If a US place will ship via USPS, it may be worthwhile. If they're going to ship UPS, expect to get violated.
Ditto.
In addition to your parts, and the up-front shipping costs, you will have to pay:
- customs fees
- gst
- duty
- brokerage fees
Depending on a few things you can try to minimize the damage:
- Parts made in Mexico, US, or Canada are covered under NAFTA, and you won't be hit with duty.
- UPS (and FedEx?) tend to charge huge brokerage and processing fees, although I have heard if you ship air instead of ground, these can be significantly reduced
-
USPS is the cheapest of the lot, in my experience, and I like being able to pick the items up after work at the local post office (vs. waiting for the truck to come around again)
- DHL charges hefty fees, but you pay for everything up front (in my experience I believe even the gst and customs fees were included in the shipping cost)
There are a few exceptions:
- Tirerack has a deal with UPS, all shipping costs are up front (you're probably still hit with GST, I can't remember)
- untested, but NewEgg has a deal with UPS as well, where the brokerage fees are charged directly by NewEgg (at a rate of $1)