In the US the sim itself is usually dirt cheap (like less than a 1$) but it’s difficult to just buy the sim unless you buy it directly through the carrier.

I’m assuming the 60$ price is including their monthly plan, I know a few carriers offer BYOD kits for 50-60$ which include the sim, but those same carriers usually will offer a 3-5$ multi sim kit (a kit with a bunch of different sim card sizes) that is usually only obtainable via shipping so most go for the BYOD kit instead of waiting.