It sounds as though people are making assumptions with the shipping cost. The most common being whack in box & pay for shipping from Point A to Point B.

There's the cost associated with maintaining a vehicle to transport the consignment to Point A (most commonly a Post Office). Borgeman touched on this. A 10km trip, at $0.76 per km, adds $7.60.

There's the high cost of running a contaminant-free room for packing the consignment. Decontamination chamber for removing contaminants from body, utensils & items to be shipped. Positive pressure flow, ULPA (Ultra Low Particulate Air) filter, temperature contol, lighting, contamination suit & respirator. Autoclave to sterilise equipment. Some people just don't realise (or appreciate) what is involved in the process. It magically arrives at Point B in an immaculate condition.