HOW ARE SELLERS ABLE TO SELL WITH ZERO SHIPPING COST??

[lady-gold]

I've been selling on Ebay for many years.   But I've always had to charge for shipping charges based on the size of the item, and it has not gotten any cheaper.  I am amazed at how many sellers are now offering items on Ebay with zero shipping charges!   How do they do this? And some of these items are heavy and not small!    What is it I am not understanding here???

[nowthatsjustducky]

I always thought that it was common knowledge that they add the cost of shipping to their asking price.  And if it is a weight based shipping, the cost added to the price is based on the farthest it could conceivably go within the U.S.

[emerald40]

How are their prices?  They may be incorporating the shipping into the price.

[lady-gold]

So far, the prices seem reasonable.. That is why I don't understand how they are doing that, unless they are making such a good profit that they are eating their shipping costs....

[mistwomandancing]

Of course these sellers are covering the cost of shipping in their asking price, plus the cost of acquisition, etc. as well.  They aren't losing money on their sales.  I have been listing almost all my items with Free Shipping included. 

Plus, there are little things that can help certain sellers in this way.  I live in the middle of the country, so closer to ship to the nation's most populated areas than if I lived on one coast and had to ship to the other.

I get discounted shipping, so for somewhat smaller items, even somewhat heavier items, that I want to ship Priority Mail... can be shipped the FOMO method in a Priority bubble envelope for $5.90  I sell a lot in the Pottery & Glass Category, so much of that is heavy but can be shipped at not too much cost.

And then too, some parts of the country produce some real good pickin's in various areas, so things I can scoop up here that may only cost me a couple of dollars may cost my competition $10-$15 where they live and find the same item... so the difference covers my Free Shipping offering and still keeps the profit in my pocket, etc.

There are so many little facets to it all, and every little thing can affect something else, so every seller has to really figure where his advantages are and then play to them.. hard.

[klassic*kids]

How are they able to do it?  Quite easy.  List an item for $15.00 + $4.00 (FCP shipping) or list for $19.00 with free shipping.  I rotate such a thing around often. 

[mr_lincoln]

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@lady-gold wrote:

I've been selling on Ebay for many years.   But I've always had to charge for shipping charges based on the size of the item, and it has not gotten any cheaper.  I am amazed at how many sellers are now offering items on Ebay with zero shipping charges!   How do they do this? And some of these items are heavy and not small!    What is it I am not understanding here???

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For Domestic shipping, I am on the East Coast.  A package of 1 - 2 lbs has to go Priority Mail so I can take advantage of the insurance up to $ 100.00.  If it goes tot he same zone as me then the shipping cost is about $ 6.95 and tot he West cost about $ 12.40.  So, if I want to sell and $ 15.00 for the item and offer free shipping then I add the highest shipping cost of $ 12.40 so the minimum price to offer Free Shipping becomes $ 27.40.  Normally I do NOT offer free shipping but that is how you have to cover the shipping cost in the price of the item.

[real_arrowheads]

I saw that, well most are new on here or just dumb or experienced on selling! cause you think you can sell with out shipping cost then your losing.

i just sent 2 packages off from Alabama to Cal. i charged $7 an item thinking it was enough ,not !!! cost me $11 each so i lost $8 and then ebay charges you on the total, so more on the shipping ,so lost more if you only charge $7 to send and item and they hit you with a 15% plus pay pal charge on it you got say $5.80 to send it now ! not fair to the honest people. they shouldn't charge SHIPPING in the total final value fee..it's BS China gives all theirs sellers free shipping paid by their GOV that's how they get away with it while our's keeps going up and up even gas is at a low ,was the first reason they bump it up. it's going to be soon that ebay implodes itself to destruction. unless they come down on the fees and fix the shipping , cause about done with peeps selling stuff for nothing and adding free shipping so buyers don't buy your but th eseller won't be here long to sell again.

[femmefan1946]

I get discounted shipping,

I don't know what the rates are for US sellers but we Canadians get between 5% and 17% off many Canada Post counter prices when we use PP shipping labels.

Or we can use a VentureONE card and get 5% off at the PO counter.

I do better than that though. I use discounted mint postage stamps. There are postage lots for sale on eBay, but DH is a semi-retired stamp dealer so he has lots and lots of stamps I can use.

Enough that I sell them on another ID. (Canadian stamps - we rarely see US ones). My normal selling price is 20% off face value  eg. 100 x 30 cent stamps face value $30 for $24.00.

But mostly -- Free Shipping means shipping costs are included in the asking price.

Also, if a seller offers Free Shipping domestically, all her international FVF are based on the FVF on the domestic rate which is $0.00.

[pinballwsd]

For most sellers like myself, the shipping is added into the price of the item.  I know that people are brainwashed into buying the lowest priced item but a smart person knows that a $9.99 item with $3.00 shipping is the same as a $12.99 item with free shipping.  The reasons that I do the free shipping are 1) Since I only use eBay's global shipping program for international shipping by offering free domestice shipping it reduces the shipping cost to international buyers. 2) Most buyers today are wise to sellers who try to make their prices look low by charging high shipping.  There are many buyers who are tired of playing games with sellers who have high shipping charges and are more likely to buy from a seller who has the total price up front.  I know what you are saying though about the stupid sellers out there who sell items with free shipping for less than the price it would cost to ship the item.  I've come to the conclusion that either these sellers are just plain morons and are basically paying people to take their items or that some sellers just cost average.  Usually these are the ones who sell their items auction style and start the bidding at $0.99 with free shipping.  I guess they figure if some items sell at a loss, they will make it up on the items that sell at a high price.  I personally wouldn't even touch that today since it has become nearly impossible to sell anything on eBay today.  Just 10 years ago I might have tried to list stuff starting at $0.99 but not today, no way!

[popstylenow112]

If you guys are so smart on why these people can give free shipping than tell me how a US seller can sell an item for 0.99 and offer free shipping, but the cheapest shipping in the USA is $2.63 with tracking? How is that? 

[dhbookds]

The $2.63 s the cheapest WITH tracking..........some sellers still use envelops for light weight stuff........with no tracking.

Also, in some cases, sellers may be trying to build transaction numbers or feedback.......and may be willing to take the loss.........

[muttlymob]

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@popstylenow112 wrote:

If you guys are so smart on why these people can give free shipping than tell me how a US seller can sell an item for 0.99 and offer free shipping, but the cheapest shipping in the USA is $2.63 with tracking? How is that? 

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Either they are completely clueless and don't realize they are losing money.

Or, they are using the 99 cent items as loss leaders to get potential buyers to look at other inventory.

Or, they are selling feedback and not items.

Or, .... they may have some other reason for knowingly losing money on these items.

[mixedbagmosaic]

lol

[omgitlightsup]

There is nothing wrong with misrepresenting the cost of shipping as long as you're not charging your buyer for shipping costs you're not paying.

If you charge a buyer an amount in excess of what you actually pay in shipping, you're engaging in several types of fraud and violating eBay's rules.

If you charge less than what you actually pay, or nothing at all, you're just offering buyers an incentive to pick you over someone else. It's never been against any law or policy to be generous, and nobody ever said you're required to clear a profit on every sale.