shipping charges for items sold on ebay

I know it is ridiculous.There have been things that I have wanted to bid on but the shipping is just crazy. I mean for the price I would have paid for the shipping alone in some cases I could have gone to the store and bought the item for less.

If you think the shipping charges are excessive(and you have to be sure they are) then you do have the option of reporting them to eBay. However, do bear in mind that it is perfectly reasonable and permissible on eBay to add on packaging and packing charges. I operate many selling ID's(several Powerseller ID's also) on eBay and ship several hundred items a week, and quite often get queries over shipping costs...the cheapest option is not always the best sometimes, depending on the item being sent...eg it could be excessively fragile and require specialist packaging etc. Of course there are also the unscrupilous sellers who sell items at unrealistic prices on Buy it Now and increase their shipping costs to cover the cost of the item... this is known as fee avoidance and is also a reportable offence...but then again if you want the item badly enough and don't read the sellers T&C's then you will get what you expect... eg. I've seen sellers selling USB cables for 1p on Buy it Now but charge shipping of £3.00...obviously fee avoidance.

You can report the listing to eBay if the shipping charges are excessive. However eBay does allow sellers to add on reasonable handling charges (packing and such). I agree with you here though, there are a lot of people selling stuff that are charging too much for shipping. I sell and buy on eBay myself and have reported several people for excessive shipping. Ebay will review the listing if you report it.