This can't be right. I mean all the time. Fees seem very high.

I put just $50 into bitcoins using Coinbase, just to see how it works.

Then, I created a software wallet on my computer (Electrum) and generated an address. Wanted to see how a transfer might go.

Went back to Coinbase to initiate a small $5 transfer, to the address.  I was presented with a summary of the transaction and it said the Network Fees were going to be $14.  Wow! Needless to say I didn't proceed.  Then I tried many other values to see if it was value dependent and it wasn't.  Are all fees typically in that range?  I was expecting a few sends. Surely much less than a buck.  

What are the typical transfer fee magnitude? I know it fluctuates but I can't imagine why anyone would use this, if fees are larger than the transfer amount.  I must be doing something wrong.

Is there a way to get lower fees?  I didn't see any options that might make them lower, in creating the address.