Shipping is just part of the game, unfortunately.  No business is making money (or much) on shipping.  The post office charges the shipper (I may pay in the area of $100.00 to ship big saltwater rods across the U.S. or to Europe, not counting the pvc tube I build, another $27.50), and it costs money to buy shipping materials, and you also spend time packing.  Small items cost less in shipping, for the shipper and buyer, but the P.O. still gets a pretty nice share.  I generally either just break even or lose a little money on shipping, so there is absolutely nothing ridiculous about shipping.  It is a necessary evil for both the buyer and seller/shipper.  Packing and shipping are quite often a lot of unrecognized work.

Ray