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on a tangential note about free shipping, aside from this China mystery, there is no such thing as free shipping. free shipping is a marketing ploy which makes
by dsugarman 11y ago
on a tangential note about free shipping, aside from this China mystery, there is no such thing as free shipping. free shipping is a marketing ploy which makes you feel like you are getting some value where you actually lose it. when you add the shipping component of an online purchase into the item price, it removes the ability for you to save when you purchase multiple items. each one is priced as if it were being shipped on it's own.
- kwhitefoot 11y agoYes and it works well because it means that I can more easily see what I will be paying for the goods. As far as I am concerned the price of the goods is the cost to me of getting it to me, I'm not interested in who gets what slice of the pie. As for multiple items, the same applies, I am only interested in the total cost to me, the supplier and the computer should do the arithmetic for me. This is essentially the same argument as the stupid business of quoting ex-tax prices in shops; I'm glad this no longer happens in European shops and online stores, it annoys me every time I go into a dollar store in the US and hand over a dollar bill only to be asked for another seven cents or whatever it happens to be in that state.
- gohrt 11y agoThat's a very narrow view. Each item is priced as part of the overall cost of shipping, and supply+demand factors. Amazon knows the average bundle size.
- ben174 11y agoIn that same respect, you're paying for that same shipping when you buy from a brick and mortar store. Whatever overhead it cost to get the item from point A to point B, you'll end up paying for somehow.