Adafruit wants to ship even the smallest packages UPS for $10 or more. Digikey would throw this in a small box and sent it to me for $3.50. I don't care to waste money on them if they want to throw my money away with dumb shipping choices.
Such is life.
You have to expect the postage to be out of proportion if all you're buying is one pot. It's not just about the actual postage cost. Handling/packing plays a big part, as does the actual cost of the packaging.
Personally, I wouldn't consider just buying a single pot online.
Surely there are other things you need or will need. Just think ahead and order some other stuff you'll use in future projects to pad the order out a bit.
Alternatively, you could have done a search. Here's another source:-
10K Pot with Knob
And another:-
3386 Adjustable pot with knob
And another:-
Breadboard trim potentimeter - 10K
And another:-
Cermet Trimmer
There are heaps more in the search results:-
Search Results 1
Just how much searching did you do before coming here to have a whinge about it?
The quote at the bottom of your posts says "I will never ask you to do anything that I wouldn't do myself."
It's not just for one pot. I want 10. So it's $12 for the pots. It's about $9.50 for shipping. I think your argument holds no water, Digikey would send this to me for about $3.50. They would send it USPS instead of UPS, though. I think that is key. Adafruit is using a more expensive shipping method, I think for their own reasons, but it makes it so much more expensive for the customer that it will (and is in this case) deter customers from buying from them. Why they don't have USPS as an option is a mystery to me.
I didn't know Sparkfun sold these too, they are the same pot I think. Sparkfun is 20 cents each cheaper and the USPS shipping is $4.13. So that works out well.
I did search for it before. Everything I got was either the micro style ones where you need a jeweler's screwdriver or the big industrial ones with the metal body built to withstand a nuclear war. I wanted this particular one that is in the middle. You found it for me, so thanks.
JoeN:
It's not just for one pot. I want 10. So it's $12 for the pots. It's about $9.50 for shipping. I think your argument holds no water, Digikey would send this to me for about $3.50. They would send it USPS instead of UPS, though. I think that is key. Adafruit is using a more expensive shipping method, I think for their own reasons, but it makes it so much more expensive for the customer that it will (and is in this case) deter customers from buying from them. Why they don't have USPS as an option is a mystery to me.I didn't know Sparkfun sold these too, they are the same pot I think. Sparkfun is 20 cents each cheaper and the USPS shipping is $4.13. So that works out well.
I did search for it before. Everything I got was either the micro style ones where you need a jeweler's screwdriver or the big industrial ones with the metal body built to withstand a nuclear war. I wanted this particular one that is in the middle. You found it for me, so thanks.
There's not much you can do about different seller's shipping methods. Perhaps UPs is more secure? Less disappearances in the mail? I'm in Australia, so don't know all of the ins and outs of UPS and USPS.
You must have chosen bad search terms, going by my results. Anyway, all's well that ends well. 
I must have. I think I didn't try "with knob" and just looked through a bunch of listings for 10K pots and none of the first 100 or so had that particular one. I don't recall seeing a datasheet or model number at Adafruit otherwise I would have just used that method. UPS may be a bit more secure than USPS but not so much so that it matters. USPS has added tracking now to every parcel shipment. I think they do a very good job. I get all my parts from Mouser, Newark, and Digikey via the USPS and if it is good enough for them I can't think of any good reason it isn't good enough for Adafruit.
OldSteve:
I'm in Australia, so don't know all of the ins and outs of UPS and USPS.
In general, you simply don't buy stuff from the US as the postage always costs $50.
Unless the order is for about $1000 or more.
Paul__B:
In general, you simply don't buy stuff from the US as the postage always costs $50.Unless the order is for about $1000 or more.
Yeah, I've discovered that's mostly the case, Paul. There have been times when I've had to though.
Asia's usually pretty good, except for some sellers. (I was just quoted AU$52 delivery from Taiwan for 2 pairs of 25kHz ultrasonic transducers direct from 'ProWave'.) >:(
I don't need them that bad.
