Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Anonymous
Not applicable

I'm going to try the free shipping idea that a few i have read are doing well with.

I have question theres a free shipping button for cdn but if i want to ship to the us there is no button.

Do i leave it flat rate and put a few dollars in there ?

I notice that when i see free shipping in the states it always calculates a shipping cost for me ,but i dont like the calculator.

Never works and I like the price up front.

what happens if you leave the flat rate for the US at 0 ?

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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Hi Barnfind!

 

If you are listing on .CA, then free shipping button will show only for the "Domestic" ie Canadian amount and not any of the others.

 

For US and any other countries you want to have free shipping for below the domestic one, you just have to put zero in. It will show as free shipping after it is listed. 

 

As far as I know it only shows the free shipping button for the domestic shipping.

 

(For folks like Mr E and me, since we list on .COM, the USA (domestic) one shows free shipping and we have to put ZERO in the Canadian and any others we want to show as free shipping).

 

The good news is that if you have free shipping domestically, you don't pay and fees on ANY shipping, even if you happen to charge overseas folks shipping. As long as the domestic is free shipping, you don't pay any fees on any other shipping that happens to get charged if the buyer is not "domestic".

 

 

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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

I list on com. I use shipping from outside the US. I put "0" in the US shipping charge and theer is a box next to that to tick that states free shipping. Why $0 isn't free shipping, I have no idea. Make ssure there is nothing ticked or entered in anything for calculated shipping.

 

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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Anonymous
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Do you list .CA  as well? or just .COM What happens to the free shipping for canada on .com

Message 3 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Hi Barnfind!

 

If you are listing on .CA, then free shipping button will show only for the "Domestic" ie Canadian amount and not any of the others.

 

For US and any other countries you want to have free shipping for below the domestic one, you just have to put zero in. It will show as free shipping after it is listed. 

 

As far as I know it only shows the free shipping button for the domestic shipping.

 

(For folks like Mr E and me, since we list on .COM, the USA (domestic) one shows free shipping and we have to put ZERO in the Canadian and any others we want to show as free shipping).

 

The good news is that if you have free shipping domestically, you don't pay and fees on ANY shipping, even if you happen to charge overseas folks shipping. As long as the domestic is free shipping, you don't pay any fees on any other shipping that happens to get charged if the buyer is not "domestic".

 

 

Message 4 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Anonymous
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whats the advantage to posting .com rather then .ca

Message 5 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Hi again!

 

Well, I've always been on .COM since 1999 (ie before there even was a .CA)

 

I am aiming for US customers, and as a result I list in their site and their local currency. (I do the same for other non-eBay sites I use outside North America, for example I list in Europe in Euros etc).

 

The advantages to me:

-I target US buyers

-whilst our dollar is low, for Canadian buyers it helps offset the taxes which my canadian customers (stamp collectors) usually expect me to pay for them (I think that is part of the reason I'm still selling to Canadians because they know they've got up to 15% discount just because of the taxes free aspect)

-when I put in free shipping to the USA, normally Canadian shipping is a bit lower so it also helps offset taxes etc and the additional international shipping I have to add is lower too, perhaps giving me an advantage to international customers

-I have certain price points I want like 14.99 US$  If I list in $C today it is $14.99 US tomorrow it is $15.05 US, the next day $14.96 US because the Canadian dollar fluctuates which isn't what I want.

 

There will be as many reasons why people do/don't think listing on .COM is better, you'll probably hear from them after I post this.

 

The short version is that I think it works for me..... that may not be true for you or others depending on what your goals are.....

 

 

Message 6 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Some of us list on dotCA because we are in the 'media' categories, where dotCOM will not allow us to charge more than $4.00 for shipping, no matter how heavy or bulky our items might be.

With dotCA we can use Calculated shipping/Canada Post when necessary (as can our US competitors on dotCOM, using USPS).

 

With the drop in the loonie, I've been using Free Shipping to Canada and the USA more and more, and I'm beginning to think that listing on dotCOM with Free Shipping might be worth trying.

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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?


@Anonymous wrote:

I'm going to try the free shipping idea that a few i have read are doing well with.

I have question theres a free shipping button for cdn but if i want to ship to the us there is no button.

Do i leave it flat rate and put a few dollars in there ?

I notice that when i see free shipping in the states it always calculates a shipping cost for me ,but i dont like the calculator.

Never works and I like the price up front.

what happens if you leave the flat rate for the US at 0 ?


I'll be interested to see how you fare.

 

Looking at your listings, I can see that the type of items you sell are in many cases quite similar to the "boutique" style items that I sell. I have tried the "Free Shiiping" option numerous times and it has never been of any success. My experience has been that when a customer looks at say a collectible mug that sells for $25 plus $14.95 shipping and is listed at $39.95 with Free Shipping they're brain registers that you are tryng to get $40 for the mug which is then way too expensive.

 

The Free Shipping, which of course is not free at all being just a case of rolling the shipping price into the item sale price, may work for some types of items but it definitely does not work for all.

 

Cheers,

 

thD

Message 8 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Hi Treasure!

 

I do think that experiments are sometimes warranted.....

