Shall I Offer Free Shipping? What Resellers Must Know in 2026

As someone who shops online a lot, one of the things that reels me in is free shipping. That is, aside from the words sale and discount.  With 62% of online shoppers in 2025 who won’t buy anything unless shipping is free, I know the lure of free shipping isn’t just exclusive to me.

Free shipping has got buyers in a chokehold, so as a reseller, why not offer free shipping for all orders? Surely that will make you their preferred online reseller.

But offering free shipping, though it seems lucrative, isn’t always the best option for resellers looking to strengthen their customer base. This is especially true for resellers who list on multiple marketplaces. Some marketplaces don’t even have a free shipping option.

Let’s discuss free shipping in the context of resale and how to decide whether it’s free shipping for your buyers from now on or maybe some other time.

Shall I offer free shipping as a reseller?

Yes, but not all the time and not for all orders.

Offering free shipping is a good marketing strategy. When done right, it can make your online reselling business grow. But when done randomly and too often, it might eat up your profits in no time.

Let’s break free shipping from both the buyer's and reseller’s standpoint.

Who really pays for free shipping

Free shipping does not mean the same for a reseller and a buyer. From a buyer’s POV, free shipping means they don’t have to pay additional costs to ship the item to them.

From a reseller’s perspective, free shipping means at least one of these three things:

• The marketplace covers the shipping costs
• The seller shoulders the whole amount of shipping cost
• The seller and the marketplace both contribute to cover the shipping costs

It’s never truly free for the reseller: when the marketplace offers free shipping to the buyer, the costs are commonly embedded in the marketplace fees the seller is paying. It could be included in the listing fee, in the buyer protection fees, or in the commission the marketplace takes for each sold item. In some cases, the shipping fee is deducted from the marketplace earnings the seller has accumulated when they offer free shipping.

Where to offer free shipping

Not all marketplaces have flexible shipping options, but on the ones that fit the following characteristics, free shipping can help boost your sales.

Marketplaces with flexible shipping arrangements

Depop, eBay, and Mercari are among the platforms that give sellers different ways to handle shipping, including options where the buyer or seller pays the shipping costs.  Rather than limiting it to marketplace shipping only, these platforms allow sellers to cover the shipping costs under certain conditions.

Marketplaces with zero or low seller fees

These could be marketplaces that let you keep 100% of your selling price, ones that let you list unlimited items for free, or simply charge a lower fee than their counterparts. Lower platform costs allow the seller to factor shipping into the listing price comfortably. You must be able to offer free shipping without having a big chunk of the sale amount go toward marketplace fee.

Here’s a sample for a $30 Anne Klein sheath dress:

In this case, selling a dress on Marketplace A will leave you with an actual profit of $8.50 compared to Marketplace B with only $4.00. It’s wiser to sell on Marketplace A and offer free shipping.

Can I afford to offer free shipping for my buyers?

It depends largely on what you sell and whether you are truly able to afford to offer free shipping without losing money. Start with your profit margin before shipping costs. Seller-paid shipping cuts into your profit margins, as do applicable marketplace fees and other transaction costs.

You may also need to consider your individual listing instead of randomly offering free shipping for all orders. For example, an inexpensive item when shipped for free, can take up a large percentage of the sale. Whereas when selling a higher-priced item, shipping is only a small fraction of the item price. Lightweight items generally have lower shipping costs and are easier to absorb, whereas bulkier ones normally cost more to ship.

Also, take a good look at your competitors’ pricing. If offering free shipping will give you an advantage over a competitor, try it with a few items. Sometimes a little risk-taking can give you an edge over similar sellers.

The key to deciding is this: calculate your profits before trying to offer free shipping. If it takes away a big part of your earnings, skip it. If you still have a good amount left that covers the item price, marketplace fees plus profits, then free shipping is worth giving a try.

If free shipping isn't an option

You can still offer discounted shipping if a totally free shipping option isn't available on the marketplace you sell on. This way you and the buyer “share” with the total shipping costs. It’s also good to offer discounted shipping if the buyer purchases more than one item.

Free shipping, again, isn’t ideal for all orders all the time. Use it selectively for sales like Black Friday, holiday sales, or clearance sales. Cyber Monday is especially useful if you sell electronics, and buyers will appreciate free shipping during such time. Don't forget to offer it too during seasonal sales or when you've just come back from vacation mode.

The bottomline

Before offering free shipping, calculate your true profit per sale. This means subtracting your initial costs, cleaning and repair expenses and marketplace fees. Pricing should always include selling costs, not only the initial amount you paid for the item.