Do you include unannounced bonus items with your orders? If so, what kind of items?

[daveresells]

I have been selling coins mostly lately, but I sell a mix of items. Do you ever include unannounced free bonus items with your orders? If so, what do you include?

[gymbo_limbo]

I used to do this until I found out it can be a legit SNAD even though it is not the item they bought. As a buyer, the only time I ever received anything extra was when I bought from a boardie 

[dazzlecity]

I sell jewelry primarily and my customers are generally women - I ran across a great company called Greenwich Bay

that has these great little scented soaps.  I bought a bunch of them and with every $20+ purchase I sent the buyer a gift.  There's 20 different scents and their all so wonderful. I tell the buyer if they are allergic to soaps try putting them in their unmentionables drawer for sweet smelling scented undies.  So far not one person has been unhappy so I keep doing it. Most don't say thank you but it's really not necessary and I hope they remember me and come back and shop again. I guess I'm old school and appreciate their business.

[penguins_dont_fly]

A few months ago, I was sitting on the couch after supper.

Chaching, chaching, chaching, chaching, chaching, chaching, chaching, chaching .... for 15 straight minutes!

Offer made, offer auto-accepted .... on 60+ pieces of a single dinnerware pattern

Whoop-whoop!

When the smoke cleared, I noticed she had cleaned me out of the pattern ... except for 2 tea cups and saucers that got auto-rejected.

I sent her the cups 🙂

Great sale. Horrible, stress-inducing packing LOL

[city*satins]

When I still shipped worldwide, I had a lot of women buyers in Japan.

Anne of Green Gables is popular in Japan, so while I had the stock, I used to enclose a little packet containing Anne of Green Gables theme stationery - consisting of 6 sheets of writing paper and 6 envelopes in a little sealed cello wrapper.  I happened to get about 50+ sets of these at a local thrift store for 10 cents each and they were a big hit with my Japanese customers.  It only added about 1 ounce to the weight.

Other than that, no.  No extras since if they are edible, someone might be allergic or they could melt or ruin somebody's diet, and if they have a scent they can be offensive, and if they're an additional coordinating accessory they can confuse the buyer.  So no.

[city*satins]

Oh - with delicate knits, I enclose a pair of vinyl gloves and a note asking the buyer to put them on when trying on the garment, to protect it from accidental snags.

Not really a gift to them.  More like a gift to me.

[penguins_dont_fly]

Another time ... The buyer and I got in a small discussion about the pattern. She mentioned that her son was coming home for Thanksgiving for the first time in  4 years. He was able to get leave from the Marine Corps.

That was another good sale  (And another packing nightmare) ... she was planning on lots of extra people for Turkey day that year 🙂

I had a Marine Corps "sweetheart pin" that I was going to list ... I sent it to her with her order.

[muttlymob]

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@dazzlecity wrote:

I tell the buyer if they are allergic to soaps try putting them in their unmentionables drawer for sweet smelling scented undies. 

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You may want to rethink this advice. 

If someone is allergic to the soap or its scent, adding that soap or scent to their underwear might make them allergic to their own undies.

[jeannicho22]

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@yuncreations wrote:

I always add little extra gifts , such as stickers, candy, pencils, erasers... and a Thank you note.

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Lost on me and a waste of your money.... straight into the trash.... I HATE IT.  I would of course never give a negative for assorted JUNK with my order, but I know of sellers who have gotten them.  Scratch that, if a seller sends me religious tracts, they're getting a neutral.  I find anyone pushing their agenda on me as being offensive.

[moondogblues]

When I still sold here (mostly books) I would include handmade books marks and notecards. Buyers loved them. I buy here still and one seller I buy a lot from always sends me something extra. I love it, she is very thoughtful and has a good idea what I might like.

[mr_lincoln]

@daveresells   Absolutely, sometimes I will get something in a large lot that goes with something else I have for sale but will not necessarily increase the value of the item for sale enough to warrant a new photo shoot or any investment of time ... I mark it as BONUS and stick it in the box when the item sells.

[tealt]

I've never included any "extras", and I don't plan to.

If fact, a few weeks ago I received a request to not include anything in the package that wasn't part of the listing.

This request was made by the ostensible buyer--a buying service in southern California which forwards to international buyers (my listings say US buyers only).  I presumed that the request had something to do with a customs declaration.  The nice positive feedback I received on the item was from Japan.

[daveresells]

I was thinking, for example, with the coins I'm selling. Maybe include a little baggie of world coins? They are cheap. If the buyer doesn't want them, most people have kids in their family they could give them to. 

[doortek]

As a buyer, I am just happy to receive an invoice with the item I purchased that arrived as described.... You would be surprised how many sellers do not include an invoice, an auction number, etc.

As a seller, I would be including non-intrusive back end sales such as a flyer, a catalog or list of items, a discount code for my website, etc., as well as a business card with my name, company and contact information.

The "unannounced bonus items" I don't want that most EVERY major seller on eBay does and more.... automatically adds you to their email mailing list, with some then sending marketing through the postal system, as well as sales calling on the phone.

And if that does not help them in profits, they sell your personal information to a database collector for a premium because you gave your name, a primary email address, home address because apparently, nobody ships to a PO box with USPS, and phone number with your PayPal payment, which then brings the robo callers.

[soh.maryl]

And there was a post, I believe it was yesterday, from a seller who sold a camera and included an extra accessory for that camera (have no idea what) and the buyer opened an item not as described case because whatever this EXTRA item was, it wasn't working.

[soh.maryl]

Yes, those are things that are relative to the item purchased and would probably be accepted gratefully.

Plus I doubt there are many people who are allergic to tea cups.

The guitar picks, ok.  The candy, soaps etc, not so much.