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Dealing with out of stock orders

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mostarac80
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I just found out about this intersting forum and I have one interesting question, and maybe you can help me.

How do you deal with orders on Amazon if you run into a problem where your supplier is out of stock for that specific item?
I don't like the idea that Amazon takes money from a customer without even checking if that one item is still available. They "take the money and run", pretty much.
So, my question to you is: How do you survive on Amazon if you run into those kind of familiar e-commerce problems "out of stock" and you already have a "hungry" customer waiting for an order on Amazon, but in reality your supplier screw you up. I don't get mad at the supplier because world is not perfect, those things happen...but Amazon take the blame on me, and you know how it goes...they start with threats that the account will be banned.

So, please advise....any workarounds...? Ideas....? I know most of you will say, don't do dropshipping and have a physical item with you. But, that is more expensive and risky. Any workarounds how to deal with Amazon selfish a$$sholes?
#dealing #orders #stock
  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
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    If you are selling on Amazon and you read their rules then you would know that you do not list an item if "You" the seller does not have it in stock. If you are drop-shipping on amazon you are asking for trouble.

    So if your inventory says 0 then your customer will not order from you. Amazon takes the money when an item is sold by someone who has listed a quantity.

    If your supplier is out of stock then that is your problem, not Amazon's or the customers.

    You also might consider going to the amazon seller forums, the people there are better equipped for this type of question

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    "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

    • Profile picture of the author mostarac80
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      You didn't really help me any much. I knew that before.

      I don't think you fully understood my question.

      I will rephrase. I have an item in stock because supplier stated he has too. But, things happen, they could not have it. At the end, I find the solution with the customer, so yes, that is the workaround. However, Amazon tracks how many orders are cancelled.

      I don't think all resellers have stock on hand. 90% have suppliers who are dropshipping for them. The key is to find the legit one,,,however even legit ones fail sometimes, which is ok....$hit happens.

      So, the question again...any ideas, thoughts, workarounds on Amazon with these kind of issues?
      • Profile picture of the author onSubie
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        Originally Posted by mostarac80 View Post

        You didn't really help me any much. I knew that before.

        I don't think you fully understood my question.

        I will rephrase. I have an item in stock because supplier stated he has too. But, things happen, they could not have it.
        I don't think you understood the answer.

        It is YOUR responsibility to make sure the item is in stock.

        If your supplier says they have it in stock and you base your listing on that then, as the answer you didn't like stated, you are drop shipping and asking for trouble.

        If YOU do not have the item is stock then you should not list it on Amazon. Your supplier is not YOU so if you base your listing on your suppliers' statements then that is YOUR bad business practice and not Amazon or your customers fault.

        Let me rephrase the answer: "If YOU do not have the item is stock then do not list it on Amazon"


        SOME LESSONS FOR YOU:

        It is a good reason to have more than one supplier for your items.

        It is also a good reason to maintain your own inventory so when our supplier is out you can ship one yourself.

        It is NOT a good idea to blindly list items from you suppliers catalogue without CONFIRMING their availability.

        It is YOUR responsibility to stock an item, not Amazon, not your customer and not your supplier.
        • Profile picture of the author mostarac80
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          Originally Posted by onSubie View Post

          I don't think you understood the answer.

          It is YOUR responsibility to make sure the item is in stock.

          If your supplier says they have it in stock and you base your listing on that then, as the answer you didn't like stated, you are drop shipping and asking for trouble.

          If YOU do not have the item is stock then you should not list it on Amazon. Your supplier is not YOU so if you base your listing on your suppliers' statements then that is YOUR bad business practice and not Amazon or your customers fault.

          Let me rephrase the answer: "If YOU do not have the item is stock then do not list it on Amazon"


          SOME LESSONS FOR YOU:

          It is a good reason to have more than one supplier for your items.

          It is also a good reason to maintain your own inventory so when our supplier is out you can ship one yourself.

          It is NOT a good idea to blindly list items from you suppliers catalogue without CONFIRMING their availability.

          It is YOUR responsibility to stock an item, not Amazon, not your customer and not your supplier.


          The key is to have MORE suppliers who sell the same product...I agree.

          I guess we all learn from mistakes...
          • Profile picture of the author onSubie
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            Originally Posted by mostarac80 View Post

            The key is to have MORE suppliers who sell the same product...I agree.

            I guess we all learn from mistakes...
            That is good protection.

            But (depending on the product) it is also good to buy some stock yourself and keep it in your garage or basement.

            That way if you get orders for an "out-of-stock" item you can fulfill it from your own supply and then remove the listing since you know your supplier is out.
  • Profile picture of the author mostarac80
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    I will be more clear....

    You go to Best Buy web site...try to order an item that it says it is in stock....payment and order goes through....however, 2 minutes later you receive an e-mail that the item is out of stock and refund will be issued.
    Those things happen!

    But, how do you explain this to Amazon? Maybe the key is not to sell on Amazon and create your own web site, so that you don't have to be someone's slave?
  • Profile picture of the author happydog
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    The only way around out of stock sales is to monitor your suppliers inventory at least weekly... and have back up suppiers. If you don't have back up suppliers than you run a higher risk of out stock sales. You can always contact your supplier first to find out if they will be getting the product in stock again and by how soon. That is on you to have the item in stock if you want to be selling anything whether dropshipping or shipping directly to your customer. If you're selling computers on Amazon with a retail, ie bestbuy walmart etc, for your supplier than you need to be on it because that is a difficult industry to be in not to mention dropship with. You can always offer the customer alternatives, but if they request a refund you refund them on the spot apologetically for your negligence plain and simple.

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