Ebay – Does Offering Free Shipping Bring in More Sales?

Outrageous shipping and handling costs were once rampant in online auctions. Complaints grew to the point that ebay felt compelled to do something. Maximum shipping costs were established for certain categories and ‘FREE SHIPPING’ can now be a bonus feature for sellers. But does offering Free Shipping actually bring in more sales?

I tested the idea on my own auctions. For one week I offered free shipping on everything I listed. Surprisingly to me, sales went down. However, one week does not a trend make so I did an informal poll among my regular buyers to get their opinion. The response was interesting.

A couple of people really liked the free shipping. A few customers had mixed feelings about it. A more typical response was, Allen, we expect to pay for shipping and handling. We just want it to be fair and equitable. When you state shipping costs in your auctions, we know what the cost is and can bid accordingly. When there is no cost indicated, we feel that you are trying to hide a larger cost somewhere. Just be upfront and honest with us.

For my business free shipping is not a real benefit as long as I keep shipping and handling costs realistic!

Obviously you can not apply my experiences to all categories and all sellers so you should test for yourself. But keep one thing in mind. As you watch the countless infomercials on TV, where they spend a ton of money bringing their message to you, how many offer Free Shipping? I think you will find the opposite to be true. Most adverts offer free merchandise if you just pay shipping and handling! Some of these have been running for a long time. Think about it!

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