eBay

digital*ghost · ‎16-07-2019

Just hoping to get a little pool of data on the topic from the buyer's perspective, I have a lot of subsidiary questions, but any and all answers - or just general thoughts - welcome, and my thanks in advance for anyone who spends the time to reply 🙂

The main questions I have are how many items would you generally expect to purchase in order to qualify for a volume discount (2, 5, 10?); and what do you think would be too far a gap between one tier and the next.

I understand those are a bit vague and answers can vary a lot between items and price points, so if it helps, for the purpose of this question, this is in reference to non-essential items, priced between $3-$10 per item, with an average price of around $4.50 (i.e. 5 items is going to cost around the $20 mark, therefore 10 items around $45, 15 items around $65.

Subsidiary questions:

Do you expect the 5 items are required to be the same, or to be able to mix and match between various products.
How many discount tiers would you generally expect there to be? Say you could get a 5% discount when buying 5 items, would you then be inclined to expect the discount to follow a pattern, 10% for 10 items, and / or would you think it's a high gap if it was 5% for 5, then 10% off for 15 items? Would you expect further discounts on say 20, or 30 items?
Do you usally expect sale / clearance items to be included in volume discounts?
Lastly (and this one's a bit more philosophical, maybe) do you view items that have never-ending discounts available as valued less than the non-discounted price they are listed at? (eg if you always purchase an item listed for $5 with a 10% discount, do you view $4.50 as regular pricing, and if so do you think you might eventually be unimpressed with the discount if no other specials were ever offered).

countessalmirena · ‎16-07-2019

I don't think I expect a volume discount as a consumer, and sometimes volume discounts are slightly frustrating as I know specifically how many of an item I want, and I don't want to be tempted to buy more because of a discount. I don't think I'm typical of other shoppers in that regard.

If a volume discount were offered on items where I'd intended to buy more than one, of course I would not be frustrated, but rather... pleased.

As you are talking of non-essential items, with an average price of $4.50, and I were looking for exactly those items in quantity, and the volume discount brought the total price down in comparison to other similar products, then - assuming that the total quantity was more than the quantity I needed - I would mentally try to allocate the quantity into how I would/could use them. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that volume discount.

Wait... I remember buying bags and bags of red sequins, to be laboriously hand-sewn onto two slinky long red gowns (sewn from a Vogue pattern, if I remember correctly) for a particular occasion. The sequins came in a variety of options: 10 or so sewn onto a strip of cardboard, 24 or so on a larger strip of cardboard, or loose with a minimum quantity. The loose minimum quantity option was outrageously better value!

(On the negative side, I never want to sew another sequin on fabric ever ever ever again.)

So... in some cases, I suppose I would subconsciously expect a volume discount. In the case of those sequins, I think the minimum quantity was 200, and I bought far more than that. Had I bought the sewn-on-cardboard options, the price would have been ridiculous, but I cannot remember exactly what the difference would have been. Probably between $60 and $80...?

For items where the volumes are 2, 5, 10 or something of that sort, priced between $3 and $10 an item, I would not expect a volume discount for 2. Perhaps 3 or 4, with a small discount...? A nice discount of possibly 6-8% for a quantity of 10? It would depend on your margin, and so on...

SUBSIDIARY QUESTIONS

5 items the same, or mix and match between various products: It's nice to have the choice, and I think buyers would appreciate it... and it's more likely that buyers would opt to purchase quantities of 5 or so if they can choose between at least a small range.
Discount tiers: I would not expect a more than 10% discount on the total order. That's a good discount. Further discount percentages - to me - would seem to be verging into a supplier-retailer relationship. I think that a gap between 5 item discount and 15 item discount may seem high. Would 5% off 5, 7% off 8, and 10% off 10 or more be possible...? For some sorts of items, it would.
Sale/Clearance items and volume discounts: No. "No further reductions on sale / clearance items" seems to be standard. I would not expect a volume discount at all if the price has already been significantly reduced... (but I suppose I would be puzzled if a sale or clearance price were higher than a volume discount price on a non-clearance item).
The philosophical question... It's certainly a thorny question. I do believe that the majority of people come to view items with a perpetual discount as having as their actual price the discounted price. An extra (strictly limited time) discount or saving can definitely prompt people to make a purchase while that promotion or special is running, whereas the regular low prices with volume discount tend to blend into the background for repeat customers. (Subconscious expectation normalises the discount, just as we have seen so many eBay sellers deeply upset and outraged by the abrupt cessation of those weekend promos on fees.)
A (consumer) case in point: my favourite pearl company has certain special promotions, with a limited timeframe, as well as loyalty points; the special discount periods are in addition to the competitive standard prices and occasional person-specific discounts, and I know that they are highly effective.

