For you in the US, just to feel better let me explain how I buy components for the FI or other products. Whatever I can I try to buy locally, but many of the specific components are not available here, neither in Hungary, nor in the EU at all. I have to buy these from one of the two US giants, DigiKey or Mouser. They are expensive, but they have an incredible stock. When I have to buy from DigiKey, I pay with credit card, and usually within two days I get notification from Fedex or UPS that I got a package that must be cleared by the customs. I have to fill out a few pages of forms, and after a few more days (while the package is already here) I get it. I have to pay 27% VAT, some customs fee, and the fee for the customs clearance. Thankfully, as the importer is a company, Panda-Audio, I get back the VAT at the end of every quarter (as a private person I would not get it back), and the other two fees are usually not high. Whenever I can I prefer to buy from Mouser, since although they deliver just as well from the US, recently they made up a subsidiary in the Czech republic, so I get a European invoice, no customs, no VAT, nothing. No wonder I prefer to pay somewhat more by Mouser. Still I did not mention that I have to calculate my purchases very carefully, since I get free delivery only if the value is >200$, otherwise both DigiKey and Mouser charge 60$ for the freight.
Once I bought a large stock of inductivities with different values, ca. 2000 pieces from another US company, Newark Electronics. I did no recognize at all that from one of the values they delivered 5 pieces less than what I ordered. One month later my credit card was suddenly charged with 110.12$. I had no idea why. It appeared that they sent me the missing five inductors in the value of 0.12$, with a freight charge of 110$! You can imagine that my adrenalin level went high! Finally I sent back the package, and they payed back the money, but I never buy from them since then...
Andras Szalay