Free Shipping

According to the new CEO of ETSY, the number two reason people don’t buy an item on the internet is the cost of shipping.  He also said everybody knows that there is no such thing as free shipping.  He wants ETSY sellers to offer free shipping.  He did not offer us anything in return, like negotiated rates for sellers that offer free shipping or discounted fees. The cynic in me first focuses on the benefit to ETSY; more sales, more traffic, increased revenue with no out of pocket expense.

On the practical side, when I shop on Amazon, I almost never buy from a merchant that does not offer free shipping.  I know that the merchant is absorbing the cost but I don’t care.  Hmm.  I also know that the merchant has probably inflated the price of the item to some degree to help offset the cost of free shipping but I don’t care.  I’m only concerned about the total price to me, delivered.  I also want it fast.

This is a conundrum.

After the initial anger passed at the way the message was delivered and the lack of any real initiative by ETSY to make this a win-win, the realization struck me that this was good information for me to know and that I should probably take action.

I will take a few days to process, weigh the pros and cons then try to make some lemonade from these lemons.

I liked the old ETSY.  I’m stuck with the new ETSY until something else better comes along and it will.