Before you buy, how can you tell if a seller offers combined shipping?

[xredshyguyx]

I recently purchased 3 items on Ebay, and all 3 items were similar in size and weight and had the same shipping cost. After I won the auctions, I went to my cart with the 3 items in it, and hit the "Request total' button in the corner, to see if I could get combined shipping. However, to my surprise, the seller didn't offer it, and had their account set to automatically deny combined shipping for their whole store.

I paid for my items, and everything is OK now, but my main question is:

How can you tell if a seller offers combined shipping at their store BEFORE buying from them?

[bonjourami]

Ask the seller.

[zgnisaer]

---

@xredshyguyx wrote:

How can you tell if a seller offers combined shipping at their store BEFORE buying from them? 

---

Isn't it tedious to

- ask each and every seller you hope to buy from if they offer discounts on combined shipping,

- risking them "re-fixing" the price if each is a fixed price item just because you showed interest,

- then ultimately ghosted in the end when you're ready to pay and ask for that promised discount?

[myfrugalboutique]

That was the most unhelpful reply I have seen in ages. 🙄

[albertabrightalberta · Accepted solution]

@xredshyguyx 

Many sellers don't set their shipping rules to allow for combined shipping for multiple purchases. In fact, many categories of listings aren't the types of items that buyers purchase multiples.)

So in cases in which you plan to purchase multiples, just send the seller a message to ask if they offer reduced combined shipping. ("Reduced" is the operative word; some sellers combine and ship in one package but charge  full individual shipping amounts.)

The seller may suggest you request a total or they may just tell you that they'll issue a refund for the overpayment. 

@zgnisaer 

In the rare cases when I want to purchase more than one item from a seller's listings, it is not "tedious" to ask the seller a question! 

And I've never had a seller raise the price of an item because I showed an interest and asked a question! (This isn't to say it doesn't happen but I've been on ebay over 20 years and have NEVER had it happen to me.)

[bonjourami]

"That was the most unhelpful reply I have seen in ages"

K I S S.

[house*of*paws]

---

---

@zgnisaer wrote:

---

@xredshyguyx wrote:

How can you tell if a seller offers combined shipping at their store BEFORE buying from them? 

---

Isn't it tedious to

- ask each and every seller you hope to buy from if they offer discounts on combined shipping,

- risking them "re-fixing" the price if each is a fixed price item just because you showed interest,

- then ultimately ghosted in the end when you're ready to pay and ask for that promised discount?

---

Yes, it would be ... assuming that your string of misfortunes would occur each time.

What is your suggestion to avoid tedium?