Avoiding postage when shopping online outside of Switzerland

When I shop online at German retailers, many charge me high shipping fees to send packages to Switzerland, even though they offer free shipping within Germany. I live 20km from the German border, so I am literally paying 10 or 20 francs to have my stuff shipped the extra 20km. On top of that, some merchants only ship to customers in Germany and not in Switzerland. Has anyone found a way to avoid these headaches?

If you regularly shop online, you might save money by having your packages shipped to a German address and then collecting them at your convenience. A number of private individuals and companies in Germany and other neighboring countries let you have your parcels delivered to a German address across the border in exchange for a fee. You can then collect the goods and, as long as they are worth less than 300 francs and do not fall into a special customs category (food, beverages, pets, vehicle repairs/parts, tobacco), you do not have to declare them at customs.