Bill Gross started carsdirect.com with no cars. They made the site and offered the cars for sale.
When people bought them, the team would run out with a credit card and buy a car for real and then sell it to the online user.
True story.
When people bought them, the team would run out with a credit card and buy a car for real and then sell it to the online user.
True story.
This is different to the practice of buying up stock on sale and reselling on marketplaces.
Note that if strict, this would ban made-to-order sales that aren't marked as such to the customer.