you are right - but I have a friend that I've shipped to near Vancouver - and shipping alone was $22.00 - that was the cheapest - plus I had to buy a box and packing materials - overall it cost $30.00 when I was done just to send it to her!

Even in the US, UPS, USPS, and Fedex all charge about $8.00, and the boxes and packing materials are anywhere from $6.00 to $8.00 at least (especially for fragile items where you need a roll of bubblewrap). If you can get something fragile (glass in it) shipped to you for $15-20, that would be about normal.