You would think I would learn after 25 years...
I ordered some product on 2-18-2026.
Ships via UPS. ETA 2-25-2026.
A few days later I created a listing, making it go live even though I don't have the product yet.
Normally I would never ever do that, but for some reason this time I did.
While waiting for my shipment to come in I just sold 2 of them.
What a stupid thing to do.
No body to blame but myself.
42 comments
broto_64
·6 months agoIf I don't have the item I can't take photos, eliminates that problem.
It all boils down to having a system, and never deviating.
I have made some idiotic mistakes myself, as yourself I repeat some on occasion.
But selling something I don't have, that is not one of them for me.
May the fortunes rain sanity down upon thine brain.
Having read a little further I see financial hardships causing anxiety being at the root of this issue, this does make sense... I've been self-employed for just over two decades and one thing I have learned is there is no shortage of work for me, just have to keep plugging away... And if I'm struggling I still go through the motions, every day I just go through the motions, keep plugging away, no matter what.
Never make decisions that have the ability to put you into a worse predicament.
meme6253
·6 months agoIt must have been a senior moment, But it's all on you whatever May come of it.
yeswayrecords
·6 months agoFor what it is worth, it would seem that the late shipping ding is less detrimental than the out-of-stock cancellation ding.
Both are definitely to be avoided, but if you are forced to choose one or the other, this may help you choose.
inhawaii
OP6 months ago... and for anyone interested.
I had a friend drive to the local warehouse about 30 minutes away that just happens to be open today.
It cost me a plate of Korean food. 😜
Disaster averted.
sin-n-dex
·6 months agoDon't feel so bad... I share my mistakes too, I just tend to let them not be affecting me so much by the time I do, then it's an "I can't believe I actually did that" type of story. I prefer to keep the mistakes to myself unless I need help solving them, until such time it won't affect me so much to be criticized.
Glad you averted the disaster and got the items.
C.
lakefor94
·6 months agoI like Korean.
adamcartwright
·6 months ago@inhawaii
I'm so glad it worked out for you.
This thread did get very dark, indeed.
You've been through a lot this past year, so show yourself some grace.
I think grace is something we all need to show more of -- not only to each other, but also to ourselves.
inhawaii
OP6 months agoI just thought I would share my experience and poke fun at myself.
I had no idea this thread would get so dark and serious.
Have a great weekend everyone!
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoOuch!!! So sorry but you don't need me to tell you who's fault it is.
I do listings all the time for expected inventory but I make sure to save it for later and put quantity of 0 so it doesn't show up (in case I make a mistake and publish it).
Fingers crossed they come quickly so that you don't get a ding for late shipment.
mtgraves7984
·6 months agoI just flashed on Buffett... blew out a flip-flop, huh? Hang in there...
simba6
·6 months agoAnd of course they would sell.
reallynicestamps
·6 months agoBlame it on that Snowmaggedon that hit the USA recently.
12345jamesstamps
·6 months ago"I offer fast service. I usually ship in one day, sometimes the very same day."
Well, your statement just went out the window....
lakefor94
·6 months agoYep, @inhawaii, you goobered that one, unless.....
I had something in the same ballpark last week. Crosslisting on AMZ, got an AMZ order and had no inventory because I sold all I had last June on eBay and failed to update inventory. Buyer ordered one of the item.
Luckily, there was one other AMZ seller that had, one, of the product. Ordered from them and entered the buyer's address and voila, problem solved and was able to remove the goober sticker from my forehead.
There were also sellers on eBay with the product as well.
Check around, see what you can find on other sites. Good luck with whatever you decide.
sin-n-dex
·6 months agoIt's March 1, where is the shipment now? Will it arrive in the next couple of days?
You made a bad decision, we've all done that. Just learn from your mistakes.
