Almost half of all online orders now include free shipping....

Almost half of all online orders now include free shipping....

Posted: 18 May 2011 02:23 AM PDT

I was trolling on my wonderfully diverse blog list and came across this post's title here.

Free shipping isn't free.  When I order stuff from Overstock and they only charge me $1 shipping for a huge box of stuff, it isn't because that is how much it really costs to ship me my stuff.  The price is built into the charge of the items I order.  Well, duh!!  I'm a college educated professional....of course I know that....

And yet, free shipping gets me all the time.  I buy 2 extra books on Amazon to reach the $25 minimum so I can get free shipping instead of buying the book I logged on for, paying for shipping, and getting off the site for less than $25.

That's why sellers offer free shipping -- it gets us to commit. Head games have that much of an effect on us.  And the really interesting part is -- we know it's a gimmick while we're getting sucked into it....yet we still succumb.

So why are we so hesitant to put this great tool to use with our weight management?  Why do we hesitate in putting away our large plates (or smashing them all to bits -- there's some commitment to the eating less lifestyle), buying smaller forks, breaking out the espresso cups for our nightly ice cream? Why do we think that is a cop out or a short term solution? ( Maybe it's not an adult solution???  Maybe if we just had more self-control that would be a more adult solution?) .......

I don't think so.  I think the best approach is one that works. We have these built in psychological oddities, I'm not sure why -- but I haven't met anyone without them yet.  Why not put them to good use for yourself and not just for the retailers who are trying to sell you more stuff that you don't really need??