Yeah they're more expensive because the sellers had just as hard a time getting them to live as you are lol. The cheap ones are cheap because they're effortless to maintain
My wife bought fresh basil from Instacart and they delivered live basil instead. It's essentially a tiny basil plant equivalent to a pack of fresh basil. Well, she refused to eat this $4 herb and instead decided to let it live. It is now about to get repotted for a third time. This thing is massive with pretty little white flowers and thick branches. If you touch it, it releases a wonderful smell that fills the room. She named it Basil (bah-zill) the basil
Heh, I tend to buy the plants on the discount rack that look half dead, and then make them look happy again. This hydrangea was all dead and brown when I bought it for $10 last summer. Now it has more flowers than leaves...