[Perfectlap]

Yeah but Zaino's not taking something into account at all.

Many of those purchasing that one Zaino item, you're spray in
this instance, are first time Zaino customers. By setting up a barrier
to entry in the form of shipping costs he's lost a customer to another
brand. This a pretty narrow view, particularly during a tough economy.

In this day and age of computers he should build in a "first time exemption".
I'm sure his own data proves that the average Zaino customer
is repeat customer.

I've been buying detailing products long enough to know that
an enthusiast will often make a big jump in quality from the off
the shelf stuff to the far more concentrated but much more
expensive 'boutique' brands. For the enthusiast this like a "big revelation".
What most enthusiasts don't realize is that boutique brands are
almost identical in terms of end results. But at the same time,
pricing for boutique brands are all over map. Zaino are one of the
more expensive brands I've tried, I can get similar results with a
few others at lower cost. That's a lesson most enthusiasts will
NOT learn. By charging a first time customer 50% in shipping as
you put it, he's opening the door for you to go with a duragloss or
FK1 both of whom charge $5 flat rate no matter the size of the order.

These guys have to learn to be more flexible. The competition in
the boutique brands market is plentiful and the big over the counter
brands (Mothers, Meguiars) are catching up fast.
When something works people tend to stick with it, they're not inclined
to experiment with other brands once a great result is achieved. That's
a big advantage that Zaino is risking in this instance. I bet you if he
packaged small samples like FK1 do and sent them first class mail people
would order the full size versions on a bigger order and not quibble with
$9 shipping.