[gnopgnip]

On the order of $10k to ship a 40,000lb, 40ft shipping container from China to LA without insurance now, prices have increased a lot recently. So the per item cost into the US is around $16 on the low end for this anvil. But then there are other costs associated with shipping something to the amazon warehouse once the container gets to the US, and amazon will either charge a fee or require the seller to split the shipment to different states. It costs about $2-$3 a mile to ship a container across the US by truck or train, and less than truckload shipments are generally more expensive per item. And they need to pay someone, or pay amazon to put labels on everything, handle/repackage damaged items. Or another $5-$10 to ship it to the warehouse.

Amazon negotiates with UPS and other couriers, and they have their own shipping service, so their merchants pay a lot less than the "retail" cost for shipping to amazon customers. For that 66lb anvil, amazon charges ~$35 for fulfillment including picking, packaging and shipping. About 50 cents a pound. Amazon also charges other fees including the commission/referral on the sale, storage, etc that are mostly not based on item weight, this is about $20 more for a $150 sale.

Retail cost to ship a 66lb anvil UPS from LA to SF would be about $90. With a regular commercial discount about $65, more for longer distances and less for shorter. If you are in the business of shipping a lot you can negotiate a slightly better rate than $1 a pound.