[GeoffR]

I haven't bought an Aura, but I have bought other things from the US via NZ Post's Youshop. They have a parcel forwarding centre in Portland, and the price is $12.50 per parcel plus $4.75 per 500g volumetric weight ($NZ), so an Aura should cost $17.25 to ship.

The main problem I would have with buying an ereader this way is that if you have a problem and need a replacement, Kobo will hapilly send you a free replacement but going via a forwarder you will still have to pay the forwarder's postage, even if Kobo send it post free to the forwarding address.

Also I don't think you will be covered by NZ consumer law, which would generally give you a lot more protection than US laws.