Online buyers consider the total cost—item price and the cost of shipping—when deciding what and where to buy. Buyers especially love free shipping; many will only purchase items that ship for free. In fact, buyers are more likely to choose an item with free shipping over an item with a shipping charge, even if the total cost is the same. Free shipping can pay for itself in many ways.
When you offer free shipping, you get:
- More buyers likely to choose your item.
- Lower Final Value Fees when applied to the full amount of sale, including shipping.
- A boost in search results for your Fixed Price listings.
- Automatic 5-star rating for shipping cost when your buyer chooses free shipping
Buyers also like a choice. Now you can offer 4 domestic and 5 international shipping services in your listings. Garner the most sales and deliver really great customer service with FREE standard shipping as your first option and a 1-day service for buyers in a hurry.
You won't pay a higher Final Value Fee if your buyer chooses 1-day (or international) because when you offer these services, your fees are calculated on the first shipping option you specify. So if you specified free shipping as your first option, you pay zero fees on shipping even if your buyer chooses 1-day or international.
For example:
- You offer free standard shipping as your first domestic shipping option and 1-day shipping for $20.00 as your second option in your item listing.
- Your buyer chooses and pays for the 1-day shipping option for $20.00.
- Even though your buyer chose the more expensive 1-day option, your final value fees are calculated on your first domestic shipping option. In this case, your fee will be calculated on free shipping—you do not pay a fee on the $20.00 1-day shipping option your buyer selected.
1-day services offer next day delivery:
USPS
- Priority Mail Express™
- Priority Mail Express™ Flat Rate Envelope
FedEx
- FedEx Priority Overnight®
- FedEx Standard Overnight®
UPS
- Next Day Air Saver
- Next Day Air (offers Saturday delivery)
Expedited services offer a maximum estimated delivery time of three business days:
USPSPriority Mail
- Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope
- Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box
- Priority Mail Medium Flat Rate Box
- Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box
- First Class Mail
FedEx
- FedEx Express Saver®
- FedEx 2Day®
UPS
- UPS 3 Day Select
- UPS 2nd Day Air
As a rule of thumb, ship the item the same day your buyer pays. You'll automatically receive a 5-star shipping time detailed seller rating (DSR) as long as:
- You specified 1-day or shorter handling time.
- You upload U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, or UPS supported tracking information by the end of the next business day Pacific Time after the buyer's payment clears.
- You upload U.S. Postal Service, UPS, or FedEx supported tracking information by the end of the next business day Pacific Time after the buyer's payment clears.
- Delivery Confirmation or tracking shows confirmed delivery 4 business days from when the payment clears—or within your estimated delivery time if it's less than 4 days (for example, overnight shipping).
It's easy to deliver the shipping options your buyers want—and lower your overall costs at the same time.
