ETHICAL DILEMMA: How to handle S/H on an order involving mixed (free/charged) shipping items.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Ok, the title is as clear as it is going to get ... here is where it is about to go downhill...

This is a long read, but *I think* this is a really good and thought provoking exercise that the "Community Veterans" will enjoy ... So please read on, I hope you are left pondering this the way I have, and I hope you share. I hope this isn't a total bust.

I used to exclusively offer free shipping, then I began exclusively charging shipping. Recently I had some underperforming listings (give or take 8 listings). I usually just raise the price and it works. This time I marked free shipping (worked shipping cost into item price) and raised the price further (combination of "raise price" and free shipping conversion --- it worked really well!)

I think we all agree, the listing price of any item marked free shipping is really just a combination of item price + shipping cost. If I have a widget worth $50, it costs me $5 to ship, I either list it for $50 + $5 S/H, or  instead I list it for $55 free shipping. (Forget how a lot of us pad the price further, that's irrelevant right now.) My allocated shipping charge is almost exclusively $5 whether it's overtly/directly charged to the buyer or built into item price in a free S/H listing.

Now that we have all that settled ... Most of my current listings (over 200) charge S/H ( typically $5) but I have a few (5 maybe?) free S/H listings ($5 built in S/H). Despite these numbers, I've found myself in two awkward situations in the past week ... so here are some scenarios ... tell me how you would respond please.

Disclaimer: I happily combine shipping costs across multiple separate purchases made, I will take separate orders and combine into one with no hesitation. For all intensive purposes, avoid telling me "moot point, separate payments, separate orders, no combined S/H costs."

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Scenario 1: Buyer purchases a Free S/H widget (typically costs me $5 to ship, so $5 built in shipping cost). Shortly thereafter buyer makes a separate purchase, but pays (direct) $5 S/H on this item.

What do you do if:

-addition of 2nd item does not change your final shipping cost. Do you refund the subsequent $5 S/H charge?

-addition of 2nd item increases your final shipping cost, but by $1-2. Do you refund $3-4 of the subsequent $5 S/H charge?

Scenario 2: Buyer purchases widget and pays (direct) $5 S/H. Then shortly thereafter purchases free shipping item (typically costs me $5 to ship, so $5 built in shipping cost)

What do you do if:

-addition of 2nd item does not change your final shipping cost. Do you refund the original $5 S/H charge?

-addition of 2nd item increases your final shipping cost, but by $1-2. Do you refund $3-4 of the original $5 S/H charge?

Scenario 1, I tend to feel obligated to refund/discount the shipping accordingly, since the order's shipping has been fully or mostly paid for by the initial purchase, whether the buyer understands that concept or not, and the subsequent shipping charge was excess.

Scenario 2, I tend to feel no obligation to refund any shipping money, as buyer's initial shipping charge covered most/all of the shipping costs, then subsequently purchased an item in which they paid no direct shipping cost.

(If I sell 3 widgets marked free shipping. Each one has a $5 shipping charge built into the price, so I've collected $15 for S/H. If this 3 item order costs me $5 to ship ... I get to pocket that $10 and rightfully so!)

If you find yourself feeling similar to how I feel, realize that both scenarios are the exact same, except the chronology ... so then you would say that ORDER OF EVENTS matters. 

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I don't know about you, but I feel fairly good about Scenario 1 and Scenario 2 independently, but put them side by side and it gives me pause...

So, let me give you one last scenario...

Scenario 3: Buyer places a single order for (4) items. These are a mix of charged & free shipping items. Same deal, buyer either pays direct $5 S/H on each item, or free S/H items have $5 S/H built in.. Total cost for you to ship this order is $10

*It's easy if the (4) items charge S/H! Buyer paid $20 S/H, cost is $10, you refund $10 of course.

*It's easy if the (4) items are Free S/H. Buyer didn't pay S/H, cost is $10 to ship, since $20 was built in, you netted an extra $10! Go you!

