2 thoughts came to my mind as I read your post......

1) how much does that shipping cost?  Do I pay the shipping?  Do I buy more product and getting "free shipping" ?  Yeah, I look at that too.  And if I can justify buying more product and get "free" shipping, I will do that.  The retailer moves more product.  And I feel like I get more value for what I spend.  Hmmmm......

2) the other thought goes back to the customer base, which you mentioned...... and I mentioned in the thread below.   On-line shopping just explodes the radius of the customer base, especially for specialty retailers - such as the sellers of this honey that you mention.   Interesting business model.