Ordering on the Black Friday sales is a must.
Being on the East Coast, you have some options for launches to help you out.
Tim from Wildman usually attends Red Glare (
https://mdrocketry.org/), so you can save on shipping costs by ordering a bunch of stuff on Black Friday and heading to Red Glare in the Spring to pick up all your stuff. The shipping savings can be huge, especially if you also buy large items like rocket kits. Since the BF motor orders are pre-orders, Wildman usually gets the motors right before Red Glare anyway, so it really works out well all the way around.
Tim or Jackie from Wildman also usually attends URRF (
https://urrg.clubexpress.com/) in the summer, which gives you another chance to get an order in that can be delivered to you.
Kenny from Performance Hobbies (
https://performancehobbies.com/launches.asp) attends a whole bunch of launches on the East Coast, including some of the Tripoli Pittsburgh launches, so he is someone to get to know - you can setup buys from him and figure out where to best link up with him to avoid shipping costs.
Teddy from Onebadhawk (
http://onebadhawk.com/index.html) attends Red Glare, most METRA launches and all the URRG launches - he carries Loki and Aerotech, so you can setup buys with him and possibly link up at a launch to avoid shipping costs.
Balsa Machining (
https://www.balsamachining.com/) offers pre-order prices all the time. This can save more than enough money to justify the HAZMAT fees. The caveat is that you have to wait for your motors for a long time (lead time is probably months right now)
BuyRocketMotors (
https://www.buyrocketmotors.com/) usually has some of the best non-sale internet prices around on Level 1 and 2 motors. And they offer to pay the HAZMAT fee on orders over $399, which is a great deal.
Finally, treat motors like any other investment. Motors only go up in cost, so stocking up when you have the opportunity never hurts you. Motors I bought in 2021 now cost about 20% more than they did then. The point is, aggregating large purchases is a good investment (assuming you believe investing in your rocket hobby is a good thing... Your significant other my beg to differ) since the cost of the motors will be more next year, and so on.
Eventually, getting into EX is a fun way to augment your motor availability. Many people will tell you that cost is not the real factor in EX motors, although, eventually, EX can be cheaper per motor (after you eat the up front costs of equipment, bulk materials, etc). However, there is something immensely satisfying about mixing your own propellant and watching your rocket fly successfully on your creation.