No reason to charge shipping?

[HurricaneHuntr]

So.. i was doing calculations over on eBay Fees Calculator 8.2 by Ryan Olbe (updated July 12, 2011) and whether you charge shipping or you don't.... you still make the same profit. So basically there is no reason to charge shipping anymore. This is the conclusion i've come to. Is this wrong?

[Sandy D]

On some things you can still make money with free shipping but some things you cannot.

I just base it all on if I can still make a buck with free shipping.

I tested some 0.99 items with free shipping and did ok, but also I do not like to lose money on anything so I stopped that.

Low end small items first class stuff you can not pay for the shipping unless your profit margins are huge.

[KingRay]

what kind of .99 items are you talking about. Without telling me what it is of course.. Just dont see anything really that would ship less than $1.64 unless its a coupon but if you want the traceability its more.

Just curious is all.

[HurricaneHuntr]

wow my calculator must of been off.. i swore the total ebay fees whether charging postage or not, ended up being the same profit on the sale.

[KingRay]

It will be the same fees but the difference is if you eat the cost of shipping or not.

You have to pay the fees on the total with shipping so it should be the same either way.

[MM78]

99% of my items are over $80 a piece, so I don't charge shipping plus I still ship Priority Mail so I can get my cash faster. On my $80 and up items I still make double of what the items cost me so it's still a good profit. Any time I can double or make $10 - $15 on top of the double is a good day.

I don't think I would stop shipping Priority just so my customers are happy, and so far so good. The only things I don't ship priority were my "feedback maker" items which I broke even after shipping.

[Sandy D]

Low priced items that sell for 8-10 range.

I start them at 0.99 and hope they get bid up to that range.

I toss in free shipping to get more attraction to buyers looking for free shipping.

[yotano211]

I never do free shipping. I always price my items no more then $5 for shipping. I did my own experiments and I did not find my prices higher for free shipping. I averaged the prices and found that putting a small shipping charge wont drive people off, my averages are a it higher with a small shipping charge. But when ever I would put something high, that is when it drives them off and my averages are slightly lower.

[Sneakee]

Originally Posted by yotano211

I never do free shipping. I always price my items no more then $5 for shipping. I did my own experiments and I did not find my prices higher for free shipping. I averaged the prices and found that putting a small shipping charge wont drive people off, my averages are a it higher with a small shipping charge. But when ever I would put something high, that is when it drives them off and my averages are slightly lower.

Are you saying that whenever you put a higher shipping charge your averages are lower?

I guess this talk explains why I have people telling me I can ship a 2lb item for $3 (not media mail). I've had customers tell me that since this seller is charging $3 for shipping for an item that I should be able to too.

I always wondered why some sellers would charge 1/3 of the cost of shipping.

Then I wonder even more when they charge $3 for shipping and $7 for the actual price for a total price of $10. What the heck? How are they making money when that item will cost $8-$10 to ship?! Not to mention the Ebay fees and the cost of the item in the first place!

I don't get those sellers.