Is this buyer stupid or am I missing something?

[DazzleKitty]

I am confused. I am also annoyed. LOL

Okay, so I have five MIB G3 ponies on eBay right now, all for a BIN of $5.00 each. 

I really want to just get rid of them so I'm pricing them cheap.

So I have a potential buyer message me and ask how much shipping will be for them all, or if he buys them all if he can get free shipping.

Firstly, how in the world DO people offer free shipping? I'd love to know.

And I know cheapest shipping for five MIB G3s is about $10 (maybe slightly more) because I recently shipped that many out in a big box.

Why would someone ask for free shipping on $25 worth of items? I mean, then I'd only be getting $15 of what I made off them. That's not enough.

Maybe I'm the idiot because I noticed some sellers DO offer free shipping. Maybe they have connectionss with the PO, or maybe they only do it for expensive items. But I think it takes guts to ask for free shipping when it's not stated in the auction.

Please tell me if I am justified in my annoyance or I am missing something.

edited for typos

[babylofty]

I think that is exceptionally cheeky of them to ask for free shipping, especially if you weren't offering it in the first place!

I believe you have to work it into the pricing when you're setting up the option whether you want them to pay for shipping, or you want to offer free shipping.

I would give him a shipping quote, (especially if he's from outside your area - shipping could be astronomical!) and if he's not willing to pay for shipping, too bad! If this were five loose blind bags I could see sellers waiving shipping, but five MIB G3's can add up shipping costs fairly quickly.  Don't bend to him!

[HawaiianRain]

Not stupid, just really really cheap. He wants something for nothing and I think he thinks that if he offers to take them all off your hands, you can give him a discount. It's nothing new, folks like to haggle and see how cheap they can get something.

Just politely tell him How much it would be to ship them all together and leave it at that. Say
Hello,

thanks for your inquiry!
The ponies if purchased together would cost X amount in shipping.
sorry, but with the ponies as low as they are, I am afraid I can not offer a discount. Thanks for your interest

[Shiromisa]

I've noticed Chinese sellers generally offer free shipping for G4s, no idea how they can afford it.

[DazzleKitty]

I've noticed Chinese sellers generally offer free shipping for G4s, no idea how they can afford it.

I wonder the same thing!


Anyways, I politely declined saying that I cannot afford to do free shipping. He bought them all anyways, so I'm happy.

[Rosencrantz]

I've noticed Chinese sellers generally offer free shipping for G4s, no idea how they can afford it.

if memory serves, the major sellers tend to have shipping accounts that makes it feasible.

[FluffleNuff]

Normally people would say 'Free shipping', but shipping costs are actually included into the cost of the item.

[Stiletto]

I've noticed Chinese sellers generally offer free shipping for G4s, no idea how they can afford it.

if memory serves, the major sellers tend to have shipping accounts that makes it feasible.

Can anyone tell me more about this?  Can only businesses get this type of account?  I'm sure it's crazy expensive but I'm just wondering what the benefits are?

[CupidStrikes]

I'm going to assume the buyer reckons you work like some online stores that give discounted or free shipping with the more items you order. I do think some people don't realise that a lot of ebay sellers are just people...

I've noticed Chinese sellers generally offer free shipping for G4s, no idea how they can afford it.

In my experience it seems that regular shipping from countries like that is really, really cheap anyway so they're not losing as much profit as those of us over here might, and with the amount they must sell they likely have a decent deal with a shipping company, though I'm unsure how those work...

[Stormness_1]

I've noticed that often items that offer free shipping cost the same as others of the same item cost+shipping, sometimes even in the same store! So free shipping isn't really free, it's just factored in most of the time.

[Icecrystalline]

Urgh, I had this recently, and it really annoyed me. Someone made an error about my listing after saying they wanted the item, and then after realizing, said they didn't want it unless I could offer free shipping. I was really extremely nice and said no thank you, but sorry, would they be interested anyway, and I never heard back. It really upset and annoyed me. I found it incredibly rude. I feel your frustration, seriously, just ignore them or tell them firmly no. People never learn when cheekiness is unacceptable.

[babylicketysplit]

I only offer free shipping on certain items like G4 trading cards.   and blindbags etc. but i wouldnt do free shipping on anything bigger  it sucks but then your just not getting paid for your trouble at all. between paypal and ebay fees.

[Honeycomb]

Isn't it that your items are going to be shown higher up than those with shipping costs? I think many sellers do it just to promote their sales.

[Ringlets]

Anyways, I politely declined saying that I cannot afford to do free shipping. He bought them all anyways, so I'm happy.

good to hear!      I wouldnt have given him free shipping either TBH - the ponies were cheap enough.