Why is it letting multiple sales of same item?

[theclosetboutique]

We have our items as 1 qty but it continues to let another order go through on the same item. It isn't deleting the items as they get sold so it poses a problem being on the page because multiple people can buy the same items! HELP!

[urbanmash]

Hi!

The cart does not have an inventory control feature. The max quantity feature in each listing only controls how many of the item a customer can place in the cart at one time.

Many have requested an inventory control, and maybe it will happen, but in the meantime, what I do is add additional information to my terms that explains my product availability. If it will help you, you are more than welcomt to borrow some of my terms for your store. Because you are dealing mostly in second hand items, you may want to emphasize the limited quantities available.

Just a thought: for myself, I actually prefer that my item stays available until I have received payment. There is no way for a site like this one to enforce the "binding contract" theory and until I actually have a payment, the customer is free to back out of an order without any consequence. Frankly, I would rather have 2 orders for an item and have to issue a refund for one, then miss out on a potential sale because my item was ended due to a non-paying order. I've received backorder/out of stock messages from Victoria's Secret, JC Pennies, and other established retailers when ordering online. The typical eCommerce shopper understands that this happens. I would just make sure to mention it somewhere in my terms to make sure that consumers who are accustomed to "auction sites" understand that they are not at an auction.

Leesha Dawn