Splitcoaststampers.com - the world's #1 papercrafting community
You're currently viewing Splitcoaststampers as a GUEST. We pride ourselves on being great hosts, but guests have limited access to some of our incredible artwork, our lively forums and other super cool features of the site! You can join our incredible papercrafting community at NO COST. So what are you waiting for?
How much does free shippping, or free shipping with a minimum purchase suck you in? I cannot order anything from a company with that policy without making the minimum purchase.
How about a sale? I'm a sucker. I thought about it the other day. I was about to buy something I liked -- but wouldn't have bought if it wasn't on sale. I had over $50 in my shopping cart (on line) and thought. Wait. Why am I doing this? I was about to spend a bunch of money to save about $7!!
So, I wondered -- in this economy and with so many stamp companies advertising here and elsewhere (sorry Daven, there is an elsewhere...:rolleyes: ) I wondered how much free shipping and sales and coupons affect your buying habits.
__________________ Dear Paperlicious is my blog...with a series on how I'm learning to improve my cardmaking by studying others.
Last edited by Joan B; 05-02-2008 at 04:23 AM..
Reason: fix stupid typos...
I tend to *not want to spend* especially because if you put everything in your cart you SEE what a fortune you're wanting to spend. So I don't tend to buy but... if there's free shipping, the co. immediately grabs my attn. If there are items that I really want (like the CB Swiss Dots envy...), I would buy immed. and most probably add some things to my order because it's free shipping.
You're right about the slowing economy though..... I've noticed coupons are everywhere because my theory is that the retailers really want some business. I consider that to be a secret blessing (there are tons of 50% coupons given at A.C. Moore locally. I found that to be first exciting, shocking and then predictable due to the economy. Love it!)
I will add though, that I tend to not spend in general..... so free shipping is a total score for me!
Remember to take care of your family / bank acct. first in the *big picture!*
I just ordered a large amount (for me!) from Ellen Hutson's store because the CHF backgrounders were on sale for 10% off. I missed the New Year's Day sale at CHF - had my cart full and forgot to order before midnight! I waited all this time to get the discount. It was hard, but with the amount that I ordered, I figure that 1.5 backgrounders were free.
I won't place an order at PTI until I have enough to get free shipping, but that hasn't happened for several months - a shocking situation!
free shipping gets me every time. i get super PO'ed when people try to charge us more for being stationed overseas (walmart totally does this, and when i wrote them to ask why, they just kept giving me the runaround, and then they totally stopped answering my e:mails) amazon used to be big on the free shipping to APO's, now i've noticed that a lot of their things "can't be sent to apo addresses". (things that i've ordered in the past) i'm also a huge fan of people who give military discounts and good customer service *lol* and of course a sale is great too, but honestly, if the customer service is poor, then the sale just isn't worth it! my 2 cents.
__________________ mommy to 3 handsome boys and a beautiful little princess!! michael 11/8/96, samuel 10/25/01, brandon 6/16/05, and olivia 7/12/07 (-16)
Free shipping gets me every time. I HATE paying shipping for some reason. It makes me happy when I get it free!
I agree completely. I think it's because we wouldn't have to pay shipping if we could walk into the store and buy it. That's what always kills me. Should I buy it or find something else local?
When I do place an order on the internet, I make it worth it. I will order an amount so that I can qualify for free shipping if it's offered.
If I want items and a business doesn't offer free shipping, I will still order anyway. Reason?.........I want the items. But I will order enough so that I am getting the maximum I can for the amount of shipping I am paying.
I would never place an order for just one or two items. I have particular places I place orders through frequently even though their shipping is high. The reason being......I really like the quality of their merchandise and I get very good customer service.
Sometimes Customer Service treatment overrides high shipping when I place an order. I want to know I can conveniently contact the company if I have a problem.
I also try not to place orders with businesses that don't have a telephone number so I can reach a live person if need be. Yes, I know I have placed with a few that have no phone listing, but that was an oversite on my part that I didn't check that first. I prefer to place my order over the phone anyway.
Bottom line though.....I try to purchase locally before going on the internet. That just makes more sense to me. Support local businesses even if their price may be a tad higher.