C.
jbbowers12012
·6 months agoDefinetly self-inflicted. Dont' stress over it. We all shoot ourselves in the foot from time to time. Just find a way to handle this situation - There are some great suggestions here. Good Luck!
stuff4divas
·6 months ago@inhawaii
is the shipment going to be delivered soon? what does tracking show?
jewelbiz
·6 months agoSpeaking frankly maybe you need a good psychiatrist to find out why you’re making such self destructive decisions.
Sometimes physical problems like you have had can affect your overall behavior negatively.
Nothing wrong with getting help from a professional therapist or counselor if + when you need it!
gurlcat
·6 months ago-or cause you to lose your job, which happened in this case @jewelbiz . Poverty knocking on the door will make you crazier'n a pet raccoon, by sheer default.
And @tarotfindsandmore when you're facing tons of expenses you can't afford, sitting quietly does the opposite of letting your mind settle; it just gives you time to remember all the upcoming dates and punishments in the pipeline, and cause you to panic because you know nothing is going to give you a break. And there you are, just sitting there.
This country pretends to care about physical and mental health, but when someone actually loses their grip because of poor health, what do people assume about them? They're lazy.
sin-n-dex
·6 months agoWhen I was recovering from surgery (and had the PE) work is paying me sick pay, but telling me I'm not allowed to have income from other sources. So I can't sell on eBay to pay my bills, and I can't really do anything anyway because I'm sick.
I had an appointment to get my doctor to sign forms and he didn't want me going back to work. I told him how depressed I am not being allowed to sell on eBay while off sick, and if he lets me return to work I can go back to doing what I like, pay my bills, and be happy. He agreed that you focus on negative thoughts when you're sick and not allowed to do anything, and going back to work was good for my mental health.
Also going back is not the worst, if you're actually sick they cut you slack if you can't work for the full day or aren't feeling the best. The form's purpose is so you can get paid for the days you've been off (it's short term disability where I work).
So I totally get when things aren't going well it can negatively impact your mental health. All that time the OP spent off due to illness was not good for his mental well being.
C.
tarotfindsandmore
·6 months agoI appreciate your position. I have had a number of very lean stretches throughout my life due to various life choices I've made (motherhood, divorce, career changes, etc.) and some that were made for me (life threatening illness and injury, political nonsense, market changes). One of the many lessons learned during those lean periods was the importance of taking time to objectively reflect on my own behavior so that a slip doesn't become a fall, regardless of who is responsible for the slip.
When we slip here, it's even more important that we slow down so we don't destroy our own livelihoods. You're correct. The world doesn't care, and ebay reallllllly doesn't care, what may be going in our lives. Knowing that means we have to figure out how to look out for ourselves. We have to figure out how to sort ourselves out. For me, that requires taking a minute...not weeks or months... to just slow down and stop what I'm doing.
Continuing down a path of self destruction is never a good idea, but it's very hard to see one is on that path when the wheels just keep spinning faster and faster. At some point we take responsibility (as James is) and put on the brakes, lift the hood, and clean out whatever gunk is in the engine.
You can't pay any of those bills if your account is suspended.
kibble-net
·6 months agoI'd write to the buyers, tell them there will be a slight shipping delay and give them the option to cancel. Then you can choose "buyer requested cancellation" and it doesn't hurt you. Or, if they don't mind the delayed shipping, there's quite a bit of leeway with the late shipping defects. 1 or 2 late shipments isn't as bad as 1 or 2 cancellations for being out of stock, from a seller metrics standpoint (0.5% for out of stock, versus 3.0% for late shipment)
toomuchstuffagain35
·6 months agoIf I ever can't ship on time for some reason my buyers are usually chill about it and thank me for letting them know.
It's ebay that gets bent out of shape about it.
gloryglorygifts
·6 months agoReally? You can't use buyer requested cancellation if you are out of stock on something. You do know that ebay sends the cancellation to the customer and they see it, right? Putting it on them is wrong imho.
sreu3058
·6 months agoSo you use stock photos to create a listing of a product you don’t have?
Out of my wheelhouse this product type of selling, and, my comfort zone.
