ShipScript has been an eBay Community volunteer since 2003, specializing in HTML, CSS, Scripts, Photos, Active Content, Technical Solutions, and online Seller Tools.
OVERVIEW
Staff post:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/2019-Early-Seller-Update/Update-on-Good-Til-Cancelled/m-p/29556571
Help page:
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/listing-tips/bulk-listings?id=4160#outofstock
While the "out-of-stock" control is typically used by sellers of new products who have a deep inventory, it can also be used by small sellers to put their listings on vacation for a short period (no more than about 90 days).
The "out-of-stock" control can be toggled on and off within the seller's account page, so the setting applies to ALL of the seller's GTC listings. There can be no picking and choosing at the listing level (but there might be a workaround, as I'll explain further down).
Store owners have vacation mode, but those without a store can use stock-control for vacations. To use stock control for a vacation, turn it on in account settings and then manually, or in bulk, set all listing quantities to zero. After vacation, revise all of the stock levels to normal and turn off the stock control setting.
Account > Site Preferences > Selling Preferences > "Sell Your Item form and listings"
EXAMPLE
Here is what I have found when testing the "out-of-stock" control on my own GTC listings.
Toggle on:
When I enabled "stock control" within my account and clicked "apply", I landed on an error page. However, my setting was still correctly applied.
Buying is disabled & hidden from search:
After revising a listing to set it's quantity to zero, the "buy", "offer", and "cart" buttons were immediately removed, but the "watch" button remained. A few minutes later, the listing no longer appeared in searches.
The User Agreement reminds us that indexing can take up to 24 hours but it only took a couple of minutes in my case.
Listing can still be viewed:
The listing still appears in my Seller Hub and I can sort by quantity to show which listings have a zero balance. A buyer or watcher can still open the listing if they have the link to it. They just can't act upon it or find it in search.
Toggle off:
I returned to my account settings and disabled "stock control". I again landed on an error page, but I found that my setting had been disabled as intended.
Normal listings can't have zero quantity:
When I revised a different listing to set it's quantity to zero, an error message appeared warning that zero is not a valid quantity, so that confirmed that I had successfully turned off "stock control", since zero is only acceptable under "stock control".
Residual listings (for the creative):
But what about the original listing that still had a zero quantity when stock control was removed? Well, that was still hidden from search. I went in to revise without changing the zero quantity, and an error message told me that zero is an invalid number, so if I wanted to edit this hidden listing, I would be unable to do so when "stock control" is not enabled, due to the zero quantity. The interesting fact here is that the zero listing remained hidden even when the "stock control" setting was globally removed. That means there is an opportunity here to manage some listings in a selective manner. The creative sellers can use this to advantage.
When I revised that original listing to set its quantity back to "one", the listing reappeared in search and the action buttons returned to the listing.
OOAK (one of a kind listings):
So does it make sense for one-of-a-kind sellers to use "stock control" on a regular basis? Maybe. If your items are typically purchased by scammers, sport buyers who fail to pay, or to foreign addressees where you can't ship, allowing the item to persist after sale will make it a whole lot easier to bring the listing back to life after closing an unpaid item claim. You won't lose your views or watchers either as a result of that false sale.
End or repurpose:
After payment has cleared on a successful sale, you can go in and end the listing or you can repurpose the listing with a different item (yes, it's currently allowed!).
Seasonal:
Out-of-stock was not intended for seasonal storage, but it can be handled with some planning and effort. Because an out-of-stock listing can remain hidden for up to, but less than, 3 full 30-day renewal cycles, a seller can hide the listings for 90 days, restore the count for one day, and then send the listing back into hiding for another 90 days and repeat until the next season. Keep in mind that insertion fees will accrue while the listing is in hiding and that a credit can be requested for any full 30-day-insertion cycles it is hidden. eBay is not going to appreciate a lot of sellers phoning for a credit, so we'll see how this pans out.
I haven't been able to test this scenario, but my guestimate is that it would work like this:
Hide the listing in the middle of its 30-day renewal cycle, since that cycle is already being counted or charged. Let it run to the end of that cycle and then for 2 full cycles and partially into the third. Revive for a day (a chargable event for that cycle), and hide until the end of that cycle and for 2 full cycles. Repeat until ready for the season.
Counting Cycles:
These 30-day insertion or renewal cycles are based on the original start date, not on the date the listing reappears and not on monthly invoicing. This online tool can help with cycle planning.
http://isdntek.com/listingtools/billingcyles.htm
Fees:
@uvmmmdu asked if "out-of-stock" listings count against listing insertions. Yes, the insertion continues to renew every 30 days from the original start date, even when the listing is "out-of-stock". And, if the listing continues out-of-stock for 3 "full" 30-day insertion cycles, eBay will end the listing. However, sellers can request a refund of insertion fees in this situation, as described on the above help page.
Are you Creative?
If anyone else can think of creative solutions, or if you already have experience using out-of-stock, please share here.
GTC = Good Til Canceled
All eBay fixed price listings are now good until canceled, which means they will continue to run until they either sell or are canceled.
