You'll notice all those cheap packages from China come stamped "Petit Paquet," which is to say surface mail. Now go to the post office and try to ship something out surface mail and you will find it's impossible... express service is the ONLY way that the USPS will ship internationally, as of a decade or so ago. You cannot compare shipping prices to and from China because you are comparing two totally different services. If the USPS would once again start doing surface mail abroad it might be possible for American companies to sell small items abroad again.