In principal I have to agree that in view of the fact that the cost of the chip is $1.00 that the shipping charges are exhorbitant.

On the same token, if you were to view it from a business perspective,... time is money.
In my business, I from time to time have to pack up stuff and run it over to UPS or the post office. If I could get someone to do it for me for $2-3 I would be more than happy.

Personally I would prefer auctions where the shipping is already built into the minimum price.
This puts me in the immediate position to decide if I may want to bid that item or not.

I would like to see E-bay adopt a policy where shipping charges are clearly displayed next to the selling price.