Seems a little high, I shipped two 6 foot windmills from texas to michigan for about 50 each. Then again, I haven't shipped that many plants so I can't speak from that much experience. Does it weight alot maybe?

It sounds about right. I had to pay 75 dollars to ship a large tree fern from Cali to New York (well worth it though since it still cost less to buy it there than here!). But I think you should check ebay first since I got some good plants there and the prices are a bit cheaper. Plus there are other palms that also have new fronds that are reddish in color so you might want to look more into that too (maybe there is a cheaper option that is just as nice looking!). I dont think its worth 80 dollars though. I got an 8 foot tall spindle palm at a local nursery for that price (and a 9 foot tall majesty palm at Home Depot for 40 dollars) so to pay that much money for a relatively might not be worth it, even if the type of palm is a bit more difficult to find.

-Alex

Shipping and HANDLING is what it sounds like.
How bad do you want one?
Great price for the palm-shipping is ridiculous.

Most of a palm that size is leaves anyway,I would keep looking.

Does not seem too far off from normal to me really. A little pricy but CA to OH is a LONG way, and thats a decent sized item. When it comes to less expensive plants, I have often found the shipping to cost almost as much as the plant itself and sometimes more. I'm guessing they are putting it in a box/ tube that will allow them not to bend the fronds much, and shipping it with some soil around the root ball. Granted, that is usually a better method, but it is more expensive. Though honestly for me I would rather get a good healthy / protected plant that is not bent out of shape or dried out than something at a great price that is basically thrown in a box with a little bit of wet paper around its bare roots. That's just me tho.