe consequences for eBay sellers to be out of stock and having to refund.

Fairly sure that counts as a defect and if you get a few of that particular type of defect, BANG, you can fall below standard with all sorts of nasty consequences.

As well as negative feedback from disgruntled buyers, which no seller likes.

I try very hard to keep the stock I have on eBay available and get most upset if I cannot find an item that a eBay buyer has bought, as do other sellers I know.

I see stawks has summed it up better than me in the time I was writing this reply..