Free shipping and free returns?
Summary: foxfashionhouse asked for opinions on offering free shipping and returns for women's clothing on eBay. kensgiftshop and tobaccocardyahoo noted the high return rates for clothing, while tobaccocardyahoo suggested successful sellers often include these costs in their pricing. kibble-net recommended offering either free shipping or free returns, not both. mamacassidy shared a personal strategy of charging for shipping to offset return costs and advised caution due to shipping expenses. Various participants highlighted different strategies, such as specifying measurements and understanding the implications of return policies, suggesting that pricing should consider these factors. foxfashionhouse appreciated the feedback and is considering incorporating these insights into their selling strategy.
Hello and happy Friday! I am new to selling on eBay and wanted to ask peoples opinion on offering free shipping and free returns on new women's clothing...
My feeling is that it might make it easier for people to return something knowing that they don't have to pay for the return fee, but at the same time, it's a very lightweight product unless it's jeans or a heavy jacket…
Thank you in advance
fm2000
·1 month agoAs Amazon can tell you, free returns will guarantee a ton of returns for wrong fit and for "wardrobing". Accept returns, but make it buyer paid. You shouldn't have to pay for someone else's measurement mistake, or to pay to have people rent your clothing for free.
Shipping today is illogical (a silk scarf can be more to ship than a jacket, I am not making that up) and changes every 5 minutes at the whim of the postmaster. Free shipping will guarantee you a lot of busywork adjusting your prices every time it changes.
DO include accurate measurements of all clothing. It will never hurt to include them, but might hurt you if you don't.
liawri-75
·1 month ago · EditedThere's no such thing as free returns. SOMEBODY pays the ship return whether it's you or the buyer. Especially with the cost of postage going up. That's IMO. If you want to, send the buyer a prepaid postage to return it - again, you pay for it.
If the buyer returns it as "changed my mind" then they pay for the ship back. Not you.
foxfashionhouse
OP1 month agoWell, if that’s the case, all they have to do is click on “changed my mind“
mamacassidy
·1 month agoHere is a screenshot of the Return Reasons. There are "remorse" returns (changed mind, didn't fit, etc.) and then there are Item Not As Described INAD reasons. If a buyer claims one of the INAD reasons, the seller is required to pay for the return postage if they want the item sent back. However, you can set up your return policy to state that Buyer pays for remorse returns.
If you offer Free Returns, then you the seller will be paying for that postage. And if you offer Free Shipping as well, you will be losing that original shipping cost as well. Again, this is a business decision that every seller must make.
But since you haven't sold online, I'd recommend starting slow until you figure out all the details. I'd also go to PirateShip.com and type in some different zip codes and different weights of packages to get an idea of what shipping costs these days (these numbers are usually similar/ the same as the ebay discounted label price)
reallynicestamps
·1 month agoFirst. If you are selling clothing SPECIFY THE MEASUREMENTS.
You can put the manufacturer's size in the title, but don't trust it. Specify the measurements for the garment you are selling.
It is quite normal for me to be wearing garments that cover three or four different "sizes" because - vanity sizing.
I don't sell clothing, but I do believe that you will have more happy, cooperative customers if you use Free Returns. Remember to allow for the cost of the occasional return when you set the price for the item.
Remember that when you buy Return Shipping for your customer, that you will be paying the discounted eBay rate, not the counter rate. And also that returns /failed transactions are a business expense and tax deductible.
I use Free Shipping domestically (Canada) but eIS for international including to the USA. Your 'government' has been erratically adding and removing tariffs and duties for about a year now, and I'd rather have the US customer pay tariffs than me.
For my Free Domestic Shipping, my cost of shipping is included in the asking price for the item.
TANSTAAFL.
foxfashionhouse
OP1 month agoI appreciate your comments and I’ve read all of them so far and I see both sides of the issue… In my head I was thinking that offering free shipping and building that into the cost of the item and having the customer pay for the return shipping would be the better deal, but my fear is that the buyer, knowing they can return it for free shipping might make it easier for them to want to return an item… am I overthinking this?
soh.maryl
·1 month agoYes, you're overthinking. In the case of an item that is not as described, if buyer opens an NAD case, and you want the item back, you'll be paying for the return shipping label. That's more or less set in stone. And WHY do you want to make it easier for a buyer to want to return an item? You may not have done enough reading yet.
reallynicestamps
·1 month agoThe "failed transaction" rate is usually considered to be about one percent of sales.
It is lower in my category, but may be higher in used clothing, others will be able to tell you.
