eBay and Free Shipping: Don't do it!

A lot of eBay sellers sell stuff with Free Shipping. It is a bad idea.

I don't believe in selling any of my items with "Free Shipping". Why? Because shipping costs very real money. I can be more competitive with my pricing if my shipping expenses are lower.

Here are the details:

Shipping costs are based on distance. Shipping costs real money, and shipping cost is almost always based on distance. It is simply more cost efficient and fair if local people pay less and far away people pay more. Are you 300 miles away? You should pay less because my real shipping costs are less. Are you 1800+ miles away? Sorry, but shipping that far costs me more money. I'll ship it to you, but you need to pay more to cover the shipping costs.
Taxes. Some areas do not charge sales tax on shipping. If a product is $15 + $5 shipping, the customer pays tax on the $15 product. In contrast, if a product is $20 with "free shipping", the customer pays tax on the whole $20.

In contrast, some like free shipping because:

Buyers think they are getting a special deal. (They are not).
Buyers can't complain about shipping cost. (This is an eBay problem, not a real-world problem).

Of course, some sellers charge far more than "shipping" for shipping, like $13 for a 12 ounce, $5 item. That's mere trickery, and buyers are smart to avoid such scam-oriented sellers.

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The Lance J. Technoweb

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