Yep. Shipping old scopes is a nightmare. Just too many variables depending on destination to give a fixed price for shipping. It does require a quote. Otherwise the seller will "overinflate" the shipping fee to cover most cases, which won't be good for the buyer either.
As to the listed price, even if they don't sell, listed prices are what set the value of an item on the second-hand market, especially on auction sites such as eBay. If some seller lists some item at a low price and sells, then it does set the price of equivalent items and gets everyone down with it. That's how it works. So for a given market, sometimes it's best to keep the selling price high even if you don't sell, than selling at a low price. Unless the seller is desperate.
As to overinflated prices everywhere in general, yes, that's unfortunately the trend. We have a rampant inflation almost worldwide that, I think, many people are still in disbelief about. But it's very real, and it's not looking like it's going away anytime soon.