I don't think it's some diabolical anti-consumer ploy, but shipping is something that has economies of scale: one $100 order is cheaper to ship than four $25 orders.
Let's say I sell shirts for $5 and offer free shipping with a $25 minimum. The shirts would be $4 if I charged for shipping. Shipping 5 shirts will cost me $5 and shipping 40 shirts will cost me $10. If someone buys 5 shirts, $1/shirt goes to shipping and I get $20 after shipping - just like $4 shirts plus $5 shipping. If someone buys 20 shirts, $0.50/shirt goes to shipping - I'm making an additional $0.50/shirt because someone decided to make a larger order.
But this is why a lot of stores do coupons when you hit thresholds. Free shipping at $25, 10% off if you spend $100. That way if you spend $100, you're actually charged $90 and so you're only paying $4/shirt + $10 shipping.
> Tell me ONE price — inclusive of everything — up front
Do coupons that require you to hit a spending level fit into this metric? I think they do in a lot of ways. You see the price and if you just want the price you just get the price while large orders get the discount. But it can also be hard when you see a bulk discount and feel pressured to spend more.
There's also the problem of where things are being shipped from, they could in a warehouse down the road, or coming from the other side of the world. For something regular/you shop often at, entering your shipping address to have shipping costs appear as you shop might help, but if it's a one-off, or you're trying to price compare and you don't want to enter your details yet, then that's much harder.
Let's say I sell shirts for $5 and offer free shipping with a $25 minimum. The shirts would be $4 if I charged for shipping. Shipping 5 shirts will cost me $5 and shipping 40 shirts will cost me $10. If someone buys 5 shirts, $1/shirt goes to shipping and I get $20 after shipping - just like $4 shirts plus $5 shipping. If someone buys 20 shirts, $0.50/shirt goes to shipping - I'm making an additional $0.50/shirt because someone decided to make a larger order.
But this is why a lot of stores do coupons when you hit thresholds. Free shipping at $25, 10% off if you spend $100. That way if you spend $100, you're actually charged $90 and so you're only paying $4/shirt + $10 shipping.
> Tell me ONE price — inclusive of everything — up front
Do coupons that require you to hit a spending level fit into this metric? I think they do in a lot of ways. You see the price and if you just want the price you just get the price while large orders get the discount. But it can also be hard when you see a bulk discount and feel pressured to spend more.