So I have a (very) small business reselling a product for 3D printers. Prior to this, the only supplier making the product I need is based in the UK (I am in the US). While a good supplier, their supply chain is often spotty, so there will be periods where I am out of stock for a month at a time. I have been looking to other suppliers and have found one in Japan that makes a similar product (which I have obtained a few test samples from a distributor).

I've never really done international business much before, at least not at this level, but I contacted the company and put in an order, paid them by wire (which was probably the easier part of the deal), but I'm having trouble with shipping the items. They said their preferred forwarder doesn't have a branch in my state, so they want me to get a DHL account (Collect on delivery) and ship it that way. Problem is, I ran the weight of the package through the DHL website and it will likely cost me around $550 to receive a 10kg package - literally half of what I paid for the goods.

They are a large company and designed for large businesses, not so much the small guy. I want the package to be delivered as cheaply as possible - I was only planning on spending one or two hundred dollars on shipping, not $600. Would it be wrong to ask them to ship it via Japan post or a different carrier? Collect might be a problem.. Anyone have any advice? Maybe try a different courier? I'm out of my league here.

Thanks guys!