I have enjoyed Reverb very much this past month searching for my bass as it was the most time I had spent on the site. Much like e-bay you can learn a lot and get a good idea of what is available and the price range of things.
Yes you must shop and a small or private seller will not have the shipping discounts like the big box stores do. Heavy amps and large guitars very costly to ship.
And you can't beat the $4 tuners with free shipping so I ordered 2!