should online sellers state they are out of stock??

[weeds]

I ordered two camping chairs online from an aussie reseller (4wd/camping gear etc) thinking they would easily be delivered before my trip to DI over the weekend just gone, no I wonder if I will have them for queens birthday long weekend.

it wasn't til after I had completed the transaction that I get an email saying they are out of stock and my order will be filled when the next shipment arrives.......soo they take my dollars bank it, maybe make interest while I wait for my purchase to arrive sometime in the future.

I have sent an email this morning asking for an ETA and that I was disappointed that they took payment when they are out of stock.......

I see there are some re-seller offering a good price but advise that you are pre-purchasing as they are waiting for a shipment.

we have other camping chairs so we survived but em just a little frustrated at the way they do business.........considering they appear to be quite a large player in the online world

[D4D]

Agreed, this has happened to me also and is annoying. I have contacted the online store and cancelled my order.

[ATC]

If it's not in stock, then make it clear.
If someone orders then make it right.


Brought a Drop Slide from Kulkyne Kampers before easter, online, as the add said they had stock.
Then got an email & a call from them that it was out of stock, They had checked and couldn't get one.
Did I want to wait or a refund?

I took the refund and brough 2nd hand on eBay.

Full marks to Kulkyne Kampers though, they Emailed & Called, and updated the online stock in their shop.
Ordered on Saturday, communication on Monday, refunded on Monday.
ebay on Monday, pickup on Tuesday, installed on Saturday

BTW ebay was approx $300 cheaper so....

[ATC]

It's not uncommon for retail shops to have a different inventory system to their physical & seperate again for the webshop.

When I talk about stock keeping rules (I sell business software) to distributers / people with a wholesale distribution side to their business, and a Webshop.

This i critical topic, more importantly how realtime do you need your inventory to be (We argue it should be realtime), and what to do when you get down to the last few items in stock.

It's only about happy customers.

Unfortunately most small shops go with the line of we use XYZ for our accounting, and our webshop is seperate....

Then you get this situation...
If they have taken your money, and not supplied the goods then ask for a refund.
I got mine quickly, but it was about $700 for the transaction.
The value doesn't matter I also made an eBay seller refund $16.50 as they took the money and didn't suppy the map.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

I've come across this before.
They do not run an inventory.
They run an order list.
When thy have enough orders, they then get the product.
That way they can buy in bulk, getting a better price.
Means they keep more of your money than normally.
They also don't have to shell out on stock themselves.
If they have a real shop, they only have display stock.
This display stock, can also be a return that is slightly damaged.
Once again I've only been on the dirty end of the stick here.
Had to wait for a bed from a Nunawading business.
In the end the Missus threw out our old bed and forced their hand.
They forget that this causes ill feeling, and nobody keeps quiet when it happens.

[marvellous_matt]

Some distributors will ship direct to customers, making it look like it has come from the retailer, so there is another level of confusion. For instance you purchase a stove from Bills camping store, the order goes direct to the camping stove distributor, who is waiting on stock from Asia. Another time the stove might arrive at your door 3 days later, and everyone is happy.

If I ever receive notice that something I have purchased is out of stock I request a refund straight away.

[UR-50-LO]

Same thing happened to me...
I bought online and almost a week later I received a phone call stating they are out of stock and it would be 2 weeks till they have more. By the 3rd week I hadn't heard back so I called them and was told "We do have some but not the colour you ordered. It will be a further 3-4 weeks unless I would like a red one". Told them I'd wait and almost a month later I rang them again and was told "Oh those chairs are discontinued stock, we only have a couple left in red".....Wish I'd known that over a month ago A-Holes....

Rang several other places that sold the same chairs and again either sold out or only had them in red. Finally bought off Ebay but had to buy in pairs (1 red and 1 green) just to get the matching green chair I was after LOL...And havn't found anyone wanting to buy the freakin red ones. Oh well spares!!!