Atmaspere got it right. Manufacturers can't control where their customers live and to cover shipping costs they'd have to plan on worst case scenario (cross country or worse) and then build that into their prices. I used to sell kitchen sinks and the mfr would warranty the sink in the event of a defect but would not cover removal/reinstallation costs because some sinks were sandwiched under megabuck granite countertops and the like. Like hifi shipping costs they couldn't afford to accomodate the extremes.
