Guide
How to avoid double selling
Double selling is the one real risk of crosslisting: the item sells in two places and one buyer gets a cancellation. It is avoidable.
Why it happens
- Timing. The other listing stays up for minutes or hours after the first sale, and a second buyer checks out.
- In-person sales. The item sells in person at a market on Saturday, and its eBay listing is still up on Sunday.
- Quantity. A listing for several of an item keeps selling after the last one is gone.
What it costs you
- eBay: cancelling because the item is gone counts against your seller performance.
- Etsy: repeated cancellations can hurt your shop's standing and reviews.
- Facebook Marketplace: a cancelled shipped order can cost you ratings.
- Everywhere: a disappointed buyer, and your time.
Habits that work
- End the other listings before you pack the order, not after.
- Keep in-person stock and online stock in one list, and update it the same day.
- Set quantity to what you really have, and recount before markets.
- Hold back one-of-a-kind pieces from the table while they are listed online, or record table sales right away.
Tools that take listings down for you
Crosslisting apps take the other listings down when an item sells, in one of two ways. Browser-extension apps watch your marketplaces every 10 to 15 minutes, only while your computer is on. API-based apps end listings from their servers, any time.
VendorSnap takes the second route and covers in-person sales too: ring the sale up on the Register, or tap Mark as Sold and say where it sold, and the eBay and Etsy listings end in seconds.
If it already happened
Fill the first order. For the second, cancel quickly on that marketplace and send a short, honest note:
"Hi, I'm so sorry: this item sold a few minutes before your order came through, so I've cancelled and you will get a full refund right away. Thank you for your understanding, and I hope you'll find something else you like in my shop."
Questions and answers
What should I do if an item sold twice?
Ship the first order, cancel the second right away with a full refund, and send the buyer a short apology. Then end any other listings still up for that item.
Does auto-delist work for in-person sales?
Only if your app records in-person sales. VendorSnap does: a sale rung up on its Register ends the eBay and Etsy listings in seconds.
List it everywhere. Sell it anywhere.
One photo prices it, one tap lists it on eBay and Etsy, and a sale anywhere takes it down everywhere else.