The Free Shipping Trap — Buying Unnecessary Things to Avoid a Small Fee

You need one item for twelve dollars, but shipping costs five. So you add twenty dollars of things you did not need to qualify for free shipping. You just spent twenty dollars to save five — and your brain still congratulates you on the deal. This is one of the most common tricks in online retail, and it works because the pain of paying for shipping feels disproportionately large.

Next time you are tempted, do the math out loud. Compare the shipping fee to the cost of the extra items. More often than not, paying for shipping is the cheaper and smarter choice. The best deal is not buying things you do not need.