4 ms·

Could you send the FTC after competing "merchants" who are advertising products they not only don't have in stock but have literally never seen? It sounds like

• msbarnett 13y ago
  > Could you send the FTC after competing "merchants" who are advertising products they not only don't have in stock but have literally never seen? It sounds like a scam, and I wouldn't knowingly give money to an outfit like that. I hate to break it to you, but a HUGE amount of e-commerce sites are nothing more than front-ends to drop-shipping accounts with suppliers. This is the dominant pattern in the industry. Actually holding your own inventory is a rarity that would put you at a major competitive disadvantage. Unless you're dealing with a very large, well-capitalized site, or a company that makes their own product, you're almost certainly dealing with this kind of store.