Shipping costs $0.99 within the US... not very much at all. I can just get stuff shipped to a US address and not pay to have it forwarded if I time it correctly. I don't usually buy a lot from T&T, but I almost always also combine it with a few friends to split shipping. That way, even if it is the international shipping ($2.99), split 3 ways it's not very much at all (and yes, between 3 people you are likely to spend more than $25).

I'm also legally protected on T&T, unlike here where I rely on trusting other members. This community does a great job of screening and weeding, but that blind sense of trust still exists. If T&T doesn't deliver the cards, they have to refund me. There is no legal obligation to anyone here. In that sense, (and in my experience) most people sell cards here for a touch less than market value. This difference between the two could be seen as a "risk premium". If that didn't exist, people would just buy from online vendors.

Needless to say, if I want to use the lowest online prices in negotiations with someone, I am allowed to do so. Choice remains with the person whether they want to use it or not. I think we're getting pretty off topic here though, we should probably stop derailing this thread! Leads to some pretty unneccessary clutter. Any concerns over what I use to negotiate can be addressed via PM instead of someone else's thread!