Posted By:
davidcyclebackThat's a legitimate point, and I think having lower than cost or free shipping price can be a good deal for higher priced items.
However, for low priced items, where the minimum bid is say $1 or $3 and where the winning bid may turn out to be $1 or $3, free shipping wouldn't be such a hot idea. It would be more profitable to have thrown the item away. Most sellers calculate things based on the assumption that the item will sell for the minimum, not that there will be 30 snipers. Would I offer free shipping on the promise that there would be 30 snipers in the last 10 seconds? More than that, I would pay the winner $5 shipping if I knew there would 30 snipers in the last 10 seconds. However, in more cases than not, the item sells for the minimum bid and I post a required shipping charge ... And did you know that if an eBay seller lowers the shipping cost $3, he's more likely to raise the minimum bid $3? And did you know that if sellers suddenly decided they would not pay for any shipping charge, fewer sellers would acccept PayPal and would raise minimum bids? Do you know that a seller offers free shipping because he has predicted that the winning bid will be higher? Do you know that the bidder bids more when shipping cost is lower and less when the shipping cost is higher? It's a bidder's fallacy that lower shipping charges saves them money. Their own bidding habbits help ensure this. Beleive it or not, the reason sellers post low or zero shipping charges is because they know potential bidders think it looks pretty.