JoeN:
It's not just for one pot. I want 10. So it's $12 for the pots. It's about $9.50 for shipping. I think your argument holds no water, Digikey would send this to me for about $3.50. They would send it USPS instead of
Rs do it for free but the components can be expensive.
you can probably find it for less if you do a more thorough search.
I get epacket shipped package from china between 4-7 days, faster than UPS that charges an arm and a leg and still takes 10 days to ship coast to coast. That may be ok in the 90s, but not these days. USPS delivers 3 days coast to coast.
digikey
mouser
dipmicro
taydaelectronics
Can't open ebay, so can't see exactly what you're after.
Paul__B:
In general, you simply don't buy stuff from the US as the postage always costs $50.Unless the order is for about $1000 or more.
I know people outside of the US have this problem, but generally inside the US for domestic mail the rate is normally very reasonable. Almost everything I get from Digikey, Mouser, and Newark, shipped USPS, is around $5 for small components that weight in aggregate less than or about a pound or so, which is a normal weight for small semiconductor components. Adafruit is screwing up using a premium service (UPS) to send cheap parts when USPS will do and even Digikey, Mouser, and Newark agree on this.
UPS shipping is terribad, I typically avoid vendors that insist on using it.
It's exorbitantly expensive for how freaking slow it is - like, it's similar in price to USPS priority, but takes 2-4 times as long to arrive, plus their depots are farther apart than post offices, so when they leave you a "We can't deliver this because you have a job and aren't home" notice, it's not as long a trek to get your package.
And yeah, international shipping sucks if you can't fit it into "Large Envelope" classification - unless you're shipping from china to somewhere else, in which case it's dirt cheap.
DrAzzy:
UPS shipping is terribad, I typically avoid vendors that insist on using it.
It's exorbitantly expensive for how freaking slow it is - like, it's similar in price to USPS priority, but takes 2-4 times as long to arrive, plus their depots are farther apart than post offices, so when they leave you a "We can't deliver this because you have a job and aren't home" notice, it's not as long a trek to get your package.
I don't have any problem with UPS service. The cost is high but so is priority USPS. For me they're both about the same in terms of speed and cost. Interestingly Adafruit claims that USPS is less reliable and slower.
I feel the same as Joe with regard to Adafruit's shipping prices. I often choose not to do business with them because the shipping cost feels like a big ripoff. I guess I'm not part of their target market.
When US shipping to the UK is 3 or 4 times the cost of the part, I look for a Chinese supplier. Free shipping and usually cheaper.
Kind of unfair shipping practice to have free (gov't subsidized?) shipping when the rest of the world does not.
I think that's how tariff wars develop.
I've seen import & VAT fees that were as much or more as the completed material I've shipped to the UK and Kenya.
What do those gov't fees add to the process? Nothing. Just a big leach on commerce.
CrossRoads:
Kind of unfair shipping practice to have free (gov't subsidized?) shipping when the rest of the world does not.
I think that's how tariff wars develop.
I've seen import & VAT fees that were as much or more as the completed material I've shipped to the UK and Kenya.
What do those gov't fees add to the process? Nothing. Just a big leach on commerce.
They aren't the only ones with free shipping. RS Components ships online orders free. element14, (here in Oz at least), have free shipping for orders > $45.
I'm sure that many other businesses do it too.
OldSteve:
They aren't the only ones with free shipping. RS Components ships online orders free. element14, (here in Oz at least), have free shipping for orders > $45.
I'm sure that many other businesses do it too.
Rs has been free shipping on all orders (any value) here since may
Boardburner2:
Rs has been free shipping on all orders (any value) here since may
Pretty good, isn't it? And they courier deliver, too, not just standard mail. Extra-fast. I love it.
Have you tried it ot yet.- 
With 20 p worth of resistors
Boardburner2:
Have you tried it ot yet.-
No, not with 20 (AU cents) worth of resistors, but I have bought heaps from them since the free delivery started.
But I go out of my way to make the orders as big as possible. If we order piddling little amounts, they'll soon drop the free delivery. We don't want to screw ourselves. There are enough others wanting to do that.