Yep. All costs are subsidized by the end consumer. That includes costs of service providers (aka, middle men) like shipping and credit card fees. The merchant

Yep. All costs are subsidized by the end consumer. That includes costs of service providers (aka, middle men) like shipping and credit card fees. The merchant sets their prices based on the cost of the product and the cost to bring the product to market. If their profit is too low to sustain the business, prices go up. It does not matter why profit is too low. Any cost to the merchant increases the price for the consumer.