Not sure who you contacted but the person I dealt with @ RPG was the rudest and worst contact I've experienced. Said person was adamant that I had to deal with a rep in my area and when I OK'd the order, he realized he had quoted me dealer cost and reneged blaming RPG. Both the dealer and rep said "too bad". I ended up with another local rep but it was not much better as the RPG rep emailed back questioning why I swapped dealers and that I was trying to just low-ball them.
Anyway, my order were for 2 x 72" Variscreens, some BAD panels, one BAD Arc, and 4 x 1-foot Absorbors. It came in the heaviest, amazingly built wooden crate I've ever seen (my B&W 802D2 didn't have a box this good). So I can imagine shipping for your Variscreen to be pricey. IIRC, 72" is borderline standard rate whereas a 96" screen would definitely qualify as oversized.
BTW, I thought Nyal does free shipping within the US for items over $399? Why not go through him?