sgallas,
Despite this being a dead thread, I decided to let your post through. $22 is not unreasonable for international shipping and the overall price, minus a $2 handling fee, is not set by Sparkfun but by the shipping company themselves. As to the import taxes/customs fees, this is also outside of Sparkfun’s control but the warnings about the possibility of it are clearly listed in the customer support section and are not unique to Sparkfun. Ultimately, anyone placing an international order to any company is responsible for figuring out what the ultimate fee burden could end up being.
For posterity (taken directly from the Sparkfun website):
International Shipping
We ship to your country! Unless you live in a country that is embargoed by the US government (currently Iran, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria). We still can’t ship to Cuba normally, but that is theoretically changing sooner than later. Everywhere else is groovy.
Most international shipments will incur additional fees in the form of duties and taxes. These fees are your responsibility, and are in addition to the shipping cost we charge at checkout. See Duties and Taxes below for details.
For all international shipments, we charge a $2 handling fee plus the shipping estimate from the carrier.
•Shipping Methods
•Duties and Taxes
•Export Restrictions
•Signature Requirements
•Using your own FedEx/UPS account
Shipping Methods
For shipping addresses outside the US, we offer 7 options:
FedEx - (tracked and insured)
•FedEx International Priority - 1-3 business days, longer for rural
•FedEx International Economy - 3-5 business days, longer for rural
UPS - (tracked and insured)
•UPS Worldwide Express Saver - 1-3 business days, longer for rural
•UPS Worldwide Expedited - 3-5 business days, longer for rural
United States Postal Service
•USPS Express Mail International - usually 5-10 business days. Trackable. Only allowed for orders up to $300 in value. Delivery is made by the destination country’s postal service.
•USPS First Class Mail International - usually 2-4 weeks, but can take 6 weeks or more. NOT trackable. Only allowed for orders up to $300 in value. Delivery is made by the destination country’s postal service.
Please Note - First Class Mail International packages are NOT insured. In the case a package is lost or damaged in transit, SparkFun is not responsible for replacing the order.
International Economy
SparkFun’s International Economy Shipping option, also known as FedEx International Mail Service (FIMS), is carried by FedEx to your country, then handed off to the local postal service for delivery with standard mail. This shipping option will deliver to PO Boxes. Shipping time varies greatly depending on destination. Delivery is usually made in 2-4 weeks, but can take as long as 6 in some cases. Only allowed for orders up to $300 in value. Economy is not an insured shipping method. As such, SparkFun is not responsible for replacing the package should it be lost in transit. There is no tracking available for this shipping method.
Duties and Taxes
All duties and taxes for international shipments are the responsibility of the customer. SparkFun is not responsible for any extra charges once the original package has been shipped. We can’t tell you exactly what the charges will be, but here’s a duty calculator to help with estimation.
If the customer refuses to pay these extra charges, the return shipping and any additional fees will be taken out of the cost of the order with any remaining funds being refunded to the customer. In the event that the extra charges exceed the value of the order, we may charge those amounts to the credit card originally used for the order.
-Bill