eBay

alacar-8 · ‎06-05-2019

In my niche I see a lot of strange shipping costs. If I have an item that I want $20 for, I list it for that price and add an actual price, say $5 for shipping coming to a total of $25. My competition will sell a similar item for a crazy $1.99 but charge $32 for shipping for a total of $34. Which way do you guys think works the best? Are buyers fooled by the cheap price?

orangehound · ‎06-05-2019

@alacar-8 wrote:
In my niche I see a lot of strange shipping costs. If I have an item that I want $20 for, I list it for that price and add an actual price, say $5 for shipping coming to a total of $25. My competition will sell a similar item for a crazy $1.99 but charge $32 for shipping for a total of $34. Which way do you guys think works the best? Are buyers fooled by the cheap price?

Sellers will often do the 1.99 + 32 S&H on auctions ... auctions tend to attract more buyers at these low entry prices, and sometimes it fools a buyer who isn't paying attention.

Then, they just end up not paying.

alacar-8 · ‎06-05-2019

I find that it happens more and more often in a buy it now format. I'm just hoping that nobody falls for it!

dirk12955 · ‎06-05-2019

I bought a sheet of stamps a few weeks ago from a seller in Australia. I wanted to have about $25.00 actual cost in the sheet.

He wanted $20.63 for shipping and my High bid was figured accordingly. $3.25

Being greedy on the shipping cost him bids.

On the other hand, I see everyday buyers that paid way too much for an item. I'm convinced that many buyers pay no attention to the final cost of what they buy. They won't buy a stamp block from me for $4.99 with "Free" shipping but they'll pay a competitor with a lower price of $3.99 plus $2.99 shipping.

Your mileage may vary.

mrmuffinmanvw · ‎06-05-2019

Free shipping is not all that's its cracked up to be ebay buyers will pay shipping for a item they want no problem. I tried free shipping and free returns and it was a epic fail for me so that lasted 1 cycle of my items with 30 day listings. I think the higher price for the included free shipping hurts sales not helps them. This is another plan for ebay to be like the big river when all they need to do is go back to the basics to get on track.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-05-2019

@dirk12955

a seller in Australia. I wanted to have about $25.00 actual cost in the sheet.

He wanted $20.63 for shipping and my High bid was figured accordingly. $3.25

I'm not in Australia. I'm in Canada.

But $20 for internationally tracked shipping sounds about right to me.

Canada Post charges $22.59 for Tracked Packet USA if it is under 200 grams and $30 for Tracked Packet International.

Even allowing that both our loonie and the Aussie dollar are lower than the US dollar, international tracking is expensive.
USPS Priority International envelopes are $36.70 USD.

https://postcalc.usps.com/Calculator/MailServices?country=10013&ccode=AU&omil=False&dmil=False&mdt=6...

Letter rates are much cheaper-- but are not trackable.

m60driver · ‎06-06-2019

I like to include shipping into my price (free shipping) because (1) it tends to eliminate buyers who can't do the math and (2) it tends to eliminates buyers who are overly retentive and who worry I might make an extra 50¢ on shipping.

dirk12955 · ‎06-06-2019

m60drvr

I agree 100%

It does help avoid some buyer induced hassles.

goodluckselling · ‎06-06-2019

Generally when you have a big difference in item price and shipping cost, that will make the buyer think twice which is never good practice. The idea is to continue to build interest and desire in a potential buyers decision making. Road blocks like this stop that process.

For heavier items I sell with the shipping cost a bit higher I split the shipping cost and item price. I use a lower shipping cost paid by the buyer than the actual cost and add extra into the item price.

Lots of different marketing techniques to consider.

Good Luck Selling!

ed8108 · ‎06-06-2019

@dirk12955 wrote:
. I'm convinced that many buyers pay no attention to the final cost of what they buy. They won't buy a stamp block from me for $4.99 with "Free" shipping but they'll pay a competitor with a lower price of $3.99 plus $2.99 shipping.

complex decision making ? :

beez5720 · ‎06-06-2019

Keep it honest. Buyers appreciate that.

luckythewinner · ‎06-06-2019

@dirk12955 wrote:
I wanted to have about $25.00 actual cost in the sheet.
He wanted $20.63 for shipping and my High bid was figured accordingly. $3.25
Being greedy on the shipping cost him bids.

First the cost ... the cost of a 7 ounce package by first class mail from the USA to Australia is $14.25. The cost of a 9 ounce package by first class mail from the USA to Australia is $23.50. So depending upon the weight and OZ postal rates, his cost may not have been out of line.

I don't understand your "being greedy cost him bids" statement. If you only wanted to have $25 in the item, then you would have bid $1 if his shipping was $24 and you would have bid $24 if his shipping was $1. Either way, he would have gotten no more than $25 from you.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-07-2019

Since the seller was using the dying Auction format, we can presume that he set his opening bid to cover his costs.

Since the seller was in Australia, he may even have offered Free Shipping to his domestic clients and been perfectly happy to get $3-4 for the item.

The shipping was for international shipping.

myjunqueyourtreasure · ‎06-07-2019

@alacar-8 wrote:
I find that it happens more and more often in a buy it now format. I'm just hoping that nobody falls for it!

It's not a matter of "falling for it". Some sellers will do this to get around listing limits. A savvy buyer can see the price + shipping is still a good deal.

Reality is the leading cause of stress.

femmefan1946 · ‎06-09-2019

@goodluckselling

I do the same for Free Shipping, which is a variation of Flat Rate shipping.

I generally have Free Shipping to the USA and $0.00 for Canada (for me Canada is domestic).

But it would be stupid to offer Free Shipping overseas.

So if the actual cost of shipping within North America is ~$7 on a 500 gram $10 item , the asking price is $17.00 + Free Shipping for North America.

Then with international shipping for 500 grams at $21.00, I charge a Flat Rate of $14.00 plus the asking price of $17 for the item.

If I lose a little on some shipping, I gain on others, and at the end of the month the amount I paid Canada Post for shipping is equal too (and sometimes slightly less than) what I charged my customers for shipping.