BUT What would you do if:

-Buyer paid $5 S/H (1 item) and other 3 items are free S/H ($15 S/H built in). Your cost is $10 to ship, Buyer paid $5 S/H, but free items cover full order cost to ship. (Keep or refund the $5 S/H?)

-Buyer paid $10 S/H (2 items) and other 2 items are free S/H ($10 S/H built in)? Your cost is $10 to ship. Buyer paid $10 S/H, but free items cover full order cost to ship. (Keep, refund, or split $10 S/H?)

-Buyer paid $15 S/H (3 items) and other 1 item is free S/H ($5 S/H built in)? Your cost is $10 to ship. Buyer paid $15 S/H, but the free item covers SOME of the cost to ship the order. (Keep $10 S/H? Keep $5 S/H? If you say "keep it all" you're an a*****e, LOL!)

I want to say I know what I would do in every single one of these scenarios, but honestly I don't.

Please share your thoughts below, and thank you for your patience :). I hope your brain hasn't melted...

[wastingtime101]

Scenario 1 and 2 refund nothing.

Scenario 3 refund nothing on "free" ship items. For items paid for separately and not utilizing the shopping cart and combined shipping discounts I have automatically set up: refund nothing unless buyer asks about it.

If buyer asks after making their multiple purchases then refund as a one time courtesy (only for combining items with separate ship cost) and explain to them that the shopping cart will combine shipping for them on future purchases. Anything with free ship is not eligible for combined shipping rates.

I usually offer order discounts on multiples of free ship items to make up for the combined shipping discount, but again, buyer has to use shopping cart for those discounts to apply.

If you think that makes me an ass as you indicated in your post, so be it. I don't babysit those details. Automatic discounts are set up through the cart. If buyers don't utilize the cart that's on them. I don't evaluate each order looking to see if there's a possibility to give money away. Don't have time for that. If a buyer asks I will look into their order, address the current order, provide great customer service, and help them learn that the cart is the way to go next time.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

@wastingtime101 

Don't think you're an a** at all because scenario 3 wouldn't happen for you in the way I described it since you have auto-combining and buyer wouldn't overpay on a single order. I also have a stated policy of refunding shipping costs in such instances, and my comment of being an a** was more of a joke than anything else.

For better or for worse, I adopted effectively flat rate shipping of $5 for FCP (under 12 oz) or $10 for Priority FR envelopes. That's 99.99% of my orders

Because of that I don't have autocombine Or calculated shipping. Buyer either requests invoice or I refund after the fact. I adopted the "refund after the fact" policy because how can I possibly demand buyers to request an invoice (like so many sellers try to) if the EBay mobile app doesn't even enable it? Sure I can demand they message to request an invoice, since they can't "request total" on app but I'm making them jump through hoops so I rather just not push buyers away with too much extra "work".

I guess I'm low volume enough that I have the time to handle refunds. I easily see what a buyer paid and what the cost is when I go to bulk shipping labels and combine all orders for a given buyer, or if it was a single order what they overpaid and how much. I may handle 10-15, up to 20 orders at one time. I can see who may have overpaid and where. If I was doing many more orders, I agree, my methods would have to change.

I'm not opposed to drastically changing my methods again, but I would have to think it out first for what works for me. I don't believe I have quite found a way to achieve what I'd like with EBay's shipping settings... I'm left thinking going BACK to free shipping is the best course of action...but I don't know.

I didn't experiment with marketing/promotions at the time of Free S/H, like volume discounts ... so maybe now that I understand those options now I could employ them effectively with free S/H on listings and go about it all a different way.

We'll see! I'm definitely happy someone responded to this post, thanks for your insights 😁

[stainlessenginecovers]

Typically we are a 'meat and potato' crowd- get to the point... which I will guess (because I'm not readin all that) that you have a 'some items' with shipping and 'some items' with free shipping and a customer bought both types. 

That means the customer bought more than 1. 

I would simply refund and make them 'all' free shipping. 

Now, you bought yourself a customer.

Anything less than, you "might" have run off a customer. 

Why chance it?