I have purchased an item for £250 from an online company that was discounted from £450 as they were selling off the last few at the end of the season. I bought one from their website and paid using Paypal. I have been contacted to say that they have sold more items than they had in stock. I know have to wait until March for the item to be delivered which isn’t a problem. My only concern is if the item never arrives or the company goes bust in the mean time do I have any course for getting my money back. I have asked Paypal the same question but was after anybody’s advice on what I should put in place or ask for to limit the risk.

I have asked if they would refund my money and still offer the discounted price to me when they get stock back in but they have declined this. They are happy to refund my money know, really I want the product at the reduced price.

I think Paypal protection runs for 90 days, or is it 180? Worth checking as this may make a major difference.

If the item never turns up, and Paypal protection has run out of time, you recourse is to sue the company for your money if they fail to deliver what you bought. Of course if they go bust in the meantime, that’s worthless to you.

I’m sure they’d be delighted to refund your money and cancel the order rather than buying in more stock and selling it to you at a loss, in fact I’m surprised that’s not what they’ve done. If you want the discounted price and they’re prepared to honour it when new stock arrives, you’ve probably got little option but to wait.

Time limit to raise a dispute on PayPal is 180 days so no problem there. You’ll have to decide how reliable you think the retailer is & whether you’ll actually get what you’ve ordered, or if you’re just giving them an interest-free loan for 3 months after which you’ll get a refund as there’s no stock.

Might be worth considering if the item is really worth £450 in the first place – and will it be worth that when it eventually shows up.

For example, look at stuff on the On One website. It’s usually listed at some large discount but few (if any) ever pay the full price.