Let's also remember that the big guys handle their own customs and duty brokerage function. If you chintz it with the "B" team operators, you may easily find your beloved shipment stuck in the backwaters of a very long customs queue before it gets processed. I've witnessed imported shipments stuck in federal customs clearance limbo for weeks on this side of the pond, while the government drones work at a frustrating pace somewhere between glacier speed and continental drift.
Without prejuduce to the above, you only get what you pay for.
Engaging a top-tier freight carrier with a backstop of a no-hassle damage and loss policy to handle this fragile gear AND in a timely manner.....is a very cheap cost of insurance to getting it over here in good form and provide you with that ethereal peace of mind.