"It's unethical, in my opinion to break out a separate (additional)
charge for "handling" when that cost should be a part of the cost of
the product."

That is idiotic for a number of reasons.

There is absolutely NOTHING unethical about charging a fee for a
necessary service as long as the fee is disclosed in advance. It is
also not a "scam." Only a moron believes they are scammed when they
are told that shipping costs $x.xx if they buy something.

Simple math will prove that $19 for a product + $1 for shipping = $20
just like is $15 for a product + $5 for shipping = $20. Now maybe some
people are fooled by the difference and feel a whole lot better and I'm
certain the advertisers just love having those kind of folks around.
However the rest of us don't much care about anything more than the
all-in cost of $20, because that's what we are paying.

If you had ever shipped anything you would know that it costs money to
buy packing tape, boxes and bubble wrap. People get really ****ed off
when the stuff they bought arrives damaged because it wasn't properly
packaged.


"I have no use for jerkoffs that sell a $20 item for $5 then charge $40
for shipping."

The only jerkoff is the one who can't clearly see that they are paying
$45 for a $20 item and go ahead and make the purchase.


"Don't your customers have to "handle" it too? "

Yes they do. And they are more then welcome to bill themselves for
their trouble.