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springyzone · ‎17-07-2019

I never expect a discount for buying in bulk, or not for cheap items.

If offered eg 5% off for purchases of 5 or more, I'd be quite pleased. I would expect the discount to apply to the same article although I suppose a colour variation might be welcome. I'm thinking specifically of a purchase I made some time ago on ebay where I bought about 20 or more of those feather things you drape around your neck (for a hen's night). I just paid per item, but had there been a discount, it probably would have swayed me. For example, say I had wanted 14 and there was a discount for 15 or more, it might work out slightly cheaper to buy the 15.

If a discount is offered at all, people would probably expect to see a higher discount for those who buy a bigger number, but I don't think you have to go from eg 5% to 10%. You could go from 5% to 71/2 %

Sale items are not usually included in volume discounts. Most shops I know allow only one discount at a time. However, I have been on online sites where the clearance lines are on sale. Those sales are very clearly marked as such though and are not volume discounts as such.

My only real advice would be to make any system you implement simple to understand.

So to my mind, that means setting up a slight discount for the same item in bulk OR a discount for a total spend over a certain amount.

Both would work, it is up to you which is easier for you to cope with.

As a customer, I probably prefer a discount for when I spend over a certain amount. That gives me the freedom to buy several different products if i wish. The only rider on that is when the total spend is really high, way more than I planned on spending. It has no influence on me then.

You asked if a permanently discounted price might be less valued over time.

It depends on how it is done.

If it is always full price when you buy just one of the item, and the discount only applies to bulk purchases, then I don't think it would affect people's perceptions too much, although I suppose they would see themselves as having to pay a premium price if they only want to buy one or two. I realise they are cheap items anyway, but that could be the perception.

Where a discount kicks in for a total spend over a certain amount, that perception isn't there. It would be possible to include clearance items if you wanted because it wouldn't be about a bulk purchase, just a total dollar amount.

I think a lot depends on the items you sell too and if they are the sorts of things people often buy in multiples. For example, say you sold spices & teas (I doubt you do, but just using that as an example of things I tend to buy). Then a bulk discount for the same product would not work for me. A discount on total spend would work better so I could buy several different things.

But if you sold eg those feather boa things or party hats or... etc etc, then a discount for multiple purchases of the same item would work well on those types of things.

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twyngwyn · ‎17-07-2019

have you tried varied listings incorporating 'lots'? You could have the same items in 1 lot and 'like' items in the next....then you wouldn't need to offer discount; just incorporate it into price?

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brerrabbit585 · ‎17-07-2019

As a buyer, I wouldn't expect a discount until I spent at least $50 if they were all cheap items (under $5) but I wouldn't really expect one even then. To put it another way, I'd be surprised to see a seller giving a discount if one spent $50 on small/cheap items.

To qualify this, I'm only talking about a discount as a reward, not a discount to compensate for postage on sites like ebay (whether you do free postage and build it into the price or you charge post on each item and don't refund any).

As to whether I'd prefer to see a discount of several of the same item or several different items, that'd depend on the type of items I was buying. To complicate it further, it'd depend on whether I was buying for myself or for resale. If I was buying for resale I might want lots of different items or I might want a lot the same - again, it depends on the items involved. I'd probably be annoyed if I wanted several different ones and couldn't get a discount because you only offered it if they bought multiples of the same item, or vice versa (which is irrelevant because it probably isn't possible to set up).

I think I'd prefer a discount in dollars rather than a percentage. That's because I think 5% off sounds pretty puny, but the same discount in dollars often sounds a lot better. Other people may see that differently. Also, you have to remember that a LOT of people have no maths skills and percentages don't mean anything to them, but they can manage to take $5 off if they spend the required amount.