There is an online company here in the UK that charges a standard shipping fee of �3.95 (roughly eight $). I do love their stuff but don't order often. When I do order I make it a substantial one to make the most of the shipping.
But joy of joys - today I get an email saying they are offering free shipping this weekend - and that is enough for me to go and start filling a cart!
As there are no places to shop in our town except WM, the free shipping with like prices (like the LSS, JoAnn's, Michael's) make it way easier for to shop on line.
It may even help me with my spending because you see how much you have before you get to the check out! LOL
__________________ Karen
...My life is like a stroll on the beach...As near to the edge as I can go...Thoreau...
What gets me to buy? Someone who has what I want! Then I compare total price - of the item plus shipping - and see if there's more I "need" from them (up to the point where the next higher shipping price is charged)
What gets me the most is a "free set with" purchase...like Gina K's free with 3 always gets me...but I make sure to spend enough to do the free shipping too...so that set that I liked but wasn't going to get ends up in my cart so I can get the free set and free shipping.
__________________ Cory Creativity is intelligence having fun. - Albert Einstein Gallery S2S: -$16.05 (yikes) 2013 Card Goal:5/100
Free shipping (or very LOW shipping ie. All that Scraps) is always going to suck me in. Especially if I can get the items in town. I figure, not only am I saving the gas to get there, but I'm also saving the on tax too!
I don't go for the "buy X get 1 Free" or the "Spend X amount and get Free Shipping" (Unless the X amount is fairly low CHF used to be $25 and I could do that, but now it's $35 and I find it harder to shell out that just to save a few $$). I'm on a VERY limited budget, so I have to be very careful where I spend my money.
Location: The weeds are popping up, and I'm having asthma issues
Posts: 6,312
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Free shipping gets me too! If I'm buying out of state, I'm saving sales tax and shipping and the product comes right to my door! That's the best of everything as far as I'm concerned.
Location: The weeds are popping up, and I'm having asthma issues
Posts: 6,312
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just wanted to add - free shipping at Joann isn't enough for me becuase a) their site sucks (can I say that?) b) I sitll have to pay sales tax and c) they are close by and I can go use my 40% off coupon.
I have to love the product first - normally a sale will suck me into creating a cart... however, I have been known to miss sale deadlines because of life... I have also been known to add something to my cart to get the free shipping... if I can't use it I will find someone that can :lol:
Good products that I need (oh ok WANT) at a reasonable price...
While I love me some free shipping...most of the places have free shipping set at $40 or $50 and if you spend under that amount a lot of places have a minium charge of $7 or 8 - most of the time I am not going to spend that much money to get free shipping so I opt out of even purchasing from them or I wait and I wait.
I love All that scraps and usually buy from there once or twice a month because of the low free shipping and the fact they carry a wide assortment so I can usually find everything I want from one spot...I'll still continue to buy from there now that the free shipping minimum has gone up - I'll just wait a little longer between purchases.
__________________ Jenni -Happy SU Demo - MY GALLERY & MY CHAOTIC LIFE One kid makes you a Parent - Two makes you a Referee
Generally speaking, I don't order JUST because of the free shipping. But...if I am wanting to order $25 of product and the shipping is say $7 or free for orders over $35...then I will buy another $10. That way that $10 item only cost $3 since I was going to be spending $7 on shipping anyway. Does that make sense at all? It is just my little way of rationalizing my purchases. Do I have some kind of psychological problem or what!
Sales don't normally get to me though. Unless it is on something that I already have on my wish list and I'm just waiting on a sale. I'm always getting e-mails from sites offering sales or even shipping reductions. I don't even click unless I already know of something I need. That helps me avoid being sucked into a purchases!
But, the biggest thing that causes me to spend is hearing about some great new product on SCS! Then I just have to have it RIGHT NOW!!
Free shipping is usually the only incentive to buy on line and then it has to be something that is either on sale or that I can't get locally. Sales have to be at least 50% off to lure in me.
Free shipping doesn't usually persuade me to make a purchase; however when I am buying something and I go to complete the checkout process if shipping is outrageous I will not complete the order.
