This may be a bit off topic but...
Shipping to "oz" does not take that long, but a month goes by quickly, all-in-all. Phone works instantly, so does mail and fax.
About the $250.00 to and fro: I find this rather much. 1/5th would do IMHO.
If you shy away from fedex and other high cost shipping services, it does not matter much where you live, and solutions are close at hand always. OTOH, Fedex i.e. ships in two or three days! You gets what you pays for.
In these normal postage instances costs probably are shared, unless extra security above registered shipping is asked for. Paranoya pays institutes, and your peace of mind. I would rather give the service to a person who deserves it than pay all the prohibitive cost for being extra secure to an institute that thrives on speed hunger and distrust. Internet bizz is based on worldwide systems and mutual trust, yet it is the only way if you want to escape local limitations.
Ughh.