When I bought most of my stock several years ago it all came from the US and about half was from ebay and half from other websites. One ebay seller used to give me a 10% discount but I can't remember why and I wasn't the only one. I used to fill flat rate envelopes and that would have made it easier for him (I bought several at a time). I never expected it but treated it as a bonus. I spent thousands with two ebay sellers (smaller orders with others) and occasionally the second one would put in something extra but I was getting a good deal and didn't expect it.

I never expected or got discounts from websites but I mostly bought when they had sales - one had regular 20% off sales. The main thing I expected was not to get ripped off on postage, but most had postage tables so I knew what to expect and I didn't buy from those where I was buying blind.

Buyers don't understand ebay's fee structure and most don't care. Some will understand that some promotional discounts are to compensate for the postage charged on the second item but I'm sure a lot have no idea. You can't worry about explaining it to everyone but you do have to keep it as simple as possible.

I thought about giving a percentage off if they bought 4 because I can post four for the same price as one, but postage jumps after that and my discount on 5 or 6 would have been a lower percentage than the discount on 4 so I could have discouraged bigger orders, plus it all got too complicated.

In the end I sat down and did some sums and discovered (to my huge surprise) that if I added 50c to every item I could afford to cap my postage at the same price I charge for just one item. I'd recently reduced a lot of prices so it didn't do any harm to add 50c back again. I mostly send letters but I know capped postage can be a lot more complicated for parcels.

I know you already do capped postage but if you want to give a further discount for your best buyers (larger orders), I'd go for $X off if they spend $100 on one order. The capped postage is already an incentive to get them to buy more so they already benefit if they buy enough that you're subsidising postage. If you go for more than one tier for discounts (eg. $4 off if you spend $50, $7 off $70+, $12 off $100+) it gets too messy, but that's just my opinion. If you're already doing capped postage I wouldn't offer any further discounts unless they buy at least $100.

If you can afford to discount a bit if they buy 5 items, would it be an alternative to lower your capped postage amount? That'd satisfy the people who only buy 3 or 4. I don't know your pricing or postage costs but if you're not losing when they buy only one item (ie. your capped postage is at least what it costs to post a single item) it might be more incentive for them to buy more than one but not a lot more. I think a lot of people ultimately buy only what they need/want, unless they're buying supplies or for reselling, in which case they're more likely to buy more because of the discount.

I wouldn't expect sale/clearance items to be discounted further, unless the bulk discount makes non-sale items the same price as the clearance items. Ultimately, I think you'd keep more buyers happy if the discount applied to the sale items as well. If you want to clear them you'd probably be happy to see them go as part of a large order at a discount.

We all have a lot of perceptions about pricing without even being aware of it so I think consistency is the key. Set your discounts and stick to them. When sellers or stores/websites have constant sales, buyers can think they're over-priced the rest of the time and end up resenting the seller and never buy from them, despite their sale prices being really good. I think volume rewards ($$$$, not number of items) wouldn't have the same negative results that a lot of other discounts could have because it's quite obvious that it's a reward for spending a lot.

To touch on what countess said, some might be frustrated if their order is just under your cut-off point and they don't want to buy any more just for the discount, but this is less likely to be a problem if your first (only?) discount level is quite high.

I think if you have too many tiers that's where you'll start creating unreasonable expectations in people's minds. Some people are fine with "the more you buy the bigger the discount" but to me it smacks of haggling and tells me the items were over-priced in the first place. It goes further than that but it's not easy to explain, except to say it's best not to do anything that might trigger negative thoughts. With some people the more you give the more they expect, and if they felt forced to buy more to get a better discount they could resent it. Just remember that a lot of people don't think rationally, and of those who do, their subsconcious can still play games with them.

If someone offered 5% off if I spent $20 I'd be highly likely to think their items were over-priced, but I don't like bargaining and prefer the price to be the price. You can't please everyone but on ebay the simpler you keep things the less people you're likely to offend.

Speaking of craft supplies, I don't buy the same sort as you but I don't think I've ever seen a site that offers a points system or different discount tiers. I've seen the odd site that offers points but they're selling for very high prices and they're not supplies in the same way yours are, eg. a cross stitch kit isn't the same as selling components to make jewellery to sell (or for yourself). Have you bought from that sort of site yourself, and how did you feel about it? If they're fantastic value and have the sort of thing you buy in bulk you'd buy from them but it might annoy you if you only wanted to buy a little bit.

