Hi,
I live in New Zealand also and freight is not cheap but 'prohibitive' is BS. Most stuff I get from the US I get through YouShop, a service by NZPost.
I buy from US suppliers and have them ship to my 'box' in Orgeon, then NZ Post calculate the GST and shipping to NZ, bill me, and send it on its way.
About a week to 10days from Oregon to your doorstep.
Last order I placed for carbide tools, all micro tools, cost $150USD, plus $8USD shipping to Oregon. NZ Post charged me $32NZD ($22USD for US readers) plus
the 15% GST, a NZ tax, that all imports accrue, $36NZD ($23USD). So I paid $81NZD ($53USD) for all the shipping, including the $8USD plus shipping to NZ and the
applicable taxes on a $231NZD ($150USD) order. That's not exorbitant.
A feature of the service that NZ Post offer is that you can accumulate items from a number of suppliers, so they get sent in one lot. The $32NZD is the minimum charge,
the microtools were in a box about the size of a pound of butter, so if I had accumulated more items the shipping rate effectively diminishes.
The vast majority of my micro tools are Kyocera Tycom, and I get those from:
https://www.ebay.com/str/carbideplus....m47492.l74602
When I want top quality I go to Destiny Tool, pricey but they perform well:
https://www.destinytool.com/
And for sheer variety of tool sizes, shapes and coatings, at a price, Harvey Tools:
https://www.harveytool.com/
Craig