Free Shipping Incentives

[#1]

I recently bumped into a study that found "a free shipping offer that saves a customer $6.99 is more appealing to many than a discount that cuts the purchase price by $10".
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1449

One way Etsy sellers can use this tactic to their advantage is to offer free shipping to their return customers. Why not create a free shipping coupon code and include it with your thank you note?

Have you tried this, or any other free shipping incentives? Have they worked for you? I'd love to hear your opinions on this!

[Former_Member]

I am currently trying everything I possibly can to make a sale on Etsy. I am doing well on my facebook and by word of mouth locally, but cannot break this barrier on Etsy. I am going to create a code and let people know if they make a purchase they will receive the coupon for free shipping on a return order.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

[Former_Member]

I had someone send me a coupon code when I added thier item to my favorites...
So I took the same idea and now send out a free shipping code (for shipping within the US) to anyone who adds my shop or item to thier favorites list.
So far so good! I have recieved a good response, and almost immediately got a sale I may not have otherwise gotten.
Yeah!
Of course, if you see this and want free US shipping on any item in my shop, just ask! :-)

[LaurasLastDitch]

One problem with offering free shipping for orders over a certain threshold is that, if people can't meet the threshold, they might abandon the item(s) they were planning to purchase.

[Loddelina]

BajaSoul, that really worked?
I would be a bit spooked if a shop I just favoured sent me an invitation to purchase (code or no code attached)...
I ofteh heart items that inspire me because of their colour, texture, items I plan to include in a treasury and so on, not really interested in buying, I am sure others do the same.
Do you send coupon codes to everybody that hearts you or only people without shops of their own?

[KristinNoelDesigns]

I started this practice about 6 months ago and have had one taker so far. I agree that the thought of free shipping is very enticing. We will see if more follow suit for the Holidays.

[Former_Member]

I have been giving all of my Buyer a coupon for free shipping in their packages in hope they will become repeaters. I did give a 25% off coupon to a customer that referred someone else to me and gave me really good reviews. She did return and used her coupon. No one has returned with the free shipping coupons but I am going I will see some closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
I give my international customers either a small handmade item like a hair clip. I might start doing percentage off for them. I am always afraid shipping will end up being too much.

[LaurasLastDitch]

Personally, I don't think we need to apologize for having people pay full price AND pay a reasonable amount for shipping, even the international buyers.

[Former_Member]

Right at the moment, I'm offering free shipping to all US and Canadian customers and adding a nominal fee for international.

My philosophy is I frequently won't buy a product if I can't get free shipping or at the very least a deal on shipping.

International shipping fees! Holy Cow! They'll take a chunk out of your profits. I had to add some kind of fee. And thank god I'm selling textiles and not bricks!

[Former_Member]

Hm...free shipping, especially if INTERNATIONAL shipping can be trickier, I'm afraid. I'm from Indonesia and my (soon to be opened) shop will send mainly to the US and probably Europe as well. Shipping to US from Indonesia under EMS can cost USD 16.1 per 250 gram (!) and upward to USD 31 for the same item to the Netherlands! Maybe a shipping coupon (free 5 or 10 shipping discount) will work, but with shipping to some countries MUCH more expensive it can be a dangerous thing to do. Anyone with more experience in international pricing/shipping techniques?

Arbi C

[Former_Member]

This is an intriguing idea, and I'm definitely going to try it out.

But I'm wondering- in order to send free shipping coupons out with a purchased item, is there a different code for each buyer? If not, do they not expire? Because if two people purchase something at different times, but I want the coupon to last for a year, the later buyer will have less time to redeem it. Is there a limit to how many coupon codes you can have at a time?

[Former_Member]

Would we take money out of our own pocket to pay for shipping ? and I agree with thehappycouple

[Former_Member]

Hi,

I do this for a while already, i include the code in the "thank you" note with the purchase, i can tell you that all the costumers ( at least 90%) already come back to buy from me again.
Now I'm preparing a loyalty card.

[Former_Member]

marking this one so i can read the pros and cons all the way through!

[Former_Member]

All these tips have been really helpful to read. It's probably all trial and error though - and also, some things may work for a while, and then stop working for some reason. Personally, I probably AM drawn to free shipping, but as someone making no sales at present, i just can't afford it at the moment, although I'd like to be able to offer free shipping to repeat customers, and I like the idea of a free gift. What do we think - is it better to know what that would be, or is a mystery gift more appealing?

[Former_Member]

I think I will give free shipping a try. My cards are very light weight and most should not need extra packaging. If it will help entice people to at least look at the shop it is worth it. It's all about traffic!

[Former_Member]

I've had a free shipping coupon up for a week and had no takers.

[Former_Member]

I think giving your customers a fair shipping rate is important, but when you offer free shipping you may just be shooting yourself in the foot. Sometimes I offer a free gift something nice but inexpensive.

[Former_Member]

My items are so low in price that I might as well give them the whole order for free because I wouldn't be making any money if I did free shipping.

[Former_Member]

daniellexo says

newhopebeading - I'm curious, do you tell your buyers what that gift will be? That's an interesting incentive!
=========================
yes it is usually an item from my shop that they can purchase full price or if they spend say over $50 I will enclose it free... I usually tell my facebook fans and word spreads fast lol " hey those swarovski earrings are free when you spend $50!" and they have to write like something in the notes to seller... a phrase or something which I post both on my facebook page and make reference to in my shop announcements

[Former_Member]

Hi! Such info here!

I'm new, and I sell handmade cards for $3.50. I have been using free shipping to the US until I got my first orders and discovered that I make $.50 for all my efforts by the time I ship the card!

I spoke with the mail clerk, and it turns out that I was packing my cards too thickly (in between piece of cardboard on each side), which drives up the price. The package must be under 1/4" to ship cheaply. How would I send it under 1/4" and still keep it from being bent?

So, I took away the free shipping, and my sales stopped. :( Can you please visit my shoppe and offer some advice? Thank you so much!

<3,
Emily, CherishedHeartShoppe

[TwoTreesWorld]

I got a free shipping offer on for about week now and t has not brought me any extra sales. I promoted it through facebook, twitter and it's in my shop announcement. It did get retweeted.
But perhaps the visitors to my shop don't notice it well enough in the shop announcement, maybe it would be good if public offers could stand out more.

[Former_Member]

It did not work for me.

I had free shipping in my shop for the last two years and my sales dwindled down from month to month regardless of how much I was promoting my shop.

I am now charging for shipping again.

[Former_Member]

With our jewelry already at reasonable prices, we can't afford to offer free shipping to our customers. We do offer discounts occasionally but have considered offering special coupon codes for return customers. Maybe this holiday season we'll try that! Thanks for the reminder!

[Nightofjoyvintage]

I offer free shipping on everything for domestic orders and charge about half for international orders. It's worked well except on some items that went a bit over what I calculated and .....well, you know. The time I save on calculating is worth it at this point - which is primarily why I do it. .

I wish Etsy would have a shipping calculator like Ebay, so all we had to do was plug in the weight and pkg. dimensions and the customer could see what the cost would be and also choose a method. I have that on my website and it's soooo much easier! I will say that I've offered free shipping specials there and no takers.

[Former_Member]

For some, Yes.
10% off in my store is not much on patterns.
I don't charge shipping for patterns.
I do sell goods, but they are very practical and are priced well and very inexpensive..
The best I can do is adding the free item.
I typically do, buy 3 patterns and get the 4th free or something similar.