If they tell you they need you to pay for shipping ask them why you should pay for somthing like that when they wouldn't incur a shipping charge.
It makes no sense for a company to charge you shipping when they aren't shipping anything out, as they don't make money from it in the first place. The idea behind shipping and handling is to pay the UPS/FedEx so that the company doesn't incur the overhead charge, not so that they can make more money.
Sounds to me like they were blowing smoke up your ass and/or you were talking to some part time kid who pulled something out of his/her ass on the spot to discourage you from coming back.