Why would they be higher? The opposite seems more likely to be true--the larger the volume, the more labor intensive--in a small place, the order can be often be taken filled, and shipped by the same person. In a large place, there are people to take the order, fill it, ship, as well as people whose job is to manage the flow of the orders. Anyway, you should check Elderly Instruments when you're shopping for folk and traditional stuff, their prices are generally very low for CD's and tapes, and they do nice little reviews on many of their offerings (shipping and handling costs are low, as well!)