Multiple Shipping Options: Bundling Extra Items with More Expensive Shipping Options, Good Idea?

[sweetpea_tcg]

I have a lot of Trading Card Game singles that I want to sell, but they are at awkward price points (1-10$) that make the 13% fees + 30 cents + Stamp cost per sale give me bad margins, even using a Plain White Envelope (PWE). 

So, I was thinking of offering multiple shipping options, FREE where I use a stamped PWE and then another option of 5$ for a padded bubble mailer with extra cardboard protection.

The 5$ tier would include extra cards, and/or other incentives to make it more appealing for buyers. I pay the same 3-5$ shipping if selling one card or 20 in a bubble mailer and get tracking which I hope will reduce "shrink" and improve my margins. For example, I will include a booster pack with the single in the bubble mailer if and only if the 5$ shipping tier is used, otherwise the card will be sent alone in a PWE.

I don't see this being done often on eBay, does that mean having an "upsell" shipping option is against the rules?

Or is it not common because this is a harebrained scheme that will actually lose me money? Will buyers claim "missing items" if I don't send the extras from the 5$ tier when they only paid for the free tier?

Would I be able to make a variation listing that communicates what I'm trying to do effectively?

This page  says that YuGiOh and Magic are eligible for variation listings, does that exclude ALL other Collectible Card Games like Pokemon? Not sure if incentivizing paying for shipping that includes tracking counts as a "variation"...

Thanks for reading!

[koinonia215 · Accepted solution]

I'm not sure you can use the variation listing for what you are selling. That appears to be more for things like clothing or items where they are the exact same but might differ in either color or size.  I tried it once with DVDs, even though they say that is permissible, and ebay took down the listing. In their email they stated, "You can offer variations, like size and color, in the same listing or product, as long as the items are otherwise identical."

As to shipping items in a PWE, you are not at all protected as a seller and may find yourself facing item not received cases or SNADs because a card gets damaged in the mail. You would lose either case and have to refund in full.

As to offering something extra with a higher shipping charge in a same listing with a cheaper or free shipping charge, you are asking for trouble as some won't fully read the description and will expect the extra product regardless of how their purchase is shipped.

You can list items individually and offer a percentage discount for the more they purchase- this could be an option for you. You could also bundle some cards yourself and list with the higher shipping or simply include the shipping in your price.

[penguins_dont_fly]

Advertising freebies in your listing is never a good idea, IMO. Especially if "conditions" are applied. If it's in your listing description, you can't say "only if xx".

Go the other way ...

$5 Shipping, any additional items free. No "freebies" as far as items go.

Variations are by category, so anything in the Trading Card Game Category (whatever it is that includes Magic, etc) should be able to use variation listings.

Even if you don't use variations, you can set a combined shipping rule for this ... or if you have a store, you can use Promotions Manager to set the shipping discount across all listings that you want to include.

[sweetpea_tcg]

Yeah, "harebrained scheme that will actually lose me money" confirmed. 

I don't like shipping in a PWE so I'm going to try and be more creative and finding bundles of cards that go together that justify the 5$ bubble mailer shipping, since I simply can't compete with the big fish selling 99 cent singles.

Thank you very much for your help!