posted on September 13, 2001 02:32:07 PM new
I am considering free domestic shipping as tracking different weight items I sell is difficult sometimes. I realize you pay more to eBay with Final Value Fees.
1. Are sellers currently offering free shipping? Has anyone in the past?
2. Did it increase sales and overall profit?
3. Is tax accounting more difficult with free shipping?
posted on September 13, 2001 02:44:29 PM new
Many people will compare your items to others that are the same. Yours will require a higher bid and thus might turn off some bidders.
posted on September 13, 2001 04:22:08 PM new
Funny, but I just won an item with free shipping and also just listed one!
I had started 20 some auctions and only one had no bids after 4 days. I edited it to include free shipping and it now has 3 bids at over $26.00!
(shipping it will cost less than $1.00)
Now I really don't know if the shipping had anything to do with it bit as long as it sells I also really don't care.......
posted on September 13, 2001 05:11:56 PM new
Bidders expect to pay for shipping. I might throw in a shipping upgrade, but that's about it. Shipping is the highest overhead I have--it actually costs more than of my items' purchase price.
posted on September 13, 2001 05:12:10 PM new
You can try a test run on this of a few weeks or so, long enough to get a feel for how this will work for you.
But I have to agree that you'll either have to raise your opening bid to cover the cost, or you might wind up eating those costs big time if it doesn't get the bidding wars going.
As for the tax accounting, the difference will be a slightly lower taxable income due to the slightly higher FVF.
posted on September 13, 2001 05:33:33 PM new
I did run a test on free shipping one week when I had a bunch of videos to sell.
I priced half one way and the winner would pay bid + shipping. The other half, I priced with the shipping built in, and even made the price such that if only the minimum bid were made, I would make a few cents more on the "free shipping" ones than on the "bid + shipping" ones - after eBay fees.
Now it was only a week, and only videos, but it didn't seem to make much difference on my sales. % sell-through the same, avg profit about the same.
posted on September 13, 2001 05:35:42 PM new
We wouldn't recommend it...I don't think it matters to bidders anyway.
Those who offer free shipping usually send the cheapest way possible,which usually takes longer......many bidders like to get there items quicker anyway.
posted on September 13, 2001 06:04:58 PM new
I have only offered free shipping a few different times, where the auction went way above what I was expecting. Maybe out of guilt I did this.
However, I did offer free insurance on every item for a while (I was offering U-pic at the time). But you know what? Not one person ever said thanks or acknowledged it, and of course I don't think it helped my bids one iota. I figured I was spending an addition $40--$50 per month out-of-pocket to do this and soon stopped.
I don't think it really helps much to offer freebies. At least in my case (and for what I sell) it didn't.
