mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999
@myescape wrote:
@thefinalcast wrote: Would I be better off selling the item for $5.00 and charging $10.00 for shipping?This one reason ebay started charging a fvf on the shipping.Sellers were shorting ebay on fees by putting item price in shipping so seller avoided the fee on the higher item price j
That was one reason, but not likely the biggest reason. Most other similar sites charged FVF on S&H already and Ebay was just following in line. That coupled with that whenever Ebay wants to do a fee increase they do there very best to stay away from actually increasing the FVF on the product rate. It gives them a good way of saying they didn't raise FVFs on the products sold here. While on the very surface that may be true, but they have gained fees in other areas.
Certainly there have been times where Ebay has raised the FVF on the product, but there have been more fees collected for other things over the years. Ebay comes up with new ways to earn fees for various services and or features. Promoted Listings, Stores, S&H, etc.
@mam98031 wrote:
@myescape wrote:
@thefinalcast wrote: Would I be better off selling the item for $5.00 and charging $10.00 for shipping?This one reason ebay started charging a fvf on the shipping.Sellers were shorting ebay on fees by putting item price in shipping so seller avoided the fee on the higher item price j
That was one reason, but not likely the biggest reason. Most other similar sites charged FVF on S&H already and Ebay was just following in line. That coupled with that whenever Ebay wants to do a fee increase they do there very best to stay away from actually increasing the FVF on the product rate. It gives them a good way of saying they didn't raise FVFs on the products sold here. While on the very surface that may be true, but they have gained fees in other areas.
Certainly there have been times where Ebay has raised the FVF on the product, but there have been more fees collected for other things over the years. Ebay comes up with new ways to earn fees for various services and or features. Promoted Listings, Stores, S&H, etc.
It's seen as the main reason because it's the reason eBay gave when the change occurred. eBay said it was to give buyers confidence in reasonable priced shipping and to reward sellers for free and low shipping.
@moo*cow*corner wrote:Although this is true, most buyers absolutely hate paying anything beyond exact postage only. If all costs are accounted for (not even considering any profit), the shipping charges star on the seller's feedback page takes a bath. Buyer feedback left also reflects this. They expect sellers to simply to absorb any extra costs related to shipping & handling.
My main reason for dumping free shipping is that in my category, many buyers will buy multiple items if I give a combined shipping discount. I ship relatively heavy items, so that can end up being a good incentive for a buyer to buy more than one listing.
IMHO some don't like a shipping cost beyond exact postage just because they don't understand that it actually costs more than that to ship. Couple with that often times for whatever reason people have they don't see selling on Ebay as a real job. Not one you want to pay for someone's time and service for. I know there are lots of people that do respect that we are providing a service. But there are lots out there that do not as well.
The fear that sellers have over offending these buyers that don't understand have cause some sellers to hurt themselves financially by only charging the exact postage and they don't even pick up the other costs in their product price. So they take money out of their profit [their pocket] to appease some buyers.
From my point of view it is all about teaching the buyers. Just as they need to get use to the ever increasing shipping costs. Every year we need to raise rates to accommodate the USPS increases. It takes time for buyers to adjust, but they will adjust. Well at least most of them.
Offering Free Shipping is a great way for sellers to avoid these misunderstandings or concerns. It doesn't work for every type of product, but it is a very good tool that sellers can use in many cases. I find that it works great on my beads, craft supplies and fragrances, but not so much on my pattern books.
Just as you did, we all need to look at what we are selling and what the market will bear. It is a fantastic choice for many things, but then no so much for others. Each seller should research and find the answer for themselves. Test it for a few months and then determine if it is the right approach for you and your products to offer Free shipping or not. This isn't something you can test for a week or two. You need to give it time.
