Define Your Shipping Policy

Setting up of shop on eBay, marketing your shop or eBay store are one side of the business and shipping and handling the order process is on the other. Buyers from anywhere in the world prefer to have their purchased goods delivered at their door at nominal cost if not for free.

You need to define your policy in clear terms and publish it so that every buyer can read it if you don’t want shipping disputes to bother you later. You should also mind the ripple effects these disputes can cause later through feedbacks.

Some Tips on Defining Your eBay Shipping Policy

Although this is purely your prerogative, still you need to look for what the customers looks for in you. Almost invariably all goods are shipped by eBay sellers at a cost to the buyers barring a few exceptions. The exceptions can be goods of high worth such as diamond rings or any other type of jewelry. You can make it clear by stating whether you handle the shipping and pay for it too or whether you charge it to the customer even as you put-up the goods for sale. In cases such as planned move to gain customer loyalty, you may want to announce a discount or make it free for some distance.

Shipping Calculator

If shipping is chargeable, customers can calculate the cost to their ZIP through the eBay shipping calculator. eBay shipping calculator supports charges of both US Postal service and UPS to 50 states. However, an international customer or someone wanting to have the goods air lifted can estimate through the service provider.

What about Bulk Purchases

There can be customers buying several items or similar items of same specification from you in which case packaging and shipping costs are lower than normal. You may offer a bulk discount or a total waive off of shipping cost. But customers will be encouraged to buy more when they can quantify discounts in terms of dollars. Ideal policy here would be to declare a flat discount instead of being vague.

Don’t you want to state “Buy 2 and save $2 on shipping?”