Shipping from China

I just paid the last company that is making samples for me to ship my ties over.  This seems like something that is pretty normal, but what I learned from this is that, like the other companies that have made samples for me, they asked for the cost of shipping to be included in the price for the samples.  So, I transferred one lump sum instead of two.  I didn’t know that I needed to make sure this was how it should happen this time.  I just sent the sample fee and that was what I though would be the end of it.

It wasn’t.

So, I had to transfer the shipping cost and thus incurred another transfer fee.  This wasn’t the most expensive lesson I’ve ever learned, but I did pay an extra $25 that I didn’t need to pay.

While I’m talking about this, what is the best way [read cheapest] to transfer money to China?  I’ve been using Western Union and I don’t think they are giving me a great deal.  Any ideas or suggestions would be great.