Using eBay's Out of Stock Control Feature

The eBay Out of Stock Control feature allows you to keep your Fixed-Price Good 'Til Cancelled (GTC) listings open even after you run out of inventory. Instead of closing, your listings will be hidden from buyers.

If you prefer to continue selling your items after you are out of stock, please see the third listing quantity option (x) in Using the Listing Quantity Expression to Control the Quantities on Your Listings.

In this article we'll explain how the eBay out-of-stock feature works, and how you use it.

 

What we'll cover:

  1. eBay's Out of Stock Control Feature Explained
  2. The Benefits of Using eBay's Out of Stock Control Feature
  3. Don't Use the "Close listing when inventory is below" Option in Your eBay Listing Rule
  4. Enabling the Out-of-Stock Option in Your eBay Seller Account
  5. Related Articles

 

eBay's Out of Stock Control Feature Explained

When you use the eBay Out of Stock Control feature, your Fixed-Price Good 'Til Cancelled listings will not close when your inventory is reduced to zero. Instead, they will be hidden from buyers. They will not reappear in search results until you have a quantity above zero.

When you apply the Out of Stock Control feature to items in a variation, so long as at least one item has a quantity above zero, the variation listing will continue to appear in search results. The listing will be hidden from buyers when all items have a quantity of zero. It will reappear when you add stock to at least one variation item.

If someone searches for the any Out of Stock listing by the Listing ID (Item ID), the listing's page will load. However, it will not have the Buy It Now and Add to Cart buttons. The listing will have an Out of Stock label instead.

When you have an out of stock item, your hidden GTC listing will continue to renew on its 30-day cycle. When the listing renews, you will be charged your normal insertion fees. However, if your listing remains hidden for the entire 30 days, your insertion fees will be credited back to you. If your listing remains hidden for three consecutive 30-day cycles, it will be closed permanently.

For more info, see eBay's documentation.

 

The Benefits of Using eBay's Out of Stock Control Feature

  • Your listing remains open, increasing the likelihood that search engines will index your listing.
  • The listing's sales history is retained. This is especially beneficial for fast selling products.
  • It's free.

 

Using the "Close listing when inventory is below" Option in Your eBay Listing Rule

The Close listing when inventory is below option will not override the out-of-stock control settings on eBay. This means it will not close your listings when your inventory goes to zero but simply send a quantity of zero to eBay. Close listing when inventory is below is best used when Out of stock control is set to off on eBay allowing the listing rule to close the listing, if that is desired.

 

Enabling the Out-of-Stock Option in Your eBay Seller Account

You must enable the out-of-stock setting directly in your eBay seller account before using it through Solid Commerce.

1) Go to My eBay -> Selling.

2) Click on the Account tab.

3) Select Selling Preferences from the sidebar menu.

4) If your Selling Preferences aren't visible, click Show next to them.

5) Turn Listings stay active when you're out of stock On

6) Click the Apply button.

Once logged in to eBay you can set this preference here

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