Do buyers prefer a low priced item with Shipping fees OR a higher purchase price with Free Shipping?

[ambera215]

I can't seem to figure out which way is best to list my items. Personally as a buyer, I don't have a preference and usually go for whichever is cheaper when combining Price+Shipping, regardless of if shipping is free or not. So I need an outside opinion..what do you other sellers think about this?

[collectfest]

It depends, if an antique, I don't care.

If new or domestic item like socks shirt etc., I search by lowest price, so free shipping may be better. I have never searched "free" shipping only. 

The only real turn off for me is sellers who start a bid at .01 with $75.00 shipping. Sorta tells me a little about their mindset. I'd rather pay a little more and buy from an experienced seller who ships promptly, has good description as well as good feedback.

Sellers that think feedback is not important are living in lala land in my opinion.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Buyers can search by lowest price plus shipping so low price is not an advantage.

Some buyers can do arithmetic in their heads so price with free shipping included is no better or wrose than lower price plus shipping.

Some buyers cannot do arithmetic in their heads and might choose one or the other.

What you sell can affect which group of buyers you get.

I do not offer free shipping. I strive to make the cost of shipping equal to what I charge for shipping on the average. This allows me to sometimes choose a faster shipping method than I would if shipping was a profit center. The temptation to shave some costs would be higher if I was offering "free shipping" and that would be a poor business decision for my business.

[roste8176]

they prefer low price , free shipping. but some people will go to Amazon and elsewhere and pay more for the exact same item. I tend to sell to people living close because shipping is expensive for heavy and large boxes. I usually get only 1 to 4 of each item, so my inventory  varies a lot. Generally for a seller, being centrally located and selling items of similar value and dimensions would be an ideal situation to ship free. For a buyer free shipping is preferred over faster  shipping and some might only buy when shipping is free, some can be influenced to buy more items from a seller  if it makes shipping free for their order.

[psfhobbies]

When I sell something that I think someone will buy more of or similar items like paint I don't like free shipping that makes the buyer pay more for every item.I would rather combine multiple items so its fair for the buyer.I personally don't care either way because one way or another buyer pays the shipping.I do however have a friend who told me he only searched for things with free shipping...to each his own I guess.You do get better search exposure with free shipping I guess.

[bamorris]

Buyers look at the total cost. I don't see Free Shipping as much of an incentive other than buyers think it's REALLY free. And therefore their offers tend to be for an item only, and you need to somehow wrap shipping into it.

From a sellers perspective, you'll find it more difficult to separate the shipping cost from the item cost if you combine and offer "Free Shipping". 

I prefer to keep shipping costs as a separate line item so I can quickly understand how much I'm selling an item for.

[chapeau-noir]

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@roste8176 wrote:

they prefer low price , free shipping. but some people will go to Amazon and elsewhere and pay more for the exact same item. I tend to sell to people living close because shipping is expensive for heavy and large boxes. I usually get only 1 to 4 of each item, so my inventory  varies a lot. Generally for a seller, being centrally located and selling items of similar value and dimensions would be an ideal situation to ship free. For a buyer free shipping is preferred over faster  shipping and some might only buy when shipping is free, some can be influenced to buy more items from a seller  if it makes shipping free for their order.

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Fortunately, I bypass all of that by not offering what Amazon (and every other website) has.

[inhawaii]

As a buyer, I don't care if the item I am buying is $40 + $10 shipping  or $50 with free shipping.

However, I know there are buyers out there who search for items with "free shipping".

[user55782]

When you talk about the importance of feedback, are you referring to it being important as a whole, or are you just saying that it's important for sellers to monitor it, and make effort to maintain a high rating, so as to attract more sales?   Because honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing it go, as a seller.  

[richard1rst]

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@user55782 wrote:

When you talk about the importance of feedback, are you referring to it being important as a whole, or are you just saying that it's important for sellers to monitor it, and make effort to maintain a high rating, so as to attract more sales?   Because honestly, I wouldn't mind seeing it go, as a seller.  

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I generally agree feedback has diminished in importance due to the large number of buyers who never leave it. But if it went away then presumably so would your 2308 score number. So how would we know whether or not you are an experienced ethical seller?

[reallynicestamps]

The short answer is Yes.

Some people are attracted by the low asking price and don't mind that there is added shipping.

Some people are attracted by the low asking price and detest added shipping.

Some people are attracted by the low asking price and don't mind that there is added shipping but are infuriated when the shipping is higher than the asking price.

Some people like getting stuff "free".

Some people like getting stuff free even though they know that the shipping costs are part of the asking price.

Some people think the higher the price, the better the product.

And there is some overlap between those.

The only one I would be cautious of is having higher shipping cost than asking price. 

That really bugs people who should understand that  shipping is based on weight, dimensions, and destination not on the value of the shipment.

[mam98031]

That depends on the buyer.  As sellers we can just do the best we can to figure out what works the best for our listings.

I use to run over half my listings with Free Shipping.  Then a few months ago I went to all stated shipping.  My sales went up with the stated shipping.  But that isn't going to be true for everyone.

You have to do your own research and your own testing @ambera215 .  Keep in mind when you test stuff, you need to do it for a few months to get the true information.  You can just test something for a few days and expect to get accurate info.

Now one thing I have found to be very true.  If you sell stuff that buyers may buy multiple things from you, they will likely want Combined shipping discounts.  Buyers know they can ask for that when a seller has stated shipping, but not so much when offering Free Shipping.  So Free Shipping will deter some buyers from buying multiple items.

Good Luck.

[vintagecraze50]

If the price is right with free or calculated shipping it’s a winner either way. 

[campanaelia]

As a buyer I hate free shipping and look for items with the highest shipping as long as the total cost (item price + s/h) are about the same. Since I live in a state that doesn't charge tax on the shipping portion many times it will determine who I buy from.

[dbfolks166mt]

     As a buyer I focus on total cost of the item regardless of whether the shipping is calculated, stated or free but I realize that nothing in life is really free. As a seller, like you I am on the east coast so if I use free shipping in order to cover my actual shipping costs I have to calculate the worst possible case of shipping the item when I factor it into my price. About the only time I use free shipping is when I know there is only one cheapest method to ship something regardless of where the buyer is located. Those items tend to be heavy and I am shipping in a flat rate box or envelope which have a weight limit of 70 pounds. It's amazing what you can pack into a flat rate box or envelope. 

     I generally utilize calculated shipping and by no small coincidence most of my sales tend to be to the eastern half of the US simply because the shipping costs are less for those zones. Sellers who are in the central part of the US have a slight advantage since the shipping costs do not vary as much across the various zones and may find it easier to incorporate the shipping costs into their price and offer free shipping. According to statistics about 71% of the eBay purchases have/had free shipping and in fact eBay encourages sellers to utilize the free shipping option which seems to be more appealing to some buyers and is in fact one of the search options. However, I generally find that if I search by price + shipping lowest cost first that the lower total cost listings are ones that utilize calculated shipping.