More like $300 Canadian + shipping. I don't even know if they ship anymore or sell online, since they haven't updated their website in ages. The price I paid for my 12 gallon (46L) was $300. I know others have great luck, but I wouldn't chance buying a barrel online and having it shipped. I'd rather spend a few dollars extra, support my local economy, and get to carefully inspect several barrels in stock before selecting what I think is the best of the bunch. Plus they guarantee their barrels will not leak once hydrated, and it's easier to drive 3 miles to return it than facing remote shipping complications, delays, and cost.
I changed my mind about starting a cab in it, since I'd just have to rack it back in again anyway eventually since a primary would not oak it enough. So instead, this morning I filled the barrel with my prized merlot and a cab that's just finished primary. It should be good in there for 4 to 6 weeks, but I plan on tasting weekly. By the time it's ready to come out, my cabs I'll start this week will have been racked off their gross lees and ready to replace it.
I'd avoid getting barrels under 40L or 10 gallons. There are a few reasons for this. One is cost. A barrel twice the size of 20L may only cost 20% more, but will hold 100% more wine. Another reason is barrel management. You need to keep barrels filled with wine at all times. You probably know that a smaller barrel will oak a wine much more quickly than a bigger barrel. But even when completely neutral, a small barrel cannot hold wine as long without getting over-oxidized. With a bunch of small barrels, you have to be constantly planning on what to fill what barrel with on a more frequent basis. It's easier to manage fewer larger capacity barrels that you can leave wine inside for a year or more once it's well broken in.
You will find yourself topping up a small barrel more often, but using less amount which makes your top up wine storage more of an issue because you'll be topping up your topping up bottle. A larger barrel has less tendency to leak upon hydration, and taking care of it is about as time consuming as a barrel half the size. Plus after going to the trouble of caring for a barrel and waiting for the results, I'd be pissed if I only got 2 measly cases of wine from it!