***Hacksaw beat me to the punch***

Valid points Doug, but I think the OP issues are with the brokerage company that UPS deals with, not the shipping company directly (unless the brokerage company is owned by UPS).

If you choose to pay the extra for a company to pack the item, you are agreeing to their costs. This is a desicion on your part, the customer. As for brokerage charges, this decision is out of the customers hands aside of picking a different courier company.

If you have anything shipped by Fedex, DHL or UPS costs about the same (plus/minus), but the brokerage fees vary greatly and you will never know the costs until the item is deliveried.

USPS just ships directly and just lets the local country's customs deal with it. Again, this is a pro/con depending on your need/situation (speed, actual item being shipped, etc).

My two cents from a person who relies on international shipping for all my toys!