I'm shocked at that price too. I thought it was bad enough that a couple other people paid $30. I'm sure we're all getting the same cap/gown/tassel package (differing in school color, of course). I think it's a good value at $9.99, but I would be disappointed to pay the prices y'all are describing.
I tell you, Jostens will work with school systems -- but it sounds like your school systems just aren't bothering to push the issue with them. In the grand scheme of things, this isn't something to get upset about because it's something you only buy once, but it would irritate me to pay more while other schools are getting it for less. No wonder Jostens doesn't sell over the internet.
Don't throw them out. I've seen people glue those name cards into the front inside cover of books they intend to lend. I've seen people write their phone numbers on those cards and give them to people.
Oddly enough, my husband and I both have half a box of those cards in our desk. It's particularly useless in my case since they're from high school and my cards bear my maiden name.
We've designed my daugther's invitations -- she's been particularly fussy about this topic -- and they're going to cost me more than $5 each. We're making a homemade paper piecing for the front, which will take time but almost no money, and we're putting three senior pictures in each one (that's where the money is -- in the pictures -- but people will keep those). We're using one invitation for both her graduation luncheon and her actual ceremony. And I'm insisting on a small map on the back because our graduation venue is a bit remote, and I know that much of our family doesn't know where it is. In the long run, she's going to have exactly what she wants, but it would've been cheaper (and easier) to go with Jostens' options.
