In each case (only three or four orders over the past 15 years) the order-taker has willingly had the items I ordered, seldom weighing more than a very few grams, shipped via USPS.

Their default method of shipping is, undoubtably, UPS. USPS, however, takes approximately three days, or less within the U.S. for small envelopes, and that's what they use, i.e. a "Jiffy" envelope, costing about $1.20, to which they add 1st class mail postage which, by now, is about $0.40.

If I don't ask for USPS, they put the item in a box with about 40 grams of packing, 20 grams of paper, and a half-pound of cardboard box, all of which ends up costing about $9 including shipping. I find this wasteful with a $2 order.

I'm not sure what their policies in shipping outside the U.S. would be. USPS is a very odd shipping method when used outside the U.S. When I travel to Europe, and send a postcard to myself on the day I arrive there, I stay for about three weeks, yet I receive the postcard AFTER I've returned. OTOH, when I send a card or letter to Europe, it takes three days to get there. Often, it takes longer to send a letter to the other side of town than to Europe.

That may have some effect on Mouser and DigiKey's shipping choices.

Perhaps you can have someone have your parts shipped to them via USPS from DigiKey and then forwarded to you via USPS. That may save on postage. However, while the packaging that causes the cost to rise significantly is probably not needed within the U.S, it's not certain that it is unneeded for international shipping.

RE