But one way to guarantee an apprehensive customer is to refuse returns, since it tells them that you may be difficult to deal with. This leads to both fewer sales and to fake Not As Described claims that should have been Buyer Remorse/Buyer Paid returns.
christworks
·1 month ago@foxfashionhouse I sell a wide variety of merchendise, including clothing (mostly jeans) and that does include women's jeans. I cannot say that when it comes to women's jeans they get returned at a higher rate than anything else.
Between eBay and two other selling platforms I've sold 35 pair of jeans in the past 6 months. Only was got returned and it was a dude who returned them. They were a pair of vintage levis. They were missing the button, which was stated clearly in the listing, but he didn't read the listing.
Two weeks ago I sold a $230 pair of jeans. The buyer messaged me earlier this week talking about they were not a size 34. They are, but they are from 1980 and of course those jeans do not have any give to them. Even my hand measurement matched 34" on the nose. I do not do free shipping on clothing. I do free returns on eBay. For me it isn't a big deal. If I were selling only women's clothing, then I do think you would figure out how to make it work even if you were a virtual closet for someone. Some of it will come down on withholding part of the refund if a buyer has tried on the clothing.
soh.maryl
·1 month agoYou may have missed some points about eBay selling. One is that, when a seller offers F/S, that means that the SELLER hopefully has built the shipping cost into the item price.
Another is that, if a buyer opens an NAD case, the seller is required to pay for the return shipping if he wants the item returned. Please do more reading.
foxfashionhouse
OP1 month agoThank you for your comment… Are you suggesting charging for shipping and offering free returns? Or the other way around
liawri-75
·1 month agoI charge shipping because of the high cost of postage. You're going to be charged for the return shipping anyway when the buyer returns. No need to offer FREE returns. EB will figure it out for you.
fern*wood
·1 month agoNot necessarily, if you offer a return policy and they return for a remorse reason, the buyer pays the return shipping. Most of my returns are for remorse and I am not out that cost. I seldom offer free initial shipping either.
soh.maryl
·1 month agoStrongly suggesting NOT offering F/S. As mentioned here previously, a buyer can open an NAD case even if it's not actually NAD. Please do more reading.
mamacassidy
·1 month agoI sell lots of clothing, and I will absolutely never offer free shipping or free returns.
However, that is my personal opinion. I sell pretty inexpensive items, so it would cost me more than the items are worth if I had to pay for shipping both ways. And you mention "very lightweight product", but even lightweight products cost a lot to send these days.
I read your bio, and it says you've been in the re-selling business for over 30 years. Have you been selling in a storefront? Online? Both?
foxfashionhouse
OP1 month agoActually, this is my first time online. I started out a long time ago, selling boats jet, skis, and cars.
liawri-75
·1 month agoWhy did you go to selling FASHION? It's super saturated unless you sell luxury brands.
foxfashionhouse
OP1 month agoTremendous margins on my products… Permission to use all high resolution images and detailed descriptions… everything is new with tags and packaged in clear plastic sleeves… It’s something that will keep me busy in retirement next year… and I can’t be out in the heat anymore
kibble-net
·1 month agoIf you want to pay to be everyone's personal dressing room, that's your decision.
I'd do free shipping or free returns on clothing - but not both.
If you offer free returns without free shipping, then at least the buyer will bear some of the burden for their poor choices when it comes to remorse returns. Unless it's a savvy buyer who knows they can get a free return by claiming INAD.
Personally I am not a fan of "free shipping" as it prevents buyers from understand the actual cost of shipping things.
reallynicestamps
·1 month agoI do Free Shipping on my products, but even at Canada Post rates, and with most of my sales being international including to the USA, my items are rarely over 150gr.
Clothing is obviously much different.
On books, which tend to be heavy, I charge for shipping.
It cannot be over emphasized that Free Shipping means the cost of shipping is included in the price of the purchase.
It cannot be over emphasized that Free Shipping means the cost of shipping is included in the price of the purchase.
It cannot be over emphasized that Free Shipping means the cost of shipping is included in the price of the purchase.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 month agoI would never sell women's clothing - too tough a business for this old geezer.
I would expect successful sellers of women's clothing to offer free shipping, free returns, and find a way to profit doing so.
If they can't, I suspect they won't be successful.
That said, the definition of success is often very personal, and varies greatly,
kensgiftshop
·1 month agoI don't know about offering free returns on clothing, one of the most returned items on Ebay.
foxfashionhouse
OP1 month agoThanks for that info
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 month agoOne of the most returned types of merchandise on this planet. Rivaled only by auto parts.