Funnily enough I usually bounce at the opposite issue, living in a smaller city in Australia, if a shop doesn't offer express post or a courier, I regularly have to wait 3-4 weeks for it to arrive through standard post.

If there are no shipping options, I shop around for the same product elsewhere, express post is usually only $10AUD more and will sometimes arrive 1-2 days later, usually never more than 4 days. Couriers for $30AUD will usually definitely arrive 1-2 days later. Even ordering internationally can be faster than standard post to my address these days.

So I usually bail out of a transaction if there's no shipping options, its easier to just find another source than it is to ask and arrange for shipping personally.