I've ordered from Newark several times and have had no problems. In the item listings it will tell you if there is a minimum order. Some items only sell by multiples. I was surprised at the shipping cost as well. I paid $8.00 shipping on every order I've placed (mind you I've only placed orders of 50 or 60 bucks or less at a time). The orders shipped UPS. I was a bit leery on my first order since on other times USP orders shipped to me via USP from the US to Canada incur a brokerage fee. I was pleasantly surprised ...no brokerage fee (so far). Oddly, the Canadian version of Newark (canada.newwark.com) ships from the US. My last order shipped from TX and I had it next day in Southern Ontario. I was impressed.
Still waiting for a reply to my email about the aforementioned listing. I have a couple waiting in my cart there.