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How does that change by having the bot add items to the cart? You haven't solved anything You are still left with the same scenario as if the store listed the

How does that change by having the bot add items to the cart? You haven't solved anything You are still left with the same scenario as if the store listed the individual shipping price on the front page Google isn't going to know what other items you _might_ add to show you a "real" shipping cost

saltedonion 6y ago
It matter because if you purchase multiple things your average shipping cost per item changes. If you only calculate shipping based on first item shipping cost it will be inaccurate.
- mdoms 6y ago
  But Google is only showing a result for a single item.
Xelbair 6y ago
And what's even more interesting - human would do exactly the same thing. Add items to card, check the total price and then decide whether to buy it(i remember trying to order some stuff form one japanese plamo store - and it didn't provide exact prices before checkout. I went through the process, but even the cheapest option for delivery was way too high - as 2x price of the whole order)
- LorenPechtel 6y ago
  I've had that sort of experience with a Japanese store once--the prices were good but the shipping (the only thing they offered was international FedEx) killed it. The US is just as bad--we don't have slow international options.
hrktb 6y ago
I’d assume parent’s point is regarding the “which is ridiculous because e-commerce storefronts should do that in the first place without going through the whole checkout process.” part. There’s a lot of legitimate case were showing shipping price upfront is just not doable or valuable to the customer. BTW there are a surprising amount of shops for specialized goods that won’t even list the final price at the end. The customer places an order, and they update it with a finalized price after a human looks at the content, and from there the customer is free to pay the transaction or give up the order.
- zoomablemind 6y ago
  Even the Y2K-style ecommerce stores usually had a separate S&H section for some guidance. These days the H part (handling) seems less in vogue (perhaps still common on ebay), while S part is pretty predictable if not free. It's the T (taxes) part that may be still a tipping point these days, but it's just between vendor and your state,
  - hrktb 6y ago
    We are in agreement that there needs to be explanation on what's going on, and not just "we'll set some price yon won't know why". In my experience, the most fluctuations were on international shipping by small vendors. Lego bricks for instance, where it makes a big difference if you request 5 small pieces that weight 20g total and can wait 3 months, or if it's 500+g in a middle sized box and you want it in 2 days. Even with average indication on what to expect, depending on the combination you are requesting the vendor might use a different carrier, different shipping method and so on. They could make it more simple with a range of arbitrary standard fees, but then it costs a lot more to the customer, putting the vendor at a disadvantage price wise. In particular people have visceral reactions to overly high shipping prices.
ehnto 6y ago
No one said the bot is getting good data. I assume it's trying to get the best possible outcome by adding to the cart, but I doubt it's getting the real final price for many merchants even by doing that.

saltedonion 6y ago

It matter because if you purchase multiple things your average shipping cost per item changes. If you only calculate shipping based on first item shipping cost it will be inaccurate.

mdoms 6y ago
But Google is only showing a result for a single item.

Xelbair 6y ago

And what's even more interesting - human would do exactly the same thing. Add items to card, check the total price and then decide whether to buy it(i remember trying to order some stuff form one japanese plamo store - and it didn't provide exact prices before checkout. I went through the process, but even the cheapest option for delivery was way too high - as 2x price of the whole order)

LorenPechtel 6y ago
I've had that sort of experience with a Japanese store once--the prices were good but the shipping (the only thing they offered was international FedEx) killed it. The US is just as bad--we don't have slow international options.

hrktb 6y ago

I’d assume parent’s point is regarding the “which is ridiculous because e-commerce storefronts should do that in the first place without going through the whole checkout process.” part. There’s a lot of legitimate case were showing shipping price upfront is just not doable or valuable to the customer. BTW there are a surprising amount of shops for specialized goods that won’t even list the final price at the end. The customer places an order, and they update it with a finalized price after a human looks at the content, and from there the customer is free to pay the transaction or give up the order.

zoomablemind 6y ago
Even the Y2K-style ecommerce stores usually had a separate S&H section for some guidance. These days the H part (handling) seems less in vogue (perhaps still common on ebay), while S part is pretty predictable if not free. It's the T (taxes) part that may be still a tipping point these days, but it's just between vendor and your state,
- hrktb 6y ago
  We are in agreement that there needs to be explanation on what's going on, and not just "we'll set some price yon won't know why". In my experience, the most fluctuations were on international shipping by small vendors. Lego bricks for instance, where it makes a big difference if you request 5 small pieces that weight 20g total and can wait 3 months, or if it's 500+g in a middle sized box and you want it in 2 days. Even with average indication on what to expect, depending on the combination you are requesting the vendor might use a different carrier, different shipping method and so on. They could make it more simple with a range of arbitrary standard fees, but then it costs a lot more to the customer, putting the vendor at a disadvantage price wise. In particular people have visceral reactions to overly high shipping prices.

ehnto 6y ago

No one said the bot is getting good data. I assume it's trying to get the best possible outcome by adding to the cart, but I doubt it's getting the real final price for many merchants even by doing that.