The eBay channel in Shoppingfeed supports the out-of-stock option by default. Make sure that the corresponding setting is enabled in the Selling Preferences of your eBay account.
How does the out-of-stock option work on eBay?
When you set up the out-of-stock option, the following will happen:
- All of your existing and future listings use the out-of-stock option until you disable it;
- When the quantity of the listing becomes 0, your listing stays active but hidden from search results;
- The listing will reappear in search results when your product is back in stock;
- You can still end your listing at any time. The listing will end automatically if you remove a given product from your source feed or turn it off for the eBay channel in Shoppingfeed.
The out-of-stock option allows you to keep the same eBay Item ID for your listing instead of creating the new listing with a different eBay Item ID every time when the product is back in stock.
If someone searches for the out-of-stock listing by the eBay 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.
The out-of-stock 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, you may qualify for an insertion fee credit. If your listing has a quantity of 0 for 180 consecutive days, eBay will end it automatically.
Check this article to get more information about the out-of-stock option on eBay.
What are the benefits of using the out-of-stock option on eBay?
- Your listing remains open, increasing the likelihood that search engines will index it;
- The listing's sales history is retained. This is especially beneficial for fast selling products.
What if I don't want to use the out-of-stock option on eBay?
You can turn the out-of-stock option off in your eBay Seller account if you prefer to End your eBay listing automatically as soon as a product goes out of stock.
However, you want to make sure that the corresponding Auto-Remove Rule is enabled in your Shoppingfeed account.
Important:
If both Auto-Remove Rule is not enabled in Shoppingfeed and the out-of-stock option is disabled in eBay preferences - Shoppingfeed won't be able to either End your listing on eBay or make it out-of-stock. Make sure that one of these options is configured to avoid overselling.
You can either copy the "End OOS listings on eBay" Auto-Remove Rule from the Library or create it from scratch with the following conditions applied.