Short version: I ended up paying 2x what I bought in US that was shipped from the states.

Long version:

I bought some shoes and got my sis to sent them over from the states. Total was under $100.

She sent me by UPS Standard and cost her $23 (cheapest on the list).

I got slapped with $56.45 on delivery.

I went and google "brok fee" and UPS complain pages are showing up tons with similar or worse story having charged higher than the actual item(s).

Avoid UPS at all cost. They show up the lowest at the post office is just a trick to hook the sender.

Edit: package is marked as gift. The delivery guy said, regardless of what it's marked as, you're gonna be slap with a gigantic fee. He said he has to go through the same convo over 20 times a day. 

Lol

At least you don`t live in Canada,

Shipping to Europe, Australia, U.S., Asia is cheaper than shipping to anywhere in Canada!

I personally Hate UPS and avoid them if it is possible ...

I don't understand how FedEx can ship an item from (pretty much) anywhere in the US to my home in Calgary in (less than) 2 days, when it takes UPS 3 weeks to do the same thing; and when UPS ships it, it comes with a 50%+ brokerage fee ...

Hm strange... I've had three times items delivered by UPS with no problem at all =/

I work at a Corvette shop in the states and we sell a lot of parts all over the world. Brokerage fees are nothing new and UPS doesn't include them with their standard shipping service. However, if you use their worldwide express or expedited service there are no brokerage fees, but the shipping charges are horrendous. You can find charts on UPS.com for what the brokerage fees would be for your shipment. If you're buying from the US, the USPS (United States Postal Service) is almost always the most cost effective.

i feel kinda bad for the driver ya know--b/c he will have to deal with all the angry customers b/c UPS made the call and not him

I prefer Fedex over UPS.

As noslodecoy said, the best way to go when shipping from the U.S. is almost always USPS. Unless you are operating a business, I'd suggest you never bother with any other shipping service if you can help it.