Free shipping or not free shipping-that is the question?

@dojejo ~ Well DearieDonna, I have mostly FREE Shipping, but I cannot honestly say whether that affects my sales or not, because unless a customer lets me know this, there’s no way for me to assume such!

I hope others will bring to you their experiences too so you can better evaluate.

I will tell you there are both pros and cons in offering FREE shipping, like what will be reflected in how many fees you end up paying!

Dee

Let’s start with this: there AIN’T NO SUCH THING AS NO STINKIN’ FREE SHIPPING.

The customer pays it, whether it is separately stated or buried in the amount of the item. And my opinion is that most people are alert enough to know that price comparisons among the same or similar items should be based on DELIVERED cost.

My choice is to either include shipping in the price, or charge an amount for shipping (maybe $1 to $3) which is way below they typical $6.95 and up. And if I can’t sell something at a competitive price with the shipping factored in, then I won’t offer it for sale at all (here on Bonz, anyway). This takes some research, in which I survey the market for the prices of items I might sell. The result you may see by searching Google for “Intermountain metal wheels.” That would be ME at the top of the first page. These wheels may mean little to you, but they are the standard among rail modelers who happen to be my target market. The shipping for that item is “free.”

Thus I counsel you to find those items which you can sell, with the shipping built in, and which will play well on Google generic and Google shopping. You don’t need ALL your items to do that well – just a few. The “free shipping” simply enhances the value proposition.

When it comes to multiple items, if all or most have shipping built in, then the customer doesn’t have to wait and worry about the cost of shipping which is calculated, naturally, after everything has been purchased.

Some will say that this works for me because I occupy a “niche.” But niche has nothing to do with it. The controlling fact is “commodity,” meaning something that is 1) regarded as essential or important, 2) readily available on the open market, and 3) often purchased on the basis of price because quality differences are slight among competing brands. My wheels fit that definition, so I sell thousands of them because I’ve hit the pricing sweet spot and am highly visible.

But YOUR stuff may be one of a kind or rare or occupy a retail space in which buyers perceive significant value attached to certain brands. Famous name hand bags are an example. A well made leather hand bag from a no-name maker may be functionally superior to a big name and even look better. The cow, after all, doesn’t know. Even so, having that big brand name drives buyers on the expectation of a quality difference. In these cases, a purchase may be made no matter how shipping cost is handled; if you gotta have it, you gotta have it.

Therefore, the decision on a separate charge for shipping may be made in great part on what is being sold. All things being equal, most people will go for the lowest delivered cost. But all things are NOT equal – and your mission as a seller is to figure out exactly where in the equation your merchandise lies, and handle pricing and shipping accordingly.

Hope that helps.

I gave “Free” shipping a solid 6 month try and it did absolutely nothing to bring me more sales. In that 6 month time frame items with shipping included were outsold 4 to 1 by items that listed the shipping charge separately.

JS said: “Therefore, the decision on a separate charge for shipping may be made in great part on what is being sold.”

When I’m thinking of putting something at free shipping, I research the item checking out what it sells for, what I paid for it and coming up with a price that I am willing to sell it for (before “free shipping”). Then I check the weight after it is boxed and determine whether I can still be comparable on the net with one price.

I rarely do free shipping in this booth. I do it about half and half in my other booth. I also set up about half and half at another place I was selling at. What I can say is that I did get some sales with free shipping using the guidelines above that worked for me.

We don’t get very many people “in our booth” compared to several thousand item views. “In the booth” visits occur mostly after we list a few items and either the shoppers or the taggers come in. Mostly people find a target item in search engines and come in long enough to buy that target item. We sell all items with free shipping and we are happy with it. We get a lot of positive comments from buyers. We also offer OBO, which gives them an opportunity to dicker. You need to do some research, weigh your items and figure in shipping to the furthermost zone. People on the west coast probably get a better deal than people closer to Indiana (home).

I believe that the shipping charges (or no charges) really doesn’t matter unless there is an audience who sees your items with or with out separate shipping. Without the audience, it doesn’t matter what you do, except as it may be reflected in the audience of those who use Google shopping.

Personally, I am a bit skeptical when I read that a separate charge for shipping resulted in more sales. Would that it were that easy; just show a shipping charge, and sales come in! I am given to think that something ELSE is at work. Hard to say exactly what, but SOMETHING.

Just my opinion.