There must be a policy on this - selling stuff you don't actually have in your possession?

[Ceolas]

I ordered 2 copies of a book last Thursday from an ebay seller. I could have ordered it from Amazon but wanted it quickly. So I emailed the seller who promised to post them first class on Friday. No sign on Saturday, Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday so I contacted seller to confirm they had been posted. He confirmed they were on their way and I should have them by the end of the week.

This morning I received a package from Amazon containing one book as a gift from (I am assuming) the seller. Ordered on 5th March (Friday). Of course no reply to my email this morning asking what was going on. Surely you can't sell stuff you are ordering from a 3rd party? Can someone point me in the direction of a policy to this effect?

Feedback was over 1000 and 97.9%. Won't be buying from anyone with less than 100% in future

A few people sell like this. they take orders from ebay and then order it themselves from amazon - thus making a profit for very little effort. Was it cheaper on Amazon?

It was cheaper on Amazon, by £1 per book. I would have ordered from there myself but was assured of first class postage from the ebay seller so was willing to pay extra. He's obviously gone for the free super saver delivery and lied. I didn't know you were allowed to do this