Everyone knows that sinking feeling when you find the perfect item online only to discover that it’s out of stock. This can be the biggest inconvenience, but BuyItLive has created a system to ensure you won’t hit a dead end when products run out! In the case of a popular item with limited inventory, you have 3 options for doing what you can to make sure it still shows up at your door.
The Product Queue
Let’s say you join a Live Sale a little late and come across an item you’ve gotta have. You comment to buy and discover the inventory was low and someone else beat you to the punch. However, they haven’t checked out yet which means there’s still hope for you. This is where the Product Queue comes in.
If this happens to you, you can click the “Waitlist” button and then you’ll be placed in line. If the person ahead of you decides to remove the item from their cart or if they run out of time, the item will automatically be added to your cart. We’ll send you an email or text message letting you know you now have a chance to buy.
Your cart timer starts as soon as it’s your turn to buy, so make sure to stay on top of your email or text notifications so you’re ready to enter your cart and check out!
Losing Your Place In Line
If you had an item in your cart but waited too long to check out, it’s removed once the timer hits zero. At this point, we’ll send you an email notifying you that your cart expired. If there’s more inventory, our system will allow you to re-add any items you had in your cart, but if someone else was in line behind you the item is added to their cart. You can try to comment again and get in line, but there are no guarantees you’ll have another chance to purchase the item.
If you were number 2, 3, etc. in line and you lost your place, that simply means that whoever was ahead of you decided to buy the last item. In this case, there are still 2 more options left to snag products that are out of stock…
If an item you were in line for sells out, you are automatically added to the waitlist. Continue reading for more info on waitlisting products.
The Waitlist
BuyItLive has incorporated a waitlist system within every store so customers have a chance to waitlist products that are out of stock.
When an item runs out of inventory, you can still add it to your cart by selecting “Waitlist.” If the store owner has decided to show all available products in the cart OR their live video is over, you don’t even need to comment first. You can simply click the link to enter your cart and waitlist any items that you see.
You can also waitlist a variant of a specific product. Just select the “Waitlist” button next to the variant you want.
Once you’ve waitlisted an item, the store owner will be notified that you’re waiting for it to be re-stocked. You won’t need to enter your payment information or check out when you waitlist an item (unless you have other items you want to buy). Once the store owner re-stocks your waitlisted item on BuyItLive, we’ll send an email notifying you the inventory has been replenished and you can now purchase the item.
Our waitlist system is great, but there’s no guarantee you’ll have the chance to purchase out of stock items. If a store owner never restocks the item you’re wanting, there isn’t much else you can do.
Pre-Order
A third and final way to buy products that are out of stock is through pre-order. Unlike the waitlist system, items can only be available for pre-order as set by the store owner. Pre-order is not a store-wide setting, so if a store owner decides to use pre-order it’s only applied to specific products.
If you find that the item you’re wanting to purchase is out of stock but available for pre-order, you’re in luck! You can still add the item to your cart and checkout like normal. You’re guaranteed to receive the item you wanted because you pay at checkout. The store owner will send you the item once the order comes in.
I want to buy a phone back cover but it shows out of stock . How can I order this product ?
Hi Banashree, when shopping from a seller’s Storefront, you can click on the name of an out of stock product to be taken to the item. From there, you’re able to click on the “Waitlist” button to be added to the waitlist. If the seller ever restocks the item, it will be added to your cart and you’ll receive an email with a link to check out.
I would like to order the little stamps for the little pillows I can’t find it anywhere can you help me ?
Hi Connie, you’ll need to reach out to the seller directly for questions about their products.