Is "free P&P" risky?

[sam999]

Hi all,

Simply question, is free p&p thought of as risky on new accounts? If so, after how many sales etc is it acceptable?

Thanks

[JamesNorth101]

Depends on what it is really but it's pretty standard on a lot of cheap items these days. Helps with rankings and all

[sam999]

Software but legal (non vero). This isn't for my main new accounts but other "higher risk" accounts.
I've read lots about 99p auctions causing flags so wondered if it might be the same with free P&P

[JamesNorth101]

So I would 100% start with something else.

Software is just overall a high risk area. Try to sell a few real bits first if you can to warm the accont up then add in the software. It's slow I know but leads to much better long term results mostly.

[murdered_by_ebay]

software is risky because certain types of software easily get vero warnings like microsoft so the best items are actually books

[sam999]

I did quite a bit of testing, I fully expected to have many issues with software and quickly have accounts suspended but actually that hasn't been the case at all so far. The software I sell is very niche and placed in the appropriate niche categories which is probably why I'm okay. Anyone selling m$ or similar doesn't deserve a place on eBay. The lack of free postage causes confusion though as some people will always expect something physical shipped, so the sooner I can use free P&P the better.

Thanks

[Hank]

I know it has been mentioned on here but there is absolutely nothing wrong with offering free p&p.

Ignore those who say it's 'risky', it ain't. I've never offered anything but free postage and never had an issue.

FYI is is not 'okay' because you've put it in the right niche, it's okay because it hasn't been caught or reported yet.

You can only legitimately list your freeware in the 'something else' category as a classified ad.

[rsot]

Originally Posted by sam999

I did quite a bit of testing, I fully expected to have many issues with software and quickly have accounts suspended but actually that hasn't been the case at all so far. The software I sell is very niche and placed in the appropriate niche categories which is probably why I'm okay. Anyone selling m$ or similar doesn't deserve a place on eBay. The lack of free postage causes confusion though as some people will always expect something physical shipped, so the sooner I can use free P&P the better.

Thanks

Nice experience contribution

[sam999]

Originally Posted by Hank

I know it has been mentioned on here but there is absolutely nothing wrong with offering free p&p.

Ignore those who say it's 'risky', it ain't. I've never offered anything but free postage and never had an issue.

FYI is is not 'okay' because you've put it in the right niche, it's okay because it hasn't been caught or reported yet.

You can only legitimately list your freeware in the 'something else' category as a classified ad.

Thanks Hank, are you speaking with respect to new accounts specifically though? Free P&P on an aged account clearly should be alright.

There's nothing to report or catch as it's legal software but I am aware of the category issue. My plan is to migrate them to the correct category after building up a few sales, which will boost me up the search rankings enough to still makes sales in the correct information services category.