I agree that if the charges are stated up front, you know the facts and should decide whether or not to bid in light of the facts. At the same time, I do think it is a shady business practice to charge more than postage plus the cost of the packaging materials and call it a "shipping" charge. If the seller is going to use a 44 cent stamp to send you your card, but charge you $5.00, he should call the remaining $4.56 a "labor charge," a "profit center," or a "gratuity." It's just not a shipping charge.
It's similar to the nonsense you hear on TV -- "we'll give you a second Shamwow for free, just pay processing and handling." It really should be rephrased as "just pay profit and costs."
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