More than half of all items listed in any category or search result are marked as "Free shipping", but the vast majority of such items come with free LOCAL shipping only. Whether it is free for local or national shipping can be determined only by viewing the details of each item. This is highly inconvenient and time-consuming when a large number of the same item are offered at closely similar prices.
The shipping cost can make a significant difference in the overall cost, especially for inexpensive items. Take these examples -
Seller 1: Price 300/-, free local shipping, 65/- national shipping
Seller 2: Price 300/-, 20/- local shipping, 60/- national shipping
Seller 3: Price 325/-, free national shipping
Obviously No.3 is the cheapest option for a buyer outside the seller's city. But it is often a tedious job to find out which seller offers the best overall cost. Selecting "Price + Shipping lowest first" does not help as the sellers in the example will be listed in the order given above.
Here's one possible solution: When a registered member logs in, let the software detect the member's PIN code and store it with a cookie. Then arrange the listing priority according to the total cost including shipping for that member's location. Implementing this should not be difficult for a competent software professional. I'm sure eBay employs many such people.
