In response to: >Without disputing the $2 (which is still excessive in my opinion) I asked about why is he then charging $3 and make a $1 extra profit on the shipping?

What??? So he should be selling you the chip on ebay at $3 or less just to kindly help you build your collection and to share chips with the world? That is rediculous IMO. It is a waste of time and money to sell for 1 or 2 dollars over face on ebay (selling through the chip board is a different story, no overhead).

Why not try to make a profit on a sale? This IS still America right? That is what this country is all about baby! Who can make a bigger profit faster, that's the American way.

Don't forget that the seller pays the listing fees even when the auction does not sell, which I personally find rediculous. It would bring in exponentially more sellers to the market if losing auctions were free or at least reduced. How do you regain the lost money spent on a lost auction for a chip? Try to sell the chip for more next time. I can assure you, after having about as many unsold auctions as sold ones, the fees on unsold auctions eat up the minimal profit from the sold ones instantly!

let's say you try to sell a $1 chip for a reasonable price, say $1.25 plus $1 shipping, is that low enough? So your income with one bid is going to be $2.25. Your listing fee was $.35, your gallery fee (to have your picture show up in the auction list) was $.25, listing designer (to dress up the auction) is $.10, the final value fee was (I don't know the exact percentage) approx. $.20, the paypal fee was (another estimate) approx. $.20, your bubble mailer was $.20, your bare minimum 1st class postage was $.49, not to mention the $1 you spent on the chip! So your total cost so far was approx. $2.79 subtract that from the income of $2.25 and you can see now that you have lost $.54 before factoring in the $35 printing cartrige you just bought for your printer, and the $25 gas you just filled up your SUV with, and the money on the tape, paper, etc... and the hour you spent scanning, listing, emailing, driving, packaging, this 1 little chip. So how can you possibly say it is "excessive" for them to charge $5 for a $1 chip? It is excessive, I agree, to pay $5 for something that says $1 on it. However, you must keep in mind, when you bid on an ebay item, you are not bidding on that item alone, but on everything I just listed above. It is a package deal. So, how much are you willing to pay for a chip and to have that chip auctioned on a flashy & convenient auction site like ebay, and packaged and delivered, buyer & seller protection programs, ID verification abilities, printable paypal invoices (my favorite) and all the steps along the way that make that auction happen, etc... My point is don't blame the cost on the seller, blame it on the provider of that auction (ebay). Better yet, don't blame it on anyone, I think ebay is an incredibly powerful meeting place of buyer and seller that is worth the price. If you want a better deal, work out a deal with people directly through the chip board or anywhere outside of a fee-based listing service. Remember, you get what you pay for.