eBay order from China cancelled due to coronavirus.

Today an order I'd placed for a small item from eBay was cancelled and the money refunded. The supplier left the following message.

Hi friend.
Recently, due to the occurrence of infectious diseases in China, we cannot live normally and cannot work normally. we can't get any item because all the factories in China were out of work now,they can't afford our order,so i have to cancel this order,thanks for your understanding and patience.you can buy it agian if you really need it.
I hope you and your family pay attention to safety and good health
Best Wishes

I completely understand, as we all do, the problems occurring in China at the moment with the coronavirus and that is likely to occur across the world.

This order was placed around a month ago and one thing I didn't notice was the Order Update. Normally when I place an order I get an Order Confirmed and then, perhaps the same day or the next, an Order Update, which is letting me know the item ordered is on its way. Then in around 4-6 weeks I'll receive the item.

However, with this order and another small order, what I didn't notice was the order update didn't come. There has been none. That now indicates an issue with supply. This order was cancelled after nearly four weeks. The second order has not received an order update and that's been around 1-2 weeks.

The real problem isn't that orders need to be cancelled, but that it's taking so long before the order gets cancelled. The suppliers are most likely sitting on the orders as long as possible before they cancel them, just in case they can get supply.

One item I did place an order for from China at the same time is on its way, so it's not all orders, just some.

Given the normal long delays it getting items from China, adding an additional 2-4 weeks before knowing whether or not you'll get the item ordered probably means it's prudent to rethink your purchases. Unfortunately that's not good for the suppliers in China, but it is understandable what's happening.

Kelvin Eldridge.