Forum

Free shipping or charge
 

Do you see more sales with free shipping or charging shipping

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Surprisingly, separating shipping costs from total price entices more buyers - the price appears "cheaper" in search.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Confused can u explain

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

I like both. On auctions, always shipping fee and a high one at that.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Further down in thread

https://www.aspkin.com/forums/ebay-t...s-jan-1-a.html

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

But if you offer free shipping, I believe the search algo would bump you up,

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

True, but more sales volume is seen by Cassini as eh.. "better"

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

ebay encourages seller to offer free shipping,buyers can search and specify free shipping.
To me,sellers would just add shipping to the asking price,most buyers are wise to shop TOTAL PRICE.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

That's just it though... assuming your buyers are as tech-savy as you is your biggest mistake.

$10 item with $3 shipping looks 'less' to a buyer in search than the same item listed at $13

You don't really see the shipping price until you click the listing and/or get to check out..

Free shipping is just an old marketing gimmick when ecommerce took off. It was all the rage. Now who really cares lol

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

I always put Free shipping in all of my listings. Just add up the cost of the shipping to your pricing. :D but of course, see your profit margin on this, and the other ads.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Everyone cares, that's who.

It's not gonna appear cheaper when the customer never sees it because it's buried in search.

But if you're in a targeted niche, and there's only a few competitors, then I could see charging for it.

Personally, I do it both ways.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

AMZ =/= Ebay

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Disagree. Sales velocity is more heavily weighted in the search algo than free shipping.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Go ahead and post up some screenshots of heavy-competition products with non-free-shipping listings being at the top.

Not saying they DON'T exist. I just want to see some.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

I have some, but I am not posting a link or screenshot of my items on this forum LOL

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Don't blame ya there! But is it really HEAVY competition? Probably not...

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Maybe 1000 listings. few hundred sellers. Not like phone accessories or laptops etc..

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Ditto. I cant speak for 10k+ categories (do sell in some), but honestly I think the results would turn out the same.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Even in auctions people are less concerned about shipping costs. Same item can go for more than BIN with free shipping.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

I ALWAYS charge ample shipping on my auctions. More than enough to cover the actual shipping charge.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Here's a thought (only if Ebay allowed it)..

You'd stand to gain listing same item twice BIN, one with free, one without, to appeal to free shipping oriented buyers.

In less mainstream obscure niches it can be pulled off with listing title keyword trickery and no product identifiers. Worse comes to worse they slap ya on the wrist and say "bad!".

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

You may not have read my post, but that's exactly what I do.

It's how I know free shipping rule the high-competition categories.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Ah, way ahead of me then! :laugh:

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

pros and cons of free shipping-
top rated seller gets 10% discount on FVF of item,not FVF of shipping,so what some do is roll shipping into item price and offer free shipping to avoid paying FVF on shipping and get a bigger 10% discount on the item price.
but if the buyer wants to return the item ,and pays for the return shipping,seller will have to refund in full,which means he lost money on shipping the item to the buyer.
of course if the buyer files item not as described,then seller will have to pick up return shipping,plus refund original payment in full.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

not anymore on Ebay and Etsy.
On ETSY,you can even charge a restocking fee as long as it is stated in your return policy

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Where - in the UK? Not North Am

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

not so,when you view the listing on ebay,you see the shipping fee .

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

i HAVE never offered free shipping and I have been selling for many years on various venues.
But I notice lately many sellers are charging USPS priority mail plus a few dollars morel,like 12 dollars for a small item and ship USPS FIRST CLASS in a padded envelope,buyers resent that,the least they can do is to use a box.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Previously people would separate shipping charges to save on fees, as sellers wouldn't get charged fees on shipping.

That changed in the last few years when eBay clamped down on sellers charges excessive shipping prices and lowering the item price to save on fees.

Some even went to extremes of listing an item for £0.99 and putting shipping prices at £50+ , so they just get charged listing fees + FVF on the 99p.

Now things have changed though, you can't do that anymore.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Ebay charging FVF on shipping has been around for more than 10 years,likely 15 plus years.
but the end result is the same,it just split the FVF to item and shipping.
You pay FVF on total payment(item and shipping,but intl shipping,you pay the domestic shipping FVF)

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

It's harder to see in addition to 'cheaper' asking price, and results in listings ranking higher without free shipping in medium competition niches.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Eh?! It hasnt been 10 years that they started charging on shipping cost FVF.
A few years maybe, but anyways, I still think using free shipping to bump up the exposure is best.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

Which is totes unethical. Shipping and handling is a business expense, not a gross profit of the sold item.

People abused it though. Ebay encouraged free shipping to get FVF on shipping costs. Even tho sales velocity outweighs it in their search algo, slightly contradicting.

Re: Free shipping or charge
 

A lot closer to 10 years than just a few...