...another story. This means that most all eBay auctions do charge some sort of s&h.

You can scan through the eBay auctions now and see auctions for the same item, such as poker chip sets or some other commodity, with varying s&h prices? Does this mean that the sellers want to B.O.H.I.C.A. the bidders? Probably not.

You’re also bound to see several so called “penny auctions”. These are the ones with a $.01 starting bid price but a hefty s&h fee. Does this mean that the sellers want to B.O.H.I.C.A. the bidders? Maybe so, but if the bid price + the s&h fee is too high no one will bid on these auctions anyway. The same goes for the “free shipping” auctions with the high starting bid prices. Again, people who read the auctions will not bid.

I guess the beauty of eBay is that bidders know what they’re bidding on beforehand and the "invisible hand" of the market will dictate the price. Like they say, something’s only worth what someone’s willing to pay for it. Simple supply and demand.