I quit buying from Amazon when their delivery price was almost equal to what I was buying. A $15 NOOK cover cost $8 to ship. Last time!
Unless it is something I need right away or it is on a temporary sale, I'll put the item on my wish list until I hit the $25 for free shipping.
The $8 shipping isn't too unreasonable. I just checked a 1 pound package shipped across town and it was $11 with UPS and still over $5 with the post office. I'm sure that Amazon gets some big discounts for volume contracts, but they don't seem to be screwing you on shipping.