Free Gift with purchase

[b86fiero]

Any sellers giving a free surprise gift with purchase?  (not buy 1 get 1, buy 3 get 1 etc.)   

If so, do you advertise that you're giving a free surprise gift with purchase in the listing title or description? 

Do you state what the free gift is or send it as a surprise? Are sellers allowed to give surprise gifts?

Has it encouraged sales or repeat buyers?

I used to do this regularly when a buyer made multiple purchases.  The free gift was always appropriate for what the buyer purchased.  It seemed to increase my repeat buyers. I stopped a few years ago when one buyer left me a neg feedback stating her free gift was not big enough. (eBay removed that feedback).

A buyer purchased multiple serving pieces from me for her daughter's bridal shower a couple of months ago and I sent along a similar gift for the bride.  They loved it and sent me a thank you.

Another buyer recently purchased multiple items and I sent her an appropriate gift.  Received positive feedback for the items.  Now I'm wondering whether she liked the gift or not.  (I didn't expect to be thanked but it would have been nice to know). 

I realize the buyer can keep the free gift if they decide to return the purchased item.  Not an issue for me as it was a gift.

Any thoughts on giving free surprise gifts with purchase?

[meme6253]

I have done that a little in the past,Only for some Great repeat buyers,But I never announced it, I only sent it with their order & a Thank You note!

[coolections]

I see no reason at all to give out free gifts. Some buyers can possibly be upset to get one believe it or not. Unless it was something fantastic mine would probably go straight to the trash.

[evry1nositswindy]

I sell groups of books and sometimes, I will have a book that isn't nice enough to list.  I will include it as a free gift with a note.   Usually people are happy about it and send me a message thanking me.  One buyer 'thanked' me in FB.  They said something like I got a free book in rough shape, but hey, it's free.  It was kind of backhanded, but quickly disappeared with the other positives.  No good deed goes unpunished... 

[inhawaii]

I give surprise free gifts now and then under the right circumstances or when I feel like it.

I DO NOT advertise it.

[legalbeagle52]

I did it a little bit years ago.  Same as @evry1nositswindy, I sell book lots & occasionally I would include an extra book, if I had one that was similar to what they purchased, maybe by the same author or same genre.  The buyers were very appreciative & would thank me.  One buyer emailed me & said I made a mistake in her order & was thrilled when I told her that it was an extra few books for her.  But with profits margins thin & media mail rates higher now, I really don't want to include anything extra to pay more for shipping.

But for other items I've sold, I did it too (only appropriate things) but I stopped when I kept reading feedback where some would leave a neutral or negative due to the gift.  It's a nice gesture & I'm sure many buyers appreciate it, but truthfully I don't think it is necessary.  Just send their out items quickly, described accurately & most people are happy!

[evry1nositswindy]

@legalbeagle52 I agree with you on the price of media mail going up.  Now I only add it if it doesn't increase the weight up to the next increment.    

[gloryglorygifts]

Yes, I include extras all the time in my orders that ship from here but it is part of our mission statement. i.e. if someone purchases a rosary from us, and it ships from here, I include 2 prayer cards on how to use it.  I've also included vials of holy water and other items in orders for prayer books or larger orders. Prayer cards go out with every order that ships from here, and prayers are included, on our packing slips, with all of our jewelry that ships from our other location. We don't advertise it but people do appreciate it and mention it in fb and messages.  Of course, our "gifts" are specific to our products. Prayer cards probably won't be appreciated if you are selling widgets, but it works for us.

[mozartbach1971]

Sometimes I get items I know won't sell, so I sometimes include them in packages.

[ensemble_emporium]

I do send a small gift to some buyers.  I do not like to advertise it.  I like to surprise them and I always receive a thank you.

[bennotbill]

Best not to advertise or mention it in any way.

I had an INAD return because of the free gift. eBay CS agreed with the buyer, despite me saying it was just something extra added. But if you make any mention of a free gift then it becomes part of the item/sale.

Frankly some buyers look for any excuse to return an item. Never chucked in anything extra since. What's pictured is what you get, nothing else. It's safer that way.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

For a limited number of listings, I have added a bonus gift which is closely related to the product in the listing.

I have added w/Bonus to the product title.

It has improved sales of those items.

I would never offer a random gift or unrelated gift item because it is unlikely to improve sales, and often seems like The Amateur Hour.

[dirk12955]

I don't mention it or advertise it,   But I have been including a few free stamps with every order.

It's either give the stuff away or burn it.     The customers seem to really eat it up and mention it 

regularly in feedback.   

Costs me nothing but 10 seconds of my time.   

[rileydone]

I include the greeting card that advertises the stamp sets that I'm selling. I do mention it as a bonus in the title. I also include a minimum of 2 embossed card fronts with each order. The buyers have often told me how much they like getting those items. I have a lot of repeat buyers because of this.

[foxytroxyme]

I am new to all of this selling on eBay but, on occasion, I include a free gift. For example, my first customer ever- got a bonus item. Also, I recently sold a pair of Tony Lama boots Brand New and included a comb and some sort of grease that’s used to clean up after usage. I never used the boots, no one did. But i figured the person that bought them from me, can make use of the cleaning accessories. So, yeah when appropriate, it should be ok.