You’ve probably experienced this. Your online shopping cart totals $49, and you need to purchase $50 in goods to get to that state of free-shipping bliss.

So add a low-ticket item to the cart and you’ve got two-day shipping free of charge.

But that free shipping isn’t so free — and the online retailers that offer it are playing marketing games to get us to spend more. These free shipping practices are having a deleterious effect on smaller retail sites and independent artisans selling products on the internet. 

That’s what Amanda Mull has written about in the Atlantic. Her story “Stop Believing in Free Shipping” reports on the impact on smaller businesses and the consumer.