Lord knows the amount of tape you (and I'll admit, me too) put on the things easily costs a buck by itself

Prices on stuff really needs to be looked at as "the total cost to my door" rather than the breakdown of the cost. People will use low prices and high shipping on eBay to avoid fees (something eBay seems to always be trying to crack down on), or they will include in the "shipping" fee other overhead costs of the sale, such as Paypal fees. Packaging methods vary and bubble envelopes are much more expensive than a plain old #10 envelope, especially if they're not buying bubble envelopes in quantity (have you ever priced a single bubble envelope? Dang they can be expensive if you buy them at the wrong place).

Hell, I can't move some stuff even with free shipping

Jim