As a small seller it's hard to compete, but I have managed over the years. It's not an easy task to determine your pricing and shipping keeping in mind all the associated expenses involved. I sell at the lowest price I can, and I do not offer free shipping as the majority of my items are fragile preowned collectible items. One of the main reasons I separate the item price and shipping is that's it's easier for me to run a markdown sale or accept an offer on the item's price, but I won't offer a discount on shipping too. I don't think that most people consider the seller's total expenses in selling a item which is the one thing that truly annoys me with low ball offers. Unless you don't care about making some smidgen of a profit it's not feasible to sell below your cost.
I always seek the most economical method to ship. I usually avoid economy mail with the exception of books because people will complain about having to wait for their parcels. Light weight items can go by FCM. However, I do use Priority for items 1 or more pounds. I can understand that people are used to getting free shipping, but on some items it simply doesn't make sense. Moreover, I depend on the assumption that people shop by total price.
I had an inquiry about shipping discounts on a listing where I have multiple items available and the listing was already set up to offer discounted shipping for additional items. I can use First Class Mail if they buy one, but when they purchase more the total weight of the package pushes it to a pound and I have to use Priority Mail. However, I still managed to reduce shipping by 20% for additional items.
I was really annoyed when the buyer asked me to ship an 3 of these items First Class Mail for $5 when the package's shipping weight is two pounds and they are in zone 7. I think my annoyance was greater because this was another eBay seller so they should know that it wasn't possible. Especially since my item price was extremely low. Moreover, sellers know that we pay final value fees on the shipping charge as well.
Sometimes I feel like responding with snarky comments. Usually I just tell these cheapskates that I can't sell below my cost. Instead with this buyer I simply pointed out their ship to location and the shipping weight of the package. I also told them that they could compare the total price of the item elsewhere. Mine $15 versus others $64.98. I also suggested that they review the USPS shipping calculations for Zone 7 shipping rates. What's really annoying is these cheapskate buyers usually never purchase.
