I run into this problem during the fall and winter. For the most part, I raise all my own feeders, but when my mice and rats go on winter hiatus and production is down, unfortunately, I have to order them.
There are two things you could do to solve the problem
1. See if there are any reptile shows coming to your area. Sometimes there are vendors there that you can purchase feeders from and they are very reasonably priced.
2. This is the one I use, because I hate the cost of shipping. I place an ad on Craigslist asking if anyone would like to split the shipping costs with me for snake feeders. The last time I did this, I got two takers, so it was split three ways.
I found out what the other people wanted, placed the order and paid for it. I told the other people involved what their totals would be when they came in. I had the feeders shipped to my house. When they did come in, I met them part way from where they lived, they paid me for their portion of the order, plus 1/3 of the shipping cost.
I didn't make them prepay, because they don't know me. Plus, if they didn't pay or if they changed their minds, I had the feeders in my possession and I could either use them or sell them.
Hope that helps,
Wayne