Hi, I'm from the US and I've ordered many things from Digikey and have never had a problem. Maybe that is an exception, but what exactly do you mean they "charged you for the box." Are you saying that Digikey charged $87 for shipping, or "shipping and handling", or "handling," or "Excise tax," what?
I can't imagine shipping a parcel from the US to Australia would cost more than $25- unless you ordered a 500-pound item? Where exactly is the error?
That said, I have heard of some exporting issues with Digikey. Thanks to our wonderful leadership and legal system, every package that enters or exits the US is subject to extreme scrutiny. I heard where someone in Canada was ordering some parts to make hobby kits and Digikey wrote them a legal letter asking 20 questions about the exact nature of the hobby kits. Digi-key would not ship until they recieved a valid, legal response. We can argue about the intent, or if anyone actually follows another country's laws. But the problem might not be Digikey's fault per se, they could have simply been following the current export laws.
Some would say, with all the terrorist activity, that the US might be taking a defensive posture towards other nations. I wouldn't say that's so personally. I have always considered Australia a beautiful and friendly place. So I doubt you or Australia is being singled out specifically.
So if anything, join with the rest of the world in badmouthing the US, and understand that unless Digi-key made a gross error, they were probably following yet another stupid law.
-M