This is getting a bit long so I'll post it and then tell you how I work my capped postage and why.

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brerrabbit585 · ‎17-07-2019

After finally finishing reading what everyone else has said (I sort of read it as I went but didn't quite get to the bottom before I posted the other novel), I don't think people would resent the price for one if you discount higher volumes. That's assuming the price for one is reasonable. We're trained from pretty young to expect that the bigger container at the supermarket is always going to cost less per kg than the smaller container (almost always). The smaller block of chocolate always costs a lot more per kg than the large block! If they only want to buy one, that's their choice, and they'd know they can't expect it at bulk price.

I understand where you've coming from when you say it's not just about increasing sales. When I introduced capped postage it was primarily to save me work but it also saved me paying fees on refunded postage. The only way to force some buyers to use the cart is to give them a discount when they do it. Some still don't get it but they don't get their discount either - I've spelt it out quite clearly in my listings and the rest is up to them.

Bigger orders can be a lot less work than smaller ones - even 100 mixed items sent to one buyer can be a lot less work than send one item each to 100 different buyers. It's the little things that add up - addressing envelopes, sticking stamps on, messaging buyers, etc etc etc.

Not only don't I have to fiddle around doing refunds any more, but if they buy 2 to 4 my net price increases by about 25c per item. Previously, I lost 25c in fees if they bought more than one item (different ones) so I win both ways.

I've sold a lot of my very best items on facebook because people tended to buy the lot in one go there but not on ebay. It saves me a lot of work if they take all I have of one item. I don't restock so it's a bit different to you but a lot of the same can still save time with some products. I used to have a private buyer that I gave a pretty hefty discount to simply because she bought long pieces and I had to do less cutting (and less work finding things and putting them back again). I subsidise postage on orders of a certain size with my capped postage on ebay but if they're buying a lot and saving me work it's the same as the discounts I used to give.

I wouldn't worry too much if someone buys all you have of something. If you hold some back they could sit there for a while and you've lost a sale. I know you might end up with some disappointed buyers when you're out of stock temporarily but it does teach them to grab things while they can. If you don't make the lot available you could well miss out on a sale to someone who doesn't buy because you haven't got enough listed. My philosophy is to grab the money while I can!

With some items it's easier to count larger amounts, with others it's harder. If you buy in packets of 100 you could offer individual discounts on those items if they buy in 100 and save you having to count them. With some items you could weigh the packets and save yourself some counting. If you're not sure about the number you could throw some extra in as a bonus buying a lot.

Have you thought about a different type of discount where they pay for 10 and receive 11 (an extra one for every 10)? It'd have to be the same type of item, of course, but for those who buy a lot of the same item that could work well for you and them. You'd only need to put a note in the relevant descriptions so people who don't see those items won't resent that it's not on all items. You could possibly have two or three tiers without it being as negative as multi-level discounts. Some people might not want the extra one but you'd be targeting people who want slightly bigger amounts.

If you offer them a bonus rather than a discount, you move more stock and you don't reduce the dollar value of your orders. If your items are $3 and your mark-up is 100%, an extra one when they buy 10 only costs you $1.50, but if you give 10% off if they buy 10 you lose $3. I know that's not absolutely true but it's only a technicality. The point is that if that particular buyer never comes back again you've got more money out of them than you otherwise would have, and if it's hard to sell stock it helps to move a few extra. You don't have to worry about setting up any sort of promotional discount but simply put a note in the listing (perhaps in the title if there's space) and put an extra one in the parcel.

The above would be harder to implement if they want to buy different items but they could always message you and ask (and tell you which they want as an extra), and all you'd have to do would be to put an extra one in the parcel if you're agreeable - no altering listings just for them. If they don't trust you to do it they wouldn't buy but excellent feedback means most people are pretty trusting in that regard.

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*tippy*toes* · ‎17-07-2019

I didn't read most of the replies as they were TL;DR. I don't expect discounts for anything. If I want something, I will shop around until I find a price, and a seller that I'm happy with. Doesn't matter if I want one or 20. If I get a discount for bulk, great, but I certainly don't expect one. Nor would I insist on one.

