I guess their marketing strategy was to hit 'em hard with a price so outrageous as to make $9.95 for something that isn't even a selling venue sound like a bargain.
People griped when BISI started charging $9.95, but at least along with image hosting and *listing* storage, you get a stand alone venue capable of collecting your payments. Not to mention bulk import/export.
IMO, for what you get, it's still too much $. It's twice the price of the average web hosting starter package.