soldout

Sold out is a status indicating that no units of a product, service, or event tickets are currently available for purchase at the stated price. The designation can apply to physical goods in retail, seats for performances, or digital licenses with finite quantities. When stock or capacity reaches zero, sales systems typically mark the item as sold out and stop accepting new orders until replenishment or new capacity becomes available.

Sold out results from demand that exceeds supply, production constraints, allocation decisions, or deliberate limited editions. Inventory control, point-of-sale data, and event capacity determine when an item becomes sold out. Some retailers offer backorders, rain checks, or waitlists to capture future demand, while others pause sales until restock.

Economic and consumer implications include the potential for scarcity to heighten perceived value and influence prices in secondary markets. Consumers may experience frustration and seek alternatives, wait for restocks, or join waitlists. Businesses face the challenge of balancing revenue with customer satisfaction, sometimes using restock timing, pricing strategies, or release cadences to manage demand.

Variants and related terms include sold out being temporary or permanent depending on inventory changes. Related concepts are limited edition, pre-order, backorder, restock, and waitlist. In ticketing, a sold-out status may reflect capacity limits rather than inventory scarcity, and many venues have policies around cancellations, refunds, or official resale channels.