Thanks for sharing it, so someone else can learn.
bashort
·6 months agoWhat I have done a few times over 20+ years when things like this happen is find a GOOD seller that has the item and have them drop ship it for you. Yes technically not allowed but neither is selling things that you do not have.
janet9988
·6 months agoYou can't share another members address.
bashort
·6 months agoAnd you cant sell things that you do not have
I share members addresses almost every day
janet9988
·6 months agoBuyers/ebay only give consent to give address information to the shipper. NOT another seller or venue.
onlinecentral
·6 months agoWhat I have done a few times over 20+ years when things like this happen is find a GOOD seller that has the item and have them drop ship it for you. Yes, technically not allowed but neither is selling things that you do not have.
The tracking number from that other seller will get rejected when you attempt to load it into your Items Awaiting Shipment screen.
lakefor94
·6 months agoThat is an eBay gotcha. AMZ does not have that hitch.
Send them a USPS GA empty envelope and let them know it is coming. I did that a time or two on local items that were real heavy and bulky that I delivered myself to the buyers in DFW.
bashort
·6 months agohave you actually tried that? It has been several years but it used to work
onlinecentral
·6 months agoHave you actually tried that? It has been several years but it used to work.
I have not personally tried it. I will post my most recently created tracking number for you and others to test. This anonymous tracking number should withstand any Naming and Shaming scrutiny.
9400108106244853834763
bashort
·6 months agoI tried it and it was rejected, learned something
krazzykats
·6 months agoI recently tried it out.
I couldn’t find an item, so I bought it from another seller and had it shipped directly to my buyer.
When I tried to use the tracking number from that on my buyer’s order, eBay rejected it. I ended up just marking it as shipped and sending the buyer the new tracking number in a message.
ᓚᘏᗢ
duffy4444
·6 months agoThen the thing to do with the item is to only "Mark as Shipped" in Seller Hub and take the less harmful ding for doing so... Then cross your fingers that the item is received by your buyer.
Cheers, Duffy
yeswayrecords
·6 months agoAnother option is to order the item and have it shipped to you with a priority service. Once you receive it, you can then ship it out to your buyer, again with a priority service.
While this takes more time, and you pay more, this keeps the shipping completely under your control.
If you communicate clearly, your buyer might not mind the bit of extra time it takes to receive the item.
This totally avoids having to drop ship with another seller, which ebay does not like so much.
Although not ideal, it might work to save a BBE if you are in a tough spot.
toomuchstuffagain35
·6 months agoI don't know why ebay is so down on a seller buying from another ebay seller when things go sideways.
I mean they're getting 2 sales from the one sale and the original seller can fulfil their obligations to the buyer.
mcdougle4248
·6 months ago@inhawaii
Do you have the "Out of Stock" feature enabled? If you do, I suggest setting the quantity to 0 until your stock arrives. If not, I would suggest you end the listing until your stock comes in. There is no need to sell more and create a bigger problem.
tarotfindsandmore
·6 months agoIsh happens. Can you take a little time off to regroup? This is the second snafu in the past month or two for you. When I start flubbing things that I know I know better about, it's usually a sign (for me) that I need to take a little time to sit quietly and let my mind settle.
There's no judgment here, just a suggestion. Your willingness to take responsibility is admirable, so the next step is to figure out why you're making newbie flubs so you can address them before a more costly mistake occurs.
albertabrightalberta
·6 months agoAre you just venting?
Or are you looking for agreement that this is on you?
Hopefully your purchase will come within your handling time and you can ship your items without a late shipping ding.
pickapaper
·6 months ago@albertabrightalberta wrote: "Are you just venting? Or are you looking for agreement that this is on you?"
@inhawaii
I wondered the same thing. I wondered why you would come on here and tell everyone about your screwups instead of just going about your business and keeping it to yourself. I know sometimes it helps to "share" with other sellers but you should know that you are going to get beat up for any mistakes you make. And we all make mistakes.
BTW, I hope you are continuing to heal and getting your health back to normal.