Gee, when I was in grade school, they got their mice to feed the snakes live from North Carolina Biological Supply -- I guess frozen is the way to go nowadays
As a small business owner myself, SMKY isn't making any money on shipping. The two major carriers small express boxes (about 13x11x2) are close to $15 for 2nd day air, even if it's practically empty. After including the foam and dry ice, it's a bargain. It might be hard to convince folks of that, but this isn't something you should just drop in the mailbox and send parcel post