how does some JP ebay sellers offer free shipping?

[tonev]

I have noticed that a lot of JP sellers offer free shipping on ebay. Do they have some kind of deal with the post office or what?

[famifan]

i believe that nobody prevents you from including shipping costs into the price. So, lot of sellers uses this strategy.

also, there's no such thing as free shipping. A buyer always pays for it.
Post Merge: February 20, 2016, 07:01:12 am
just imagine that you bought something and paid $15 for shipping. Seller was so greedy, so he/she sent the item by the cheapest SAL for $3.

when you got the item, you found out that shipping charges was too high. Then you contacted seller and asked to refund the rest $12. it was fair.

but, if the item was with free shipping, then you have nothing to claim about shipping cost. it's free :-)

so, i always prefer to stay out of from free shipping items (unless the item is brand new and the cost is very close to MSRP)
Post Merge: February 20, 2016, 07:05:45 am
the another reason to declare free shipping may be related to ebay's fee. Perhaps, it helps save few % due to different fee policy.

[Retrospectives]

We do have a discount called E-packet that simply is a discount for sending items under 2kg with airmail. China also got that system, but like famifan says, it is common to include the shipping price in the sales price. We do it in our webshop and for us it is mostly a convenient (read lazy) way, hehe. 

[tonev]

then i do not get it how the shipping is included i a 8$ item that has tracking number and everything and it is for example a ds console. The last time i checked with japan post the postage is not that cheap.

[MaxXimus]

Shipping from japan gets very expensive as the weight goes up. It is cheaper to send heavy packages as a few less heavy packages.

[famifan]

then i do not get it how the shipping is included i a 8$ item that has tracking number and everything and it is for example a ds console. The last time i checked with japan post the postage is not that cheap.

ok.

here comes my next guess. It's a kinda promotional item. Usually they're tiny and cheap (few $ at most without shipping cost). Seller doesn't make any profits for selling those kind of items, besides the feedback. Or in other words, the seller is just buying the feedback for cheap   It's pretty common selling practice. So, i always try to analyze the feedback of seller before placing the order to figure out with whom i dealing with. Whether it is the real seller, or just a feedback buyer :-)

but, sometimes those kind of sellers are using hidden/private listings, so you will never know if the seller have sold 300 pcs of 0.99$ items, or have got 300 mature enough and heavy transactions. Which seller do you prefer to trust? My guess goes to the last one.

otherwise, it may be a mistakenly filed listing. You know, people makes mistakes from time to time :-)

i can recall that one day i got an 0.99$ f/s item sent by EMS from seller from Japan. EMS took 1500 JPY itself. Then i asked the seller, and yep, it was a mistake.
Post Merge: February 25, 2016, 08:04:03 am

then i do not get it how the shipping is included i a 8$ item that has tracking number and everything and it is for example a ds console.

if i understood you correctly, you got a ds console for 8$ w f/s, right?

nice catch!

could you grab a couple of them for me too? let me know where to send my 16$  

[tonev]

if i understood you correctly, you got a ds console for 8$ w f/s, right?

nice catch!

could you grab a couple of them for me too? let me know where to send my 16$  

I did and i actually have received a total  5  ds lite consoles for around the same price but they are not in good condition the hinges might be broken or the top or bottom screen might not work but it is nothing that can't be fixed. and yes they are with free shipping  by air mail with tracking number.

[famifan]

I did and i actually have received a total  5  ds lite consoles for around the same price but they are not in good condition the hinges might be broken or the top or bottom screen might not work but it is nothing that can't be fixed. and yes they are with free shipping  by air mail with tracking number.

so, it's kinda promo with junky non-working items.

free shipping automatically gives a seller 5 stars of detailed feedback for a shipping.

it seems that my assumption was correct. These items are only for gathering the feedbacks for cheap 

[tonev]

so, it's kinda promo with junky non-working items.

free shipping automatically gives a seller 5 stars of detailed feedback for a shipping.

it seems that my assumption was correct. These items are only for gathering the feedbacks for cheap 

Well if we are talking about the dsl consoles yes they are kinda junkiy. but there are sellers that are selling games that are in perfect condition again with free shipping for example a couple of n64 games for 7$ shipped this is insane as n64 games are heavy.

[nerdynebraskan]

For the most part, it's just about selling psychology. I see so many listings that actually sell higher with free shipping. If you can sell the same item for $15 with FREE SHIPPING that you would otherwise sell for $8 + $4 shipping, you'll take the extra $3 right? Ebay does officially encourage free shipping listings in many ways, because historically many sellers have padded their bottom lines with outrageous shipping costs. The sellers who run free shipping regularly are just smart enough to raise their starting and/or buy-it-now prices high enough that the actual shipping costs are included in the price of the item. (And actually, that's even more profit, since that shipping estimate is going to be on the high end of where you're willing to ship to. Someone closer by will have to pay the same price, instead of having the shipping calculator cut them a better deal.)

I'm even a sucker for this gimmick sometimes. If I'm looking to earn some Ebay bucks, why not choose the item that'll let me earn the rewards off of the shipping too?

[chowder]

For the most part, it's just about selling psychology.

+1

I both use this in my own listings, and fall for it when I'm buying too

[HeatSeeker]

Most of the sellers I buy from mark stuff as "junk". Apparently they don't have to pay a certain shipping tax or something when they do this. Which is why shipping is generally free or a few dollars for certain items etc.

[Wanderer]

Up until a few months ago eBay counted less than 4 star feedback for postage & packaging charges a 'defect' on a sellers account, whereas free P&P gave an automatic 5 star. I, and I'm sure alot of others at the time made all listings "free postage" so that I couldn't get my account restricted for charging the actual cost of shipping.

Once they scrapped the policy of blaming sellers for the high cost of postage I went back to charging P&P separately, but it wouldn't surprise me if alot of people still assume they can get defects for high shipping cost and hide it in the "free" P&P.

Another reason (for me, personally) is that eBay UK lets you put a maximum of (I believe) £25 for shipping of a console. Around £8 I believe for carts/games. When selling lots of Famiclones the shipping will be above £25, the same for shipping a load of carts, this way the only way to actually charge the real postage is to put it as free P&P due to eBay dictating the maximum postage cost.

Just my two cents (pence, kopechki, bani, take your regional pick...)