Online Stores Offering Free Shipping
From LoveToKnow Online
As many eBay sellers quickly learn, online stores offering free shipping usually outperform online stores that charge even moderate shipping fees. In this article, you will learn more about free shipping offers and how they can benefit you, or cost you more, depending on how savvy of a shopper you are. Toward the end of this article you'll also find a valuable list of resources where you can find online stores offering free shipping.
The Value of Online Stores Offering Free Shipping
When the online community first became a viable venue for generating significant retail sales, most online stores charged customers for shipping costs. On many sites, like eBay for example, sellers often padded shipping costs with erroneous charges in order to increase profit for each sale. In time, online customers became aware of this tactic, and today most online shoppers are savvy. Retailers recognize this, and now approach shipping costs as a marketing tool rather than a way to increase profit margins.
Free Online Shipping Explained
It didn't take very long for online retailers to recognize that the Internet marketplace is very different than that of brick and mortar stores. Online shoppers search for products armed with information and knowledge about the best products and with tools for easily comparing prices. In order to realize the power of Internet retail, and to capture those online sales, Internet retailers now actively test various "free shipping" offers in order to motivate online visitors to not only make the decision to purchase, but to purchase more items during each sale. Some of the more common free shipping offers available on the Internet today include the following:
- Offering free shipping on all purchases without limitation, but also increasing the sales price of the products.
- Offering customers free shipping if purchases exceed a specific threshold. For example, "free shipping on all sales over $50."
- Offering no fee for shipping if customers purchase a certain number of items.
- A new method, started by Amazon, is letting customers pay an annual free for unlimited free shipping on all purchases.
The Psychology of Free Shipping Offers
It's interesting to note that the reason online retailers gravitate toward free shipping offers is due to the psychology of online shoppers as a group. Most consumers choose to shop online either because they don't want to have to drive to the store, or they prefer the selection and variety available on the Internet. However, the number one drawback most shoppers cite about online shopping is shipping fees. Once online retailers remove that significant flaw from the online retail process, most Internet consumers are much more willing to purchase. In fact, the psychological effect of free shipping for these consumers is so strong that many customers are willing to buy a "free shipping" product that saves $5 on shipping rather than purchasing the same product at an $8 discount but with shipping fees.
The difficulty many retailers have is putting together unique Internet offers that remove the problem of shipping costs, keep product prices competitive with those available inside stores and malls, and still earn the same profit margins.
How to Find Online Stores Offering Free Shipping
The Internet is filled with unlimited opportunities to locate free shipping offers. The examples below are a few of the top resources available to you if your top priority is shopping online without paying for shipping:
- eDealInfo features an entire section with products that are priced with free shipping included.
- GoodSavers has a menu item labeled "Free Shipping." If you click on that item you'll be swept off to a page that is constantly updated with current online offers and free shipping coupons.
- Shop.com also has a dedicated page listing retailers with current offers where customers don't have to pay to ship the products.
- FreeShippingDay is a unique website where a long list of online stores offers free shipping on one day just before Christmas. This is called "Free Shipping Day," and you can view all participating merchants at the website. The first year this promotion ran was 2008, and the site identifies the massive free shipping sale as an annual event.
Online Shopping
In their efforts to experiment with various Internet offers, retailers often offer online shoppers with significant deals that in-store shoppers can't get. This online marketplace is one where you can easily do all of your shopping at steep discounts compared to what you'd spend if you drove to the store. However, there are also a lot of gimmicks and scams on the web, so it's always important to stick to shopping with trusted and reliable retailers - and pay close attention to the fine print, regardless of how good the offer sounds.
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This page has been accessed 555 times. This page was last modified 23:47, 31 May 2009.
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