On an as-is item you might not complain, but otherwise you could get caught in a trap, on returning an item, of getting the “price” refunded but not the shipping. Nobody, it seems, refunds shipping. But if the item was $1 and shipping $30 you are out of luck, probably even through your credit card company since you agreed to it.

I was amused to see one valid example of padded shipping the other day. During the Playstation 3 craze, I saw one listed for $600 (the list price) with $1000 shipping. In this case, it’s correct — what you’re paying for is the 3 days the guy spent in line to pick up the item for you.