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Annual Shipping Increase
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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:09 pm 
 

Shipping from Canada, I am basically forced to list things with "free shipping" otherwise the DSRs get hit fairly hard.  I can get the package out in a day but buyers think I have some control over the 10 day to 2 week shipping time across the border.  Shipping costs are generally higher so I usually want the buyer to avoid seeing how much that is costing.

I would agree with BadMike - if there is anything you can do to reduced the time spent packaging items such as using the prepaid options, do it!

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:11 pm 
 

Badmike wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Zenfinite wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Of course I do. Here's how it works. Let's say I'm selling a B2. I look at what's available right now, and what has sold. Let's say $15 is the right price for my module. I can either list it at $11 with $4 for shipping or $15 free shipping.

A) People like free shipping.
B) I lose the exact same amount in fees either way.
C) If I use free shipping, they CANNOT leave DSRs for shipping, which is the most common DSR to get dinged on.

For me it's a no-brainer, with the exception I outlined above. Damn cross country costs!! *shakes the fist*

Zen


Here's why I don't  :wink:

A) People like Free Shipping, but they also like the lowest price compared to other prices, sometimes regardless of condition or other considerations.  When you arrange the prices from least to most, if I price $8.99 + $6 shipping vs $15 with free shipping, my listing comes up first.
B) I get to use flat rate priority envelopes and boxes (free) for the majority of my sales, which has saved me thousands of dollars over the last decade, and probably 100s of hours of work in weighing/packaging items in other types of envelopes and boxes...
C) While I might have had one or two dings on my DSR over the last decade, most people who buy an item accept the shipping is what it is as long as the amount is stated up front, the package arrives on time and undamaged.  I just checked my DSR today and it's 4.9/5 without free shipping ever!

Mike B.


This is what has me on the fence. When I was selling on ebay I tried the free shipping using the method Zen is using, but unless you do a search for lowest price + shipping and instead just search for lowest price or highest price it organizes the list by asking price and ignores the shipping cost. I'm thinking now that adding a shipping cost and still keeping the total price under the competition is a better way to go even if a buyer can ding your DSR. I just don't think DSRs and ratings are that important anymore since they started screwing around with the feedback system.

Buyers will probably take a glance at Mike's $8.99 + $6 shipping and just see the $8.99 and look at the same item at $15 + $0 shipping and see the $15


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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:25 pm 
 

JasonZavoda wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Buyers will probably take a glance at Mike's $8.99 + $6 shipping and just see the $8.99 and look at the same item at $15 + $0 shipping and see the $15


There's no way of proving this, this could be true, but I know I look for total price plus shipping when I look to buy something (as well as feed back, of course).

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:39 pm 
 

Do you think they are ordered by this?

By default, Ebay uses "Best Match" which as far as I can tell lists sellers with good ratings first, etc.  The prices jump around so they are definitely not listed by lowest price first.

Looking at the list of ordering options,  there isn't even an ordering for "Price: Lowest First" which is very strange since there are options for "Price: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Lowest First".

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 12:54 pm 
 

Mars wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Do you think they are ordered by this?

By default, Ebay uses "Best Match" which as far as I can tell lists sellers with good ratings first, etc.  The prices jump around so they are definitely not listed by lowest price first.

Looking at the list of ordering options,  there isn't even an ordering for "Price: Lowest First" which is very strange since there are options for "Price: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Lowest First".


Highest First works like lowest first. You check the last page or bottom listing and work up. Best Match is a real crapshoot. There was a button for comparing similar items but I never used it and I'm not sure if they still have it.


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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 1:19 pm 
 

JasonZavoda wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Mars wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Do you think they are ordered by this?

By default, Ebay uses "Best Match" which as far as I can tell lists sellers with good ratings first, etc.  The prices jump around so they are definitely not listed by lowest price first.

Looking at the list of ordering options,  there isn't even an ordering for "Price: Lowest First" which is very strange since there are options for "Price: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Lowest First".


Highest First works like lowest first. You check the last page or bottom listing and work up. Best Match is a real crapshoot. There was a button for comparing similar items but I never used it and I'm not sure if they still have it.


As Jason said, you just work from the opposite end. I use price plus shipping because that's what your paying, and it eliminates the numbnuts that sell something for $5 but put shippiing at $19 for a domestic item. As for Best Match, that's just crap without the shoot. Best Match is a ludicrous piece of shit that doesn't help the buyer one bit. Go lowest price plus shipping...

Mike B .


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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:53 pm 
 

The difference between buyers looking for lowest price (without shipping) and lowest price + shipping combo is probably in favour of combo since searching by the other method is less convenient.

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Post Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:56 pm 
 

Mars wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Do you think they are ordered by this?

By default, Ebay uses "Best Match" which as far as I can tell lists sellers with good ratings first, etc.  The prices jump around so they are definitely not listed by lowest price first.

Looking at the list of ordering options,  there isn't even an ordering for "Price: Lowest First" which is very strange since there are options for "Price: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Lowest First".


Mars and me are in complete agreement here. When you search lowest price, it is only price + shipping, so that $8.99 vs $15 argument is no go. I have had the same experience with shipping DSRs as him, that's the main reason I went free shipping. As for DSRs not mattering, they matter if I want my 20% discount due to my high seller rating, which I DO want and have had for like six months now. No hate, guys! Just discussing different business practices. :)

Zen

  

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Post Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:55 am 
 

Zenfinite wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:
Mars wrote in Annual Shipping Increase:Do you think they are ordered by this?

By default, Ebay uses "Best Match" which as far as I can tell lists sellers with good ratings first, etc.  The prices jump around so they are definitely not listed by lowest price first.

Looking at the list of ordering options,  there isn't even an ordering for "Price: Lowest First" which is very strange since there are options for "Price: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Highest First" and "Price + Shipping: Lowest First".


Mars and me are in complete agreement here. When you search lowest price, it is only price + shipping, so that $8.99 vs $15 argument is no go. I have had the same experience with shipping DSRs as him, that's the main reason I went free shipping. As for DSRs not mattering, they matter if I want my 20% discount due to my high seller rating, which I DO want and have had for like six months now. No hate, guys! Just discussing different business practices. :)

Zen


I wonder if this is more feasible the less items you have...with over 700 items on Ebay, free shipping just isn't feasible for me especially in cases of large or bulky packaging (I have multiple medium and large flat rate shipments a week which are in the $12-$16 range).  Heck I just had a package that ran nearly $20 shipping (a load of magazines).  I did crunch the numbers once, and the 20% discount vs the free shipping....put me at about even, either way. So I opted for no free shipping.   If I was selling less items, and smaller/lighter items, I would definitely switch to free shipping.

Mike B.


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Post Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:29 pm 
 

Ahh, the annual USPS shipping increase...and this was worst than most. Flat rate priority envelopes went up $.70 cents each, while flat rate boxes went up nearly a dollar each. First class shipping stayed the same, and they added an extra few ounces (from 13 up to 16) so that will help a small bit when mailing a single book, map or module.

And, of course, they saved the worst for international. Ahh, the fond days when nearly 40% of my sales were overseas, no longer.  Flat rate envelopes have gone up a a whopping $6 each, to $32.95, while a flat rate box is now $66.50 (that one only went up a few dollars). First class international has stayed mostly the same.  Canada is now 23.95 envelope/45.95 flat rate boxes.

Rate change information

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