Include shipping or price separately?

Which results in more sales?

[eugenebarnes]

Does anyone have experience, stats, etc. on the difference between including shipping in the sale price vs. breaking it out separately?

In other words, which of these results in more sales?

Our Price: $129.00
(shipping included)

OR

Our Price: $119.00
(plus $10 shipping)

[wkitty42]

i can't say, really... the only thing i can relate is my experiance with my own brick and mortar location... i used to include shipping in the total cost of the merchandise... many folk would look and say that the merchandise was cheaper at xyz and go there after it... later, i'd see them and talk to them and find out that they ended up paying more, overall, for the merchandise because the shipping at the other place was much higher than what i was quoting...

i've tried it both ways... over 20+ years and have always had mixed results... one "sneaky" thing to do would be to offer the items twice... once with shipping included and once with it added as a secondary line item... keep the offers seperate and if one balks at one, possibly offer the other to them and see which they choose...

oh, and don't forget about multiple item orders... it is generally cheaper, in the long run, to order several items and ship them as one bulk package than to have shipping on each item...

HTH

[jbinbpt]

I have found that a blanket fee for shipping tells the customer that you have a lot built into the pricing and can afford to absorb.
Are you making it clear that the fixed amount is for one type of service?
Are you limiting the distance and the type of service that the included shipping covers?
For me, I got fewer questions about freight when I gave the customers the tools to calculate freight for each order.
jb

[sun818]

I suppose it depends on the weight of the item and where you ship. If you sell a widget that is only 2 ounces, I can understand a price that includes shipping. If the items weigh more, I might feel like its not a great deal if happen to buy more than one item.

[andy_boyd]

I think it works well if you display the individual price of the product and inform them that shipping costs extra. If this is the case, give them a link to a page containing all the shipping information you can muster.

IMO free shipping works best with a big retailer because people seem to trust them more, a small online retailer like me may advertise free shipping but the customer seems to think that it is all built in and loses trust.

Personally I keep shipping and product prices separate, but if a customer orders a ceratin amount of widgets or more, they are eligible for free shipping. It works ok.

On another site I keep shippin and product prices separate, but incrementally reduce the cost of shipping alongside larger orders. This works well because it encourages people to place a larger order, it also looks like a small saving on shipping for them.

It just seems to be one of those things with no correct answer. A different approach works for a different etailer. Like so many other things it seems that trial and error is the best answer.

[edit_g]

Keep them seperate. Keep the price displayed as low as you can. It does make a difference on immediate impressions IMO.

[nutsandbolts]

I did read somewhere that people have a greater chance of abandoning their cart at the end of checkout when they are presented with an additional fee for shipping.

I personally think it's always better to absorb the cost of shipping in the prices and really promote the "Free Shipping" offer.

This of course totally depends on the product you're selling so it's great for books, DVDs, socks etc.

Sending TV's, Furniture or Cars etc is a different kettle of fish....

[andy_boyd]

Yeah, I second Nutsandbolts.

Free shipping can be a real winner, as long as what you are selling is light enough to ship affordably.

If you need to ship something heavy or bulky free shipping isn't such a great idea, unless you are a huge company and can negotiate a lower price with your shippers.

[derekwong28]

We used to sell some items on eBay with a shipping cost of $6.00.

Then the manufacturer forced us to raise the headline price but will allow us to offer free shipping.

Our sales immediately collapsed even though the overall cost was the same or even lower.

Visitors were just not clicking into our listings in the first place. We have now abandoned sellling on eBay altogether

[pbreit]

Buyers generally expect shipping to be added on later, especially since it might vary based on locale or speed.

[Mark_A]

agree with pbreit

If you are shipping worldwide and the item cost is not very high then the cost of transatlantic shipping is likely to be very high compared to local ...

depends also on

What shipping method
What weight / size the items
Where shipping to included in standard charge.

If its a flat fee .... x included for post ... then its the same for all ... and would still be added on for overseas shipments ....

not enough info to answer the query ..

depends .. but I would favour the excluding shipping price normally and clarity early on in the buying process that shipping will be added so as not to irritate people ...

Many sites allow you to select shipping modes you prefer ... might depend on your atitude to risk and how urgently you want the goods .... presumably all are sign on reciept are they?

[eugenebarnes]

This of course totally depends on the product you're selling so it's great for books, DVDs, socks etc.

Sending TV's, Furniture or Cars etc is a different kettle of fish....

OK, for the sake of argument, let's get a bit more specific.

Let's say the merchandise is physically small but pricy. Fine gifts, jewelry, things like that. Items priced from $50 to several hundred dollars each.

How does that change the picture?

[NFFC]

We offer free shipping [or delivery as we say in the UK] for one simple reason.

If we say an item costs £20 then that is the value of the item, if we say the item costs £17 + £3 delivery then the item is "worth" £17 but our customers have to pay £20 to buy it.

I don't see the marketing advantadge in telling a customer that they have to pay more than the item is worth.

[Mark_A]

NFFC you may know IKEA dont include delivery in their prices (at least last time I went, a long time ago) because ... they dont offer it :-) you have to arrange your own .....