I buy my shelled hearts/chips at Wal-Mart (when they bother to have it in stock), and it's still $5.87 for a 5 lb. bag. Still, there's so much less waste and clean-up, and they "hopper" through the feeders easier than the in-shell black-oil seeds, that the cost is well worth it to me. I do put a few in-shell seeds on the ground for the bigger-beaked seed-eaters, but only a couple handsful every once in a while depending on who's in the yard. I've also found that using shelled seeds keeps the squirrels from coming into the yard as frequently. They love in-shell sunflower seeds, black-oil or striped.