That’s quite a bite. However, in the original KickStarter pledge area they seem to have been offering very reasonable world-wide shipping. $10 for my order. As I understand it, large batches of the tripods will be shipped to different distribution points around the world and from there shipped to customers in those regions, to reduce individual shipping costs.
And yes, it is a very sensible evolution of the tripod. Anyone who has ever worked with tripods will immediately recognize the genius in the design work in overcoming several typical annoyances. I suspect that is why this particular project had such record breaking support.
I have several tripods, including a very nice carbon fibre compact travel size model, but in the Peak Design tripod I recognize a quantum leap. I hope it triggers a new wave of sensible tripods.
People still like to imagine their photos can be as good without a tripod but this is fantasy. So until the self-stabilizing anti-gravity mid-air floating camera is invented, the tripod is still an essential piece of gear. OK, tripods are not as useful during skydiving or white-water rafting, etc.
Of course everyone wants a tripod that will weigh nothing, not have to be carried but will magically appear when needed, set itself up, be completely immune to being blown over by any gale, not vibrate no matter how clumsily it is handled during photography, and always be at the right height and position no matter what the terrain, even as the subject moves between shots. And be useful as a weapon to fight off grizzly bears or velociraptors.