One time I was ordering white gel pens (I can't remember from where) and shipping was like $12 for 6 gel pens and I closed that window in a hurry and I just bought one at my local craft store.
Free shipping and no sales tax are both great enticements, but I have to want something - I will not order something I'm just so-so about just because it's free shipping.
Reasonable or free shipping to Canada makes me shop and shop often!! Thanks to the Member Companies who are so good to us Canadians!! (you know who you are!!)
I also got sucked with free shipping. I live in Hawaii so when purchasing online or over the phone, I make sure that its a free shipping and that it includes Hawaii. Sometimes they advertise free shipping except Hawaii, Alaska, etc - so I watch out for those too. Sometimes I email the company first to make sure that the free shipping applies to Hawaii too.
When I bought my ATG gun, boy, I was shocked at how much was my shipping cost. It's cost as much as the ATG gun! but I bought it anyway. And then a couple months ago, I found out that our local school/office supply store have them.
__________________ Fida Da Gallery No kids, no pets but plenty rubber stamps!!!
How much does free shippping, or free shipping with a minimum purchase suck you in? I cannot order anything from a company with that policy without making the minimum purchase.
How about a sale? I'm a sucker. I thought about it the other day. I was about to buy something I liked -- but wouldn't have bought if it wasn't on sale. I had over $50 in my shopping cart (on line) and thought. Wait. Why am I doing this? I was about to spend a bunch of money to save about $7!!
So, I wondered -- in this economy and with so many stamp companies advertising here and elsewhere (sorry Daven, there is an elsewhere...:rolleyes: ) I wondered how much free shipping and sales and coupons affect your buying habits.
I have a budget I need to be mindful of--especially with a kid heading off to college next fall. I do (have for a while now) tend to be very selective about my purchases . . .
While I love a bargain as much as the next, what genuinely influences my purchases have nothing to do with sales/discounts/free shipping, etc. but, have to do with how much I really like/want a particular product and know that I'll get good use out of it, the quality, the customer service; I don't mind paying full MSRP + shipping for that.
__________________ Julie Ebersole (JulieHRR once upon a time . . . )julieebersole.com"So shines a good deed in a weary world." -Willy Wonka
When I think I need to buy something - either because it's on sale or free shipping - I usually put it in my cart and leave it for a day or two. Sometimes I find that I don't really need/want it anyway. If the lure is free shipping, I try real hard to only buy what puts me just over the limit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But both a sale and free shipping always make me look.
__________________ Mary Ann GALLERY Fan Club member since 4/08
I just ordered a large amount (for me!) from Ellen Hutson's store because the CHF backgrounders were on sale for 10% off. I missed the New Year's Day sale at CHF - had my cart full and forgot to order before midnight! I waited all this time to get the discount. It was hard, but with the amount that I ordered, I figure that 1.5 backgrounders were free.
I won't place an order at PTI until I have enough to get free shipping, but that hasn't happened for several months - a shocking situation!
Jutta
Did I miss the sale on CHF backgrounders? I've been looking for those but shipping is $18 for 6 backgrounders from CHF that I want, and I can't justify that. If they had free shipping I'd be buying... like RIGHT now.
I'm a sucker for Free Shipping or low minimum purchase for free shipping. I hate buying $40/$50 worth of stuff that I don't really need just to get free shipping.
The other day I was on a website (I won't say which one) and was buying and having a great time. I just had some paper, a few embellishment's and when it took me to the shipping they wanted to charge me $10.00 for s/h. I cancelled my order. There is no way I am spending that much to ship some paper, I'm talking about 10 sheets of patterned paper (lightweight). No way did it weigh enough to charge that amount.
I love free shipping. I checked out the new stamp company but the shipping for one set would be $8 so I canceled. I was going to get two but that would be $11. I'll wait. I'll see what others have to say about the stamps and service before spending that much on shipping
While free shipping is not a prerequisite for purchasing something, it certainly helps, especially living in Malaysia where supplies are very very limited and very very expensive. A lot of internet companies don't ship outside the US, so I have to send to my brother and then he ships to me, so if I can avoid double shipping I will.
Free shipping, Sale, What Gets You to Buy?