 

Whilst I expect many people believe us "stamp guys" have it easy because our stuff is small, that isn't always the case. I myself sell boxlots up to bankers boxes size lots.

 

In the olden days, for my heavier lots, I usually priced the lot as non-free shipping because the shipping was significant as compared to the value of the items themselves. However I did an experiment where I also listed some with the shipping included and very much to my surprise the free shipping lots sold at least as fast as the non-free shipping if not faster!

 

Just a day or so ago I sold a heavier lot with free shipping for about $44. If I were to list it non-free shipping the item value is about $30 and the shipping is about $14. Anyone who does any comparison on the "item price only" would see that lot as way too expensive, ie others are selling it for $30 (but shipping is added afterward). The buyer is not new, over 2000 feedbacks so I'm sure they have the wherewithal to see that my price is competitive or even better when both the price and shipping costs are included.

 

My own belief is that the free shipping aspect much increases the visibility given to the item by the all mighty cassini.

 

Anyway, I see barnfinds is experimenting with free shipping on items, and I suggest continuing that to see what things it does/n't work for.... as you mention, it doesn't work for everything......

Message 9 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?


@femmefan1946 wrote:

Some of us list on dotCA because we are in the 'media' categories, where dotCOM will not allow us to charge more than $4.00 for shipping, no matter how heavy or bulky our items might be.

With dotCA we can use Calculated shipping/Canada Post when necessary (as can our US competitors on dotCOM, using USPS).

 


There are some additional reasons to list on .ca: 

 

1)  Ability to choose whether to list in $US or $Cdn (I don't know for sure, but imagine this isn't available on .com)

 

2)  If you sell a lot to the U.S. or internationally, listing on .ca gives the seller the whole range of Canada Post services to display, shows Canada Post services as such in the shipping information.  It also allows buyers to see the flow-through on the tracked services as specifically from Canada, i.e. a reminder that they aren't buying domestically, even though we speak the same language). 

 

3)  Use of eBay.cafr (if you're comfortable in French and want those subtitles). 

 

4)  Policies and features that differ on .ca (when the features work, LOL).  

 

5)  If the majority of your buyers are not Canadian, if you list on .ca you can afford to offer free shipping domestically on just about everything and save on FVFs on all U.S. and international sales.  If you mainly sell to the U.S., then listing on .com and offering free "domestic" shipping may pose a bit of a dilemma, since your "domestic" shipping there will be the (Canada Post) rates of shipping to the U.S., which may be higher in some cases than "domestic" shipping on .ca would have been -- especially if a lot of your items can go by letter mail or oversize letter mail within Canada. 

 

There are probably others that I can't think of at the moment, but I agree with 'ricarmic' that the choice ultimately may be made clear through experimenting to see what works best for a particular seller and particular categories.  Those who sell primarily to the U.S. may benefit from listing on .com in $US.  

 

I've always listed on .ca, initially in $Cdn, then later in $US, since the majority of my customers are in the U.S.  However, I've been toying with the idea of listing on .com exclusively.  The main reason is the infamous "U.S. cart disconnect".  

 

That one factor, in my opinion, is currently the biggest detriment in listing on .ca, and may outweigh all the advantages.  It's a stupid, sorry situation that we apparently have a fully functioning cart on .ca that nobody on .com can use, but apparently it won't be resolved anytime soon.  To me it begs the question of why we have a .ca at all. 

 

Interestingly, as discussed recently many times over, the eBay.ca staffer's best advice for Canadian sellers to avoid the "cart disconnect" was to list all items on eBay.com.  A couple of weeks later he was telling us that eBay's data now shows that listing in $Cdn will be either advantageous or neutral for all Canadian sellers.  The following week he qualified even that statement to say that not every Canadian seller would see this effect.  So I wonder, which is it?  This sort of blanket statement, without access to the data behind it, is useless, and in my estimation can be harmful if sellers take it at face value without testing it for their particular situation. 

 

I think, as usual, we Canadian sellers are on our own and must figure out for ourselves, through experimenting, the best and most advantageous mode of operating.  As the French phrase goes: "Sauve qui peut!"  (i.e. every man/woman for himself). 

Message 10 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Anonymous
Not applicable

I tried posting on .com this morning and i got worried if i was doing it right.

I put free shipping for the us and chose Canada as my international ship to and put 0 in the amount for shipping.

when i checked my listings without signing in it says free international shipping.

How do i make sure only the us and Canada are getting this rate?

I would hate to get a turkey purchase expecting free shipping

Message 11 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Your free shipping listing Ottawa pin has been made avaialbel to USA and Canada only.  You need to add antoerh international option with shipping to the countries you want

Message 12 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

If you go into the listing, click on the shipping tab, change the shipping location and click' get rates'. That will show you how much a buyer in that country will pay for shipping.

Message 13 of 15
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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM 2015

The problem with zombie threads is that the information and advice may be out of date and incorrect.

For example in this thread there is mention that there is a restriction on the amount sellers can charge for shipping which has not been true for years.

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Free shipping option for canadian but not for US how do i offer free shipping to the US?

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue discussing this topic.

Thanks for your understanding!

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