Eh, I was hosed, no pun intended..... Nothing I can do but steer away from ordering from them again...
Maybe this is a stretch, but maybe contact Consumers Report and explain what transpired. They may look into it and actually print something about how they charge shipping items out at that price?
Maybe someone had to drive it to UPS? I just purchased a Karcher part and paid $10 shipping for a $8 part. I thought it was not too bad.
That handling cost sounds exactly like the TV infomercials that rip you a new one on the "get a second one absolutely free! (Just pay additional shipping & handling)." Sorry to see that you got squandered out of some money, it is a real shame that companies are able to basically obscure these fees from the customer instead of warning up front about the shipping and handling charges.
Says everything I need to know about a company that relies on its profits off shipping to survive :hmph: