I was wondering if anybody has any experience with shipping items internationally?

I have some friends in Europe I wanted to ship some stuff to. It would weigh somewhere between 5-15 pounds and maybe be like 8x12x4 inches or so.

Basically my problem is being able to ship things to them without getting screwed by the cost. UPS international wants $180 base cost, then like $5 for the fuel required for the stuff. I think I may have found a service that I can get by with only paying maybe ~$80 for it, but does anybody have any experience or suggestions about this? I'm just recently graduated from high school and am not bringing in money hand over fist. :P

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.