Free Shipping on eBay..... Or Maybe Not

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by t206hound

By 'built into the bidding' I would hazard to guess that the poster means that the shipping cost plays into the bidder's max bid. If my max on an item is $100, I will bid $100 minus the shipping/commission. Doesn't matter if the seller is charging $50 to ship or nothing, the most I will spend (in total) will be $100.

That's exactly what I meant.

Dave- I can understand why it could be a problem.

This idea would basically eliminate any potentially shady practices that could occur in regards to shipping on ebay. Especially, if ebay includes fees based on sale+shipping(I remember a thread a while back saying that they might start, I don't know if they did yet as I haven't sold anything), then there would be no need for sellers to overcharge or undercharge on shipping. It would take the mind-game out of it, and put all sellers on equal footing. Eliminated shipping would take it the extra step, and make it so that no one can play any games as far as trying to tack anything on after the fact.

However, the downside of this would be that it would also eliminate choice in how you want an item to be shipped. If a seller wants something overnighted, and is willing to pay extra for it, then he really wouldn't have the option anymore. That right there alone, is probably the main reason my idea wouldn't work.. Plus, it would create extra work or possible confusion when it comes down to consignors..