It is normal to pay shipping cost. " Most" bow shops will charge a labor rate to work on bows, escpecially those that they do not sell. I know it sucks...but remember they have to make a living also. My local bow shop charges $10.00 an hour to work on used bows. Fortunately they have not charged me anything, but then again, I have bought two bows from them in the last month and half. I would question the shop owners attitude once they make a statement like " I don' t owe you anything, because you didn' t buy your bow here" . I think I would find another bow shop. That is one of my pet peeves! I spend a lot of money on bow hunting gear every year (approx. 2-3 thousand dollars to be exact) and I buy from many different companies. We have two bow shops in the town I live in. I buy from one much more than the other, which is a shame, because I like one better than the other. The one I don' t like is a Hoyt & Pearson Dealer. I own a Mathews (by choice) and everytime I walk in their door they all look down at me and make me feel very uncomfortable, because I don' t shoot the kind of bow they sell. Little do they know that I make a LOT of money and some of it could be theirs. If I was a bow shop owner, I would treat everyone the way I would want to be treated, because customer service sells. I would work hard to sell the mathews guys my other products. I may even try to get him to test my bows and see if I could CONVERT them. I wouldn' t carry a chip on my shoulder. With all that said, good luck to you and hope you did not get a lemon.