The issue I believe is that se is charging for both vanity(extra character) and storage (two retainers).
$1 character
$1 retainer #1
$1 retainer #2
which makes sense BUT I feel this is a big mistake. All three of those should go for 1 dollar together and instead of having one person buying a 3 dollar package you would have 3 people buying a 1 dollar package with the added bonus of a happy community. SE could really use a happy community spreading good word right now. The service fee discount was a step in the right direction, this would be a second.