How much does shipping cost from Brazil to the US?

How are e-commerce retailers shipping products to South America in a cost effective way?

• I have been wanting to sell and ship products to South America (primarily Brazil) but something that is holding me back is shipping cost. When consulting with say FedEx or UPS, the quote is usually more than a hundred bucks per unit that I want to get shipped out there. Even private fulfillment companies have quoted me a bit less, but still similar. Either way, it's enough to make my plans unfeasible. But I see online retailers ship internationally often for around 20 bucks! So surely it must be possible...how are you all doing it? I considered Amazon Fulfillment, but it seems that only media products are eligible for export after multichannel sales. Thanks!!

• Answer:

  There is some under-the-hood things in the logistics industry. The over $100 quote is "retail price", which they charge casual customers. If you are an infrequent shipper you get a primary discount, often 50% off, through some program or discount you can find on the web; If you are a frequent shipper(>100/month), you need to call a "customer representative" in Fedex or UPS and negotiate a deeper discount(75% off is very normal for large shippers.) Personally I dislike this practice, it is unfriendly to small business, and price negotiation is a waste of time. Though, forgive them in mind since they are companies from pre-internet era.