eBay

todaysspecial51 · ‎12-22-2018

So, I am a small store but have been on eBay for 11 years. I've decided I need to really do some research about best practices and techniques or else I won't grow, and just keep breaking even.

eBay indicates that free shipping leads to more conversions, and I will certainly look at the numbers on my account to reflect this, but it doesn't seem like that's true at all. It seems like it's eating into my profits.

I also offered Fast 'N Free but of course that became impossible to ship within the required time frame, as it's only me here and I don't have a car. So I stopped that because I was causing too many defects with late shipment.

What has been your experience?

Thanks, I look forward to hearing from you!

reallynicestamps · ‎12-22-2018

I use Free Shipping for almost all my listings and it works well for me.

I have another account ,run by an employee who handles all the work, selling similar material that has a $1-$2 shipping charge, and has much lower sales than those that use Free Shipping.

I can afford to advertise Free Shipping because:

I include the cost of shipping in the asking price
I use letterpost for most shipments and that varies only by weight not destination
I buy in Canadian dollars and sell in US dollars - a form of arbitrage
I use mint never hinged postage stamps, which I can buy at a substantial discount, rather than shipping labels.
I can qualify for Top Rated Seller /Global without tracking shipments.

Not all of these would be possible for others.

I also use Cookie Jar Insurance to cover occasional problems rather than expensive third party insurance or tracking.

I use Calculated Shipping for heavy shipments (over 500 grams) and those are tracked, because most Canada Post parcel rates include tracking.

I should mention that Free Shipping does not necessarily mean the lowest cost/slowest service. If I am shipping a $200 stamp, it will be tracked but the cost of a tracked service will be part of my asking price.

The seller never pays for shipping.

The buyer pays for shipping-- even for 'free' shipping.