Do buyers look for shipping options on a listing?

We put the cheapest shipping option first. People who need it faster can choose the expedited option.

I’m not sure why any seller would put the more expensive shipping option first.

From a lot of the almost weekly if not daily questions we get a whole lot of buyers don’t look at much more than the title and price and a1 photo. Many don’t even know what blue links are, the words “more info.” or the blue arrows on their phones.

we get what color is this, what size, what is the material, where is it made, what is the size, everything that is in the item specifics, conditions are and the description. They just don’t see it or take the time to maneuver to any other data field.

So I doubt if a large majority of buyers click on a separate tab, and then look through multiple options.

One of the stated support reasons behind some sellers pushing free shipping, [like Danni Ackerman in her videos] is that buyers don’t want to do the math to even figure out what the items total cost is [object plus shipping]. They just want one, big total number, in one place and they are happy.

We have a quick cut and paste reply to any question that is asked about information we already have in the listing, as to how for them to use their cell phone app or computer to see their answer. Many times we get a second reply, oh, didn’t see that, or Oh, see it now, or cool didn’t know that, thanks that helps. DduuhhOHhh!

It’s a bit frustrating when you live on one coast or the other. In the case of a package that weighs 2-3 lbs., Priority Mail regular packaging is the least expensive for about 3/4 of the country. I put the MFRB as the second option as that’s cheapest for people on the west coast (I’m on the east), but I’ve never once had anyone in the furthest zone make that choice.

I wish there were some way for Ebay to show a shopper the least expensive of the two, based on their zone.

I used to put shipping options on items. I never had anyone use the second option. I would even state in the listing that “west coast shoppers please consider my additional shipping options for cheaper shipping”.

So now everything gets USPS priority or 1st class. I use padded flat rate envelopes or regional A boxes where I can. Light weight items and clothes get 1st class.

Any heave items I list that would be cheap to ship USPS on east coast and cheap to ship FedEx to west coast, I now prefer to just use free shipping and bump up the listing price to include shipping. 9 times out of 10 a West Coast person will be the buyer on those items.

I always use all or most of the 4 lines for shipping options. If less than 1 lb I start with 1st Class and then add Priority, PFRM, and local pick up. For books it goes Media Mail, Priority, maybe PFRM, local pickup. For regular heavy items it starts with Parcel Post, Priority, local pick up.

I live on the East coast and tried offering free shipping but always raised the price by the cost of shipping to West coast. Too many people wanted to make a low Best Offer that undercut the price increase. I went back to calculated shipping on most items so I could maintain a reasonable price.

Buyer behavior is unpredictable, often hilarious, and impossible to predict.

Have always used calculated shipping, have never marked it up, and used to offer a variety of options in the attempt to save people money by being “fair,” and only 1 out of 100 even seemed aware of the options. Example – Heavy, large boxes, almost always Fedex ground is a better option, but it is hard to explain or change once someone just clicks through.

Last year, thought I was being clever by offering Parcel Post first then “upgrading” to Priority because the eBay discount made Priority cheaper until I realized that it was costing me since seller fees come off the shipping charge!

Almost no one reads the instructions or offers in the descriptions, no matter how kind “feel free to choose the shipping method that works for you, contact me if you have any questions…. nothing except the occasional super annoying override GSP for nothing request,

So edited the business policies to only these 4 and select which listing gets which.
First Class with Priority upgrade option
Priority
Moderate Weight Parcel with Priority Option small handling upcharge
Large Heavy Priority with FedEx option and handling upcharge

oh, and by the way, believe it, “free freight is a lie” (quote attributed to Jay & Ryanne)

I’ve settled into just offering regular parcel post, unless an item is going to be for sure 1 pound or under, then First Class. There are always the oddball Priority mails mixed in. For most items, especially the lighter ones (I’m more of a one shot vintage toy seller), I will then ‘upgrade’ the package to Priority Mail after a sale, which works out cheaper for me with the eBay seller’s discount. It seems I pocket about $2-$3 on most packages (after the fee 😉), and the buyer gets a much faster service with built in insurance. Makes me look good, and I make a little extra $ on the sale. Win Win by any stretch, and NO, I do not pass along a couple of bucks back to the buyer!
When I start using the 3 Day Gauranteed Handling Time option, (for me it starts in May), I will loose some of this strategic upgrade money. I’m thinking the 3 day option will increase sales so that will more than balance the loss out. We shall see how that one goes. I’m eager to get an idea on how the 3 Day Guarantee Delivery is going for some of us. I’m barely accomplishing 1 day shipping. If I have a printer(s) issue, it’s bad, and seems to happen on 10 packages sold nights only! I may loose my TRS first time it appears. However I’ll be real interested to see how profit/loss goes while NOT being a TRS! That will be a forced experiment bonus, maybe just perhaps I’ll get over sporting the badge of TRS…we shall see.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 12 months ago by totommyto.

I don’t think they do. 🙂 I sell mostly clothes and last year eBay wanted me to offer priority. So on the items that could go first class I offered first class first and priority second. Then I started noticing ridiculous low best offers coming in and they were always with priority shipping selected. Even though I had first class first I wonder if eBay was auto selecting priority? I took priority off those lighter items and things are still selling just fine. Who knows?

The only time I find they look at the options is when they select a priority or overnight option – other then that, everyone wants the cheapest.

Out of my sales last year, I only had two “RUSH RUSH RUSH” items for buyers.

I’ve been tinkering in my mind with the thought of going to “included shipping” (I hate the term “free shipping” as well) and have an option or two for rush or international shipping costs as additional options.

As a Buyer, I appreciate having several shipping options to choose from, so I offer that consideration as a Seller, typically offering the full 4 options for shipping, if it makes sense to the item. If it’s under a pound, I’ll only list First Class, to keep things simple. From there I add other options that make sense for the item – will it fit in a padded flat rate mailer, etc? I’ve stopped offering local pick up, as I’d rather just ship, and have had at least 1 Buyer mistakenly select this option, then email me 3 times and call my cell twice within an hour regarding the mistake and how to fix. I hate having that privacy line crossed through this selling medium. Ended up canceling the order to re-list/sell, and I’ve insisted on de-stupidifying listings and verbiage since then.

I don’t have disclaimer info or shop policies in my listings, just item info and occasionally the brief phrase “*Click on Shipping to see options and price points.” With just a few sentences of info, there’s a bit more chance it will all get read, and they can always email with questions. Which they will always do… 🙂