Now I'd say that's the rip off.

It's situational. A bike shop has to pay retail rent prices.that's going to be high. They're also likely to have a few thousand dollars for a neon sign just so you'll know where to go to get your flat fixed. They have to pay the light bill and a bunch of other stuff. That's overhead and the only place they can get money to pay for it is from their customers.

My rule of thumb is to figure about 15 minutes for a flat fix. I know, EVERYBODY does it faster than that, but, you don't pay the mechanic just for what he does, you pay him by the hour. By the time you chit chat and make nice and all that you'll have eaten up AT LEAST 15 minutes. At that rate, I think that a $7.00 labor charge is actually on the low side of reasonable.

When you're out riding with your buddy, however, you don't have any overhead. Charging him $1.00 for a glueless patch strikes me as the unfriendliest thing that I've ever heard. I'd never do it.