Why do sellers advertise free postage when it is not? False advertising people.

[digital*ghost]

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@northwestnsw wrote:

So, with bricks & Mortar businesses like Mcdonalds, Subway etc, if they offer for example a FREE drink with your meal, do you immediately go to the nearest forum and complain, or is it only  ebay that you think should not use this type of advertising ploy?

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I have a Subway down near me, sandwiches have a price, drinks have a price, if I go in and buy a sandwich and a drink on  a normal day, it'll cost me (let's say $8 for the sandwich, $2 for the drink) $10. If I have a voucher that gives me the drink for free, it'll cost me $8.00 - I actually save money, though I can guarantee you it's cost Subway exactly the same amount to provide me with a sandwich and a drink as when I pay $10 for it, but in that circumstance I wouldn't complain a bit.

If on the other hand I went in there and there with a voucher that said "buy a sandwich get a free drink - price $10", then something would be amiss, no?

"Free postage" doesn't mean that no one has to pay the price of postage, it means that the buyer doesn't pay anything for it.

If the buyer is paying for it (more specifically, if the cost of postage has been included into the selling price), it's not free, and that's why people will dispute it as misleading advertising. 

[repentatleisure1952]

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@character_parties_aus wrote:

My theory that aussies dont get irony is intact

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Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....I'm not an aussie by birth.

However I do need to be shown where the irony is as I have missed it.

[repentatleisure1952]

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@northwestnsw wrote:

So, with bricks & Mortar businesses like Mcdonalds, Subway etc, if they offer for example a FREE drink with your meal, do you immediately go to the nearest forum and complain, or is it only  ebay that you think should not use this type of advertising ploy?

---

I have a Subway down near me, sandwiches have a price, drinks have a price, if I go in and buy a sandwich and a drink on  a normal day, it'll cost me (let's say $8 for the sandwich, $2 for the drink) $10. If I have a voucher that gives me the drink for free, it'll cost me $8.00 - I actually save money, though I can guarantee you it's cost Subway exactly the same amount to provide me with a sandwich and a drink as when I pay $10 for it, but in that circumstance I wouldn't complain a bit.

If on the other hand I went in there and there with a voucher that said "buy a sandwich get a free drink - price $10", then something would be amiss, no?

"Free postage" doesn't mean that no one has to pay the price of postage, it means that the buyer doesn't pay anything for it.

If the buyer is paying for it (more specifically, if the cost of postage has been included into the selling price), it's not free, and that's why people will dispute it as misleading advertising. 

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Hi ghost .
As always I find your responses very practical & sensible.

However, if I start an AUCTION at $19.95 with free postage & let the auction run it's course & wear the end result I feel Iam not in any way engaging in misleading advertising.

Any thoughts ?

[character_parties_aus]

So why do ebay encourage all listings to offer free post? whats unlawful about that? Postage included is how it should always read on eBay.

i offer GENUINE free post on my website above a certain order value but all my 'free post' on eBay is marked in as the cost of goods makes 'free post' no option after fees etc. I have to say it suckers a lot of folks in though. I would much sooner offer a paid postage option and a flat capped rate. However that just doesn't work on eBay.

I haven't gone into fees on freight it's far too hard!!!!!!!

[repentatleisure1952]

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@robinsonmarineparts wrote:

We don't get a choice with Ebay, it's there way or the high way.

You only think your getting a choice, you may trade on Ebay by choice but you have no choice how you trade on ebay, any way you choose to trade on Ebay is still there way.

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I know I have the choice to walk away at any time.

I am fully prepared to play by the rules the same as any trading forum or B & M store.

[digital*ghost]

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@repentatleisure1952 wrote:

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Hi ghost .
As always I find your responses very practical & sensible.

However, if I start an AUCTION at $19.95 with free postage & let the auction run it's course & wear the end result I feel Iam not in any way engaging in misleading advertising.

Any thoughts ?

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Thanks 🙂 This is the way I look at it...

'Free postage' in an environement like eBay can be a minefield of if's, buts and provisos, but it can be much more simple if you just break it down to basic components.

Item price & postage. 

If you advertise an item at a specific price and say postage is free, the item price (theoretically) doesn't include postage costs even if the profit margin covers it, and that should hold true whether the format is BIN or auction. 

[digital*ghost]

Slightly O/T but still relevant and possibly interesting, I just thought I'd add that in the past, sellers have reported that when they auctioned identical items at identical start prices, some with free postage and some not, the free post items almost always acheived lower prices than the ones with postage added separately - i.e. buyers were willing to pay less overall for an item with 'free post'. 

If nothing else, I think that shows that peope still ascribe separate values to the cost / price of an item, and postage as an added service, and that an item will have X value no matter what, while if postage is advertised as free, it is understandably ascribed 0 value and doesn't add any value to the item. 

[lane-ends]

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@repentatleisure1952 wrote:

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@digital*ghost wrote:

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@northwestnsw wrote:

So, with bricks & Mortar businesses like Mcdonalds, Subway etc, if they offer for example a FREE drink with your meal, do you immediately go to the nearest forum and complain, or is it only  ebay that you think should not use this type of advertising ploy?

---

I have a Subway down near me, sandwiches have a price, drinks have a price, if I go in and buy a sandwich and a drink on  a normal day, it'll cost me (let's say $8 for the sandwich, $2 for the drink) $10. If I have a voucher that gives me the drink for free, it'll cost me $8.00 - I actually save money, though I can guarantee you it's cost Subway exactly the same amount to provide me with a sandwich and a drink as when I pay $10 for it, but in that circumstance I wouldn't complain a bit.

If on the other hand I went in there and there with a voucher that said "buy a sandwich get a free drink - price $10", then something would be amiss, no?

"Free postage" doesn't mean that no one has to pay the price of postage, it means that the buyer doesn't pay anything for it.

If the buyer is paying for it (more specifically, if the cost of postage has been included into the selling price), it's not free, and that's why people will dispute it as misleading advertising. 

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Hi ghost .
As always I find your responses very practical & sensible.

However, if I start an AUCTION at $19.95 with free postage & let the auction run it's course & wear the end result I feel Iam not in any way engaging in misleading advertising.

Any thoughts ?

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I use aa similar principle , but in reverse, for my BINs. Everything is listed at same price, I dont try to value the item, nor work out postage component. Then i reduce it until sold. ie buyer decides how much they wont to pay to have item at their door (same as you).

This way an item sells for that price regardless as to whether it eventually goes by letter rate, 500gm stachel, 3kgsatchel . Whether I add add sig or no

Most of my items are borderline 500gm/3kg satchels and to be honest until I ship them I have no idea how much the postage is going to be.

i'm not scamming anyone, item has no set market value. postage cost makes no difference to buyer. If they return item they get full refund regardless of postal cost. To me its just another overhead or fee.

If a buyer wants to multiple purhase I can use best offer to discount, which is not just postage but a bulk buy incentive.

I think buyers main objection is that they miss the sport of saving as much as possible by the perception of reduced savings upfront on combining. If you want to do this on free post items ask,you might be surprised, sellers still want to sell and are quite capable of "sharpening their pencils" to get a sale if required. Most "free post" sellers are just as frustrated by the lack of offical work arounds for discounting for combined sales.

[goldcoast4212]

If you are using an Ipad Iphone or Smart phone the listing will say FREE POSTAGE even though it is not.

This is an ebay problem not a seller problem, Ebay can't fix it

Always buy using a PC and get the right information, smart phones are not that smart