Extravagant shipping charge

I suppose the cost/value issue must consider what the seller is recouping in the shipping charge.  If the seller boxed the item himself, the cost might include his labor (boxing audio equipment is quite time consuming if done correctly).  If the item is taken to a UPS or FedEx store, the charge for doing the boxing is extremely high.

A local dealer got a very big shipment of specialty drivers from Japan.  Including insurance, the cost of shipping exceeded $10,000.  Now THAT is a shipping charge.

I recently shipped a 50 lb tube amp from the east coast to the west coast.  I used Fed Ex and the cost was less than $50.

I have used Fed Ex for heavy items, and have found their shipping charges to be less than USPS and UPS.

I take extreme care to package well to ensure the item arrives in the condition in which it was shipped.

Whoever quoted $150 to ship a 55lb item is either 1) trying to markup the actual shipping cost to make more money from the deal -or- 2) quoting overnight or 2 day shipping; in which case $150 is about correct.

Selling stuff and then shipping it is a pain in the ass. I have sold some guitars/amps and bought some guitars and amps. Things that are packaged poorly have a greater chance of being damaged. I find the time to properly box and ship these items makes me not want to even sell things. Having the UPS store package items is expensive but also makes an insurance claims easier.

Why should anyone pay for the person selling the item for his time in packing up the item and driving to the FedEx or UPS store?   That is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.  That person must be a corporate executive whose time is very valuable, LOL.  If you are selling something, you should be charging exactly what it costs you to ship and not a penny more.  When I ship at the UPS store, I get a 10% AAA discount which I ALWAYS pass on to the customer. 

Not everyone knows how to ship or pack for that matter. There is part of our society that would pay someone else to do that for them, never think of doing it themselves and see no reason the buyer would have problem dealing that way. I have had dealings with similar people and they are not going to change their minds as it is the course of their everyday lives.

Just for fun, I took the OP's  20" x 20" x 15" - 60lb. box, shipped from Portland, OR to Northern Florida and ran it thru (3) shipping rate calculators: FedEx Home Delivery _retail - $107.44.  FedEx Home Delivery _ using my account - $75.79.  FedEx Home Delivery _ sold via eBay - $55.95 or 47% off of retail.

Ok, let's add $15.00 for (2) new boxes and $10.00 for packing material + any sales tax for your state.  So retail $107.44 + $25.00 = $132.44 + tax if charged. While there are always cheaper ways to do things, not everyone would want to spend time doing so.