Hey Coskie,
I've got a shipping suggestion. Since Watsen wants to (understandably) send all the units in one box, what if you then shipped batches of the lights to a designated geographical representative. Kinda like the way Fedex does stuff. Someone on the left and right coasts, and someone in the middle. That way you're not stuck dealing with a load of individual packages.
Just a thought...
I do a lot of shipping and receiving at work, and this will not save money as you will be shipping it multiple times. You have the right idea though, as shipping charges are usually based by weight, size and most importantly, distance. Looks like Coskie is already in the middle of the country anyway. All the parts needs to go to him, and he can distribute from there.
I suggest: Shipping by ground via UPS or FedEx is the most economical way, and you have the ability to track the package.
Use the U.S. Post Office. They have a flat rate promo that takes 2-3 days, regardless of weight, size and distance. Sort of, they say if it fits, it ships. This would be the cheapest route, but there is no way to track the package and assuming that the package wil fit in their box.
Or send all of them to me, and I'll ship it from work on our company's account # :justkidding: