Last winter I send two dolls to CA (from OH) and it was about $23 Priority, and it's actually usually cheaper to ship Priority when you get into long distances, so yes, I don't think $23 is necessarily out of line.
OTOH, I too have noticed some of those really outrageous $45 shipping costs, and wonder if that's a way around the $600 IRS amount - shifting profit from the actual sale into a shipping charge.