Why do Ebay buyers prefer free postage?

[tectonicplates]

Really, I just don't get it. Bearing in mind that I'm just a personal seller getting rid of a few odds and ends, mainly worn clothes - the sort of stuff that people wouldn't really be returning anyway.

If there's an item that's £7 plus £3 postage, and someone else is selling the same item for £10 with free postage, the £10 one will always sell first. Why? Surely it costs the same in total?

I sell everything with free postage now because I know people prefer it, but I've upped my prices accordingly so that I make the same amount in the end. Actually it's reduced a lot of worry for me because it means I can just estimate the cost and not worry about being accused of overcharging, but that's really besides the point.

Because in their mind, the price of the item is what it’s worth, so it feels like the postage is an extra cost, whereas ‘free postage’ is them getting something for free, and they are only paying what the item is ‘worth’.

It’s nonsense, but there you go...

There's a filter for free postage so some pet will never see them

Right but why do people use the free postage filter? What is so important about it?

It’s basic psychology.

If you started a thread asking who has left a website with items in their basket once they knew they would have to pay postage you see how much it means to people

Not everyone knows how to sort by price including P&P. I do that, and go with whatever is cheapest that fits what I want, and don’t even notice if it’s free P&P or not.

Right, I can understand that with sites like Amazon where the postage costs aren't obvious and tend to be a bit hidden away, so you don't find out until the last minute.

But Ebay isn't like that. The postage charges after very visible and obvious so there's no last minute surprises.

The last straw came when I charged £3 postage on something, but I estimated wrong and it ended up costing £5. The buyer still marked me down for the postage being too expensive, even though I made a loss of £2.

Sounds like you should appeal that, tectonic.

What fbsg said buyers are thick .

Many people are irrational idiots and if you see things rationally, the world seems very confusing.

Another irrational thing about eBay is the situation you commonly see where there are two identical items, both in similar condition, both listed by reliable sellers, ie no significant difference between the item itself.

One starts at 99 p no reserve and the other is listed as £10 buy it now. People will bid the 99p item up past £10 and it will sell for over £10 and the £10 item will remain unsold, even though there were several people who were willing to pay more than £10 for the item everyone was bidding for.

And then there's the shite about not bidding until the last second even though it's the highest bid that wins not the latest.

Non-rational herd behaviour, it's called. Basically people being unable to think for themselves, so just follow what everyone else does.

The ridiculous 11.99 price tag... but it's statistically proven. Item priced £11.99 really does sell better than £12. Gawd knows Y.

For me its Nectar points.
For a £10 item with free postage I will get 10 points. For a £7 item with £3 postage I will only get 7 points.

The postage often seems like an overestimation to me.

But the bidding at the last minute is to ensure that if you are the highest bidder the automated system that bids you up to a certain level doesn't have time to kick out a new bid / someone else cannot bid before it closes!

I look at the total price, including postage. However, if I feel someone is taking the mickey with postage I'll go with the higher priced item with realistic postage charges as I feel the one with the excessive postage is trying to make it look like their item is really cheap and then pulling a fast one with postage.

but it's statistically proven. Item priced £11.99 really does sell better than £12. Gawd knows Y.

Regardless of what the price is, it's always done for a reason (not necessarily with personal sellers, but large companies do this).

• When someone sees £9.99, they see £9, not £10, and think that it's cheaper.
• An arbitrary price like £9.36 makes it seem as though the price has been reduced.
• Having a whole number like £649 makes the product seem premium. You'll never see an Apple product with a £x.99 price.

But if someone else bids higher than you at any time, you lose the auction, and if there are two bids of the same amount the earliest one wins.

There isn't a big ebay machine watching auctions and waiting to up somebodies bid if someone else bids with 5 seconds to go, they have to go 'ooh, I have to increase Bob's bid because he bid last Tuesday' it happens automatically.

If the auction is at £7.89 and Sheila bids £8.15 with 5 seconds to go, but Bob bid £9.18 last Tuesday, Bob wins not Sheila and he'll pay about 10/20 p more than Sheila's maximum bid.

I look at the total price, including postage. However, if I feel someone is taking the mickey with postage I'll go with the higher priced item with realistic postage charges as I feel the one with the excessive postage is trying to make it look like their item is really cheap and then pulling a fast one with postage

But what difference does it make? So you'd buy the item that was £13 + £2 P&P instead of the one that is £5 + £9 P&P

^Regardless of what the price is, it's always done for a reason (not necessarily with personal sellers, but large companies do this).

• When someone sees £9.99, they see £9, not £10, and think that it's cheaper.
• An arbitrary price like £9.36 makes it seem as though the price has been reduced.
• Having a whole number like £649 makes the product seem premium. You'll never see an Apple product with a £x.99 price^

None of that makes any sense at all. Do most people really think that way .

£9.99 is a tenner. Neither £9.36 or £649 say anything about the quality of the product. Utterly bonkers.

But if Sheila bids £9.20 with 5 seconds to go, no-one else has got chance to go higher and Sheila wins!

The difference with the postage is that someone with the higher priced item and reasonable p&p is more likely to be a reasonable and trustworthy person to buy from. Not always, but that's the psychology.

I’m put off sometimes when I think they are being cheeky with the amount they are charging, especially after receiving some items which arrive in reused envelopes or plastic bags!

But no-one needs time to bid higher if you use the proxy system. You already bid days ago, if you bid more than £9.20 whenever, you beat Sheila.

But if Bob sees that Sheila has outbid him he might be tempted to up his bid - that's how auctions work. If Sheila outbids in the last few seconds Bob hasn't got the chance to do that.

Psychology innit? And Ceramic makes a valid point. So, as someone who has 6k+ sales but hasn’t sold for over a year, and has been a bit put off trying again because of lots of comments on MN about buyers taking the pee, and who has f*tons to sell - I thank you both! I’ve got a strategy now!

I bid for some stuff on eBay and would put in my max price a few days before and always got outbid in the last few seconds. Tried doing the last few seconds method myself and started winning straight away. Sheila and Bob didn't get a lookin.