Online shopping is becoming a much-loved alternative of those who cannot stretch out their time to go to the mall and shop. Wikipedia.com defines online shopping as “a form of electronic commerce whereby consumers directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet without an intermediary service.” So, whether you are in the office or at school or stuck in traffic, you can shop online as long as you have an Internet connection either on a laptop computer or a Smartphone and a credit/debit card or access to electronic money systems such as PayPal and other flexible financing programs such as postal money order, wire transfer and cash on deliver services. Advanced technology has allowed a great deal of capabilities and opportunities to improve our lifestyle and online shopping is one of them.
The Forrester Research, an independent technology and market research company, as reported that “US online retail reached $175 billion in 2007 and is projected to grow to $335 billion by 2012” in its US ecommerce forecast from 2008 to 2012. Meanwhile, in the news section of www.ecommerce-guide.com, a report says that “J.P. Morgan anticipates that global ecommerce revenue will hit a whopping $963 billion by 2013.” These statements obliquely affirm the continuous development of ecommerce in the coming years.
In the global online marketplace, eBay remains the largest ecommerce company with more than a hundred million shoppers and $68.6 billion goods sold in 2011. Having been an active eBay shopper as well, I attest the convenience eBay provides for online shoppers. The transaction process is simple, but there is one shipping method that most shoppers are quite confused about. That is how do you combine shipping on eBay.
Combined shipping simply means purchasing more than one item from a single seller for a potential discount of shipping rates since buyers are normally in charge of the shipping cost on eBay. This is one online shopping tactic that shoppers do to save money. For example, you won the auction for items A and B. Item A has a shipping cost of $12 while item B costs $13 so that is a total of $25 for 2 items. This is not yet discounted. Each seller has his own formula in solving the combined rates so they vary. Sellers normally adjust the shipping cost of either of the two items to balance the desire amount. So in our example, if the seller wants to give a $5 discount to the winning bidder, he can retain item A at $12 but change and declare item B at $8 so the final invoice from eBay will be $15 and that is the combined shipping cost for 2 items. Not all sellers have the same combined shipping policies so make sure to verify that first if you are a buyer. As for the sellers, make your billing and payment method clear and easy to understand to avoid dismay and negative feedback.