I buy a lot of radio controlled airplane stuff from the good ol' USofA and I refuse to buy from vendors that demand either UPS or FedEx. I understand that for domestic stuff those two are much faster and more reliable but for overseas stuff they charge (as mentioned) like wounded bulls, and considering all UPS/FedEx do is deliver to their local airport it's ridiculous. Find a dealer that'll use USPS (United States Postal Service) instead and spend a few bucks on insurance in case it gets lost.
Not exactly bike related, but thread related... annoyingly USPS has a size limit on their international parcels that's about 3 inches shorter than the average RC plane kit. If I'm buying planes (rather than smaller parts) from overseas I'd go through a Canadian dealer as their postal service is a bit more generous when it comes to size.