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countessalmirena · ‎16-07-2019

I don't think I expect a volume discount as a consumer, and sometimes volume discounts are slightly frustrating as I know specifically how many of an item I want, and I don't want to be tempted to buy more because of a discount. I don't think I'm typical of other shoppers in that regard.

If a volume discount were offered on items where I'd intended to buy more than one, of course I would not be frustrated, but rather... pleased.

As you are talking of non-essential items, with an average price of $4.50, and I were looking for exactly those items in quantity, and the volume discount brought the total price down in comparison to other similar products, then - assuming that the total quantity was more than the quantity I needed - I would mentally try to allocate the quantity into how I would/could use them. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of that volume discount.

Wait... I remember buying bags and bags of red sequins, to be laboriously hand-sewn onto two slinky long red gowns (sewn from a Vogue pattern, if I remember correctly) for a particular occasion. The sequins came in a variety of options: 10 or so sewn onto a strip of cardboard, 24 or so on a larger strip of cardboard, or loose with a minimum quantity. The loose minimum quantity option was outrageously better value!

(On the negative side, I never want to sew another sequin on fabric ever ever ever again.)

So... in some cases, I suppose I would subconsciously expect a volume discount. In the case of those sequins, I think the minimum quantity was 200, and I bought far more than that. Had I bought the sewn-on-cardboard options, the price would have been ridiculous, but I cannot remember exactly what the difference would have been. Probably between $60 and $80...?

For items where the volumes are 2, 5, 10 or something of that sort, priced between $3 and $10 an item, I would not expect a volume discount for 2. Perhaps 3 or 4, with a small discount...? A nice discount of possibly 6-8% for a quantity of 10? It would depend on your margin, and so on...

SUBSIDIARY QUESTIONS

5 items the same, or mix and match between various products: It's nice to have the choice, and I think buyers would appreciate it... and it's more likely that buyers would opt to purchase quantities of 5 or so if they can choose between at least a small range.
Discount tiers: I would not expect a more than 10% discount on the total order. That's a good discount. Further discount percentages - to me - would seem to be verging into a supplier-retailer relationship. I think that a gap between 5 item discount and 15 item discount may seem high. Would 5% off 5, 7% off 8, and 10% off 10 or more be possible...? For some sorts of items, it would.
Sale/Clearance items and volume discounts: No. "No further reductions on sale / clearance items" seems to be standard. I would not expect a volume discount at all if the price has already been significantly reduced... (but I suppose I would be puzzled if a sale or clearance price were higher than a volume discount price on a non-clearance item).
The philosophical question... It's certainly a thorny question. I do believe that the majority of people come to view items with a perpetual discount as having as their actual price the discounted price. An extra (strictly limited time) discount or saving can definitely prompt people to make a purchase while that promotion or special is running, whereas the regular low prices with volume discount tend to blend into the background for repeat customers. (Subconscious expectation normalises the discount, just as we have seen so many eBay sellers deeply upset and outraged by the abrupt cessation of those weekend promos on fees.)
A (consumer) case in point: my favourite pearl company has certain special promotions, with a limited timeframe, as well as loyalty points; the special discount periods are in addition to the competitive standard prices and occasional person-specific discounts, and I know that they are highly effective.

digital*ghost · ‎16-07-2019

Than's for the in-depth response, much appreciated 🙂

One more question if I may... Does your impression of the gap between something like 5% of 5+ and 10% off 15+ items change if it were tied to dollar spend rather than quantity purchased? eg 5% off $20 spend, 10% off $60+ spend?

Spoiler contains much more specific info related to my business, I tried not to get to detail-oriented initially in case I loaded the questions with unintended bias (it's probably still there a bit ) and also in case the more generalised info would be of benefit to others.

