Selling not in stock items

Question

Can sellers sell things that they don't actually have but are hoping to come back in stock?

eburtonlab · Answer

Can sellers sell things that they don't actually have Sellers are not supposed to list items that they do not have on hand -- or under contract if the seller is using a drop-shipper to fulfill orders. What eBay allows and what some sellers may try to get away with are two different things, however. Buyers that want to avoid disappointment can often find indications that the seller is a drop-shipper or has stock issues by examining the seller's feedback page closely, or by noticing certain things in the seller's listings: the use of stock images and descriptions, multiple quantities of odd items that appear to have been pulled at random from a catalog, free shipping of bulky items where retail shipping would not make any sense, a different registration location on the feedback page compared to the item location shown in the listing, or the inability to answer even the most basic question about an item. By avoiding certain sellers, buyers can greatly increase their chances of a successful transaction.

evry1nositswindy · Answer

Did you buy something and the seller cancelled due to out of stock? If so, the seller received a defect on their account for that. eBay does not like when sellers disappoint buyers. There is an out of stock option given to sellers by eBay, as described above. It is allowed. It saves a lot of work creating a new listing, especially if it has a sold history.

disneyshopper · Answer

Sellers can opt into the Out of Stock option. When the item sells out, the Quantity of 0 will only be visible to you, and when you get more inventory, you can change the Quantity easily.