I used to be a HazMat guy decades ago, and the problem I believe has to do with ORM-D and the certifications required to be able to ship it. And while they do ship ground, they also ship air, and they use different carriers (USPS & UPS, not sure if B+H uses FedEx). But, when you have as large of an operation as B+H and Adorama, it's probably more challenging to have a HazMat certified person in all the shipping locations, (I believe both B+H & Adorama have multiple warehouses they ship from) at all times, to sign off on each ORM-D package. If by mistake a chemical listed as ORM-D gets packed in a box and gets sent by air without the proper paperwork, it can be a huge fine for the shipper.
They have probably weighed the benefits (sales) vs pitfalls (potential fines), and found that from a business standpoint running the risks of shipping ORM-D's is not worth it. One or both may have already gotten hit with a fine, and that may have shut it down. Freestyle on the other hand, is relatively smaller, and as the types of product we're talking about make up a larger percentage of their gross sales, it's probably cost effective for Freestyle to have multiple (all?) shipping dept personnel certified. The good thing is that there really is no additional charge when purchasing from Freestyle because of the ORM-D shipment.
I buy from all three, and I just make sure that when I'm buying from Freestyle I load up. The difference in price doesn't bother me much, since if I had to buy it locally, the local price is double Freestyle's price (absurd).
Look at the upside - it'll give Freestyle that much more business, and keep their doors open to promote film & darkroom!
