[special-K]

I use Napa and everyone at the counter where I go is as good or better than anyone I've seen anywhere. The story above holds no water. That has nothing to do with where you go,but is who you talk to. I'm sure you could go to O'Reilly's and get a knucklehead,too

Sorry for your luck. That's how it is most anywhere. Normally you bring a starter in and exchange it for a rebuilt,they hand you the rebuilt,and put your old starter/core in the box to send to the rebuilder...no core charge. Or,you can go buy a rebuilt starter,pay the core charge,go remove your old one,put it in the box,take to parts store and get core charge refunded. That's how it's been as long as I can remember.
Think about what you said about USPS giving boxes away AND going broke. You can remove boxes from the post office for free to return filled with stuff to ship. That's when you pay for the box. They expect you to ship with those boxes,not abuse the system and use free boxes for whatever.
I'm not retired and doubt I'll ever have the luxury. I've been through financial hell for the past 6 years,though,and every dollar counts. I know $31 is a big hit. I'd test the starter and if it's good try to sell it.