Spoiler

I've been leaning towards this kind of gap in the tier because 5% is easy for me to provide on 5+ items, but 10% is trickier because I also do flat rate postage and the charge is really low - less than half minimum cost for parcels, which itself can be a significant discount [especially on items where it only takes a few to edge it into 1kg parcel territory], but my items are the type that are often bought in volume. Some people will message me and ask about "bulk" discounts, and when I ask how many units they're after, they'll say 3, but I also get lots of buyers who will purchase 10-20 of a single item and not ask about a discount at all - I want to be able to have a default way for such buyers to access a good discount, while satisfying the ones looking for a little extra off only a few items as well.

countessalmirena · ‎16-07-2019

I think that if the total price were $20, I would be extremely happy with a 5% discount, and that a higher discount for a higher spend of $60 or so sounds reasonable and would encourage quite a few buyers to reach that amount in their purchase.

The last thing you would want is to be providing a signlficant discount for buyers who minimise their expenditure with you to the point that the discount feels like grit in a spoonful of mousseline de crevettes. (Annoying and something of an insult, and you storm out vowing never to go there again.) You know your target market best; whatever will get you more buyers would be great, but only as long as the discount offered doesn't end up giving you many little nibble buyers munching away at your margin. If the aim is primarily to get your buyers to increase their purchase total from you, even by a few dollars, it can make all the difference.

(Sorry - this could be misread as trying to tell you your business. I am trying to speak generally and float some ideas from my buyer perspective, being aware that you would have considered all of this anyway from your perspective... )

With your buyers who purchase 3 or so items, I know you'll want to encourage them to buy from you and to feel that they are getting a good bargain and being rewarded for purchasing more than one item. I would think that a 4% discount may even be MORE effective than offering 5% in that case, whether you're offering the discount on a quantity basis or a total price basis. 4% is more unusual than 5%; it stands out more, catches the eye, and it actually (to me) conveys the sense that the discount is based on serious thought (looking at margin, qualtiy, etc.) rather than a quick and more-or-less automatically-applied 5%.

Making a 10% discount applicable to a minimum expenditure seems like a good strategy, as long as the purchase can't result in a total volume/size/weight that ends up costing you more in packaging and posting.

digital*ghost · ‎16-07-2019

One of the other reasons I want to introduce them is that it's actually fairly standard practice to have them in my particular field, at least off eBay - many sites with items like mine either have volume pricing starting at 5+ items, or some kind of rewards program (a lot of them have both - a couple that I personally buy from will provide an across the board discount based on the total amount you've spent, be that over the span of a week or 5 years, so I guess I asked if it was expected as I think a lot of people who buy craft supplies will be used to that kind of feature).

So, this is not the handcrafted stuff, just in case anyone thought I was talking about that - I very rarely discount that, and they are priced a lot higher than $4 . On eBay they've done the volume pricing so that if you use it, discounts have to apply on 2+ of the same item, but haven't allowed for discounts on any more than 5, strangely. Generally speaking (that is, generally speaking about my items), I don't really consider it a bulk purchase if it's under 10 units since the flat rate P&H is designed to give a discount anyway, but I have set up a few listings [light weight, small items lol] with eBay's version of "volume" discounts (2 get 1%, 3 get 2%, 4 get 3% and 5 get 5%), just to test how it goes, though of course other discounts can be provided through promotions manager.

To be honest, encouraging sales is only part of my motivation, I'm not necessarily looking to increase a buyer's average spend in as much as I want to make such pricing overtly stated, reward volume buyers, and reduce my time spent on messaging with buyers about quantities, quotes, (and also sifting through old records to try and find out what I charged them last time ). But I also want to do it in an appealing way that doesn't discourage sales if people feel like the threshold between the two tiers is too high - despite quantity-based discounts being much easier for me to manage, I had a feeling the gap was odd if not off-putting.

I'll have a think about different percentages, though - I know odd-pricing has plenty of advantages in that regard and realistically, when I do quote custom pricing, it's never nicely rounded to the nearest 5 or 10. (I just don't want it to seem too token-y and hardly worth it (even though the 1-3% kinda is)

Much of my reservations are based around devaluing the items and the discount long-term, since I know what my own buying patterns are like when routine discounts are provided - but I also feel like eBay's voucher codes have done that to everyone already. I have started to notice distinct patterns in eBay sales (more specifically, when they flourish), it often coincides with the release of a new code.

But at this point I'm pretty much debating myself out loud, lol.

Thanks again for all your input, despite the above, it has helped refine how I want to tackle it. 🙂

springyzone · ‎17-07-2019