[Leon]

To address the bottom questions first.
1. Part of the rules of bidding is they (AH's) require their shipping and insurance, generally speaking, or your account to send it on, which releases them from liability.

2.No, for me, insurance hasn't paid off vs the claims I have filed (almost none).

3.Well, I think you get what you pay for at the Post Office. IF something gets lost it's covered. But as a good value, personally, I don't think it is.

And yes deals are deals and it's always on the shipping end of a deal to get the item to the recipient. I don't care if they buy insurance or not but if they don't then they have to eat a lost or damaged package. I shipped a sub 100 dollar card today, via USPS, and didn't opt for any insurance extra. With more expensive cards I usually overnight them without insurance....and I assume a tiny bit of risk that way.

Originally Posted by frankbmd

It has always been my understanding that a deal isn't done until the buyer has the card or any other product in hand. I have almost always self insured the hundreds of lower valued cards that I have shipped. Had I insured them through the Post Office or other carriers, I would have spent thousands on insurance. I have had to eat less than $50 by self-insuring. Larger ticket items should of course be insured and/or registered and the seller should have a rough idea of when to do it, ie when the potential loss exceeds what you are willing to eat.

So, when I see a listing where shipping and insurance is included, does the fact that it is insured matter to me as a buyer. Need it even be mentioned? The cost of the insurance should be paid by the seller and not the buyer. In the auction house setting should there be a surcharge for both shipping and insurance above the winning bid? With an auction house the insurance should be paid by the buyer's premium. Shipping is usually but not always extra.

A seller is the only party in the transaction who is protected by insuring the item.
The buyer should receive a full refund if the item is not delivered. If a seller insures every package that he ships regardless of value, then the buyer can be certain that he is probably paying for it in the cost of a fixed price purchase or at least part of otherwise. The buyer will not benefit from the package being insured. He simply should get a refund in lieu of the product he purchased.

As a buyer do any of you request insurance and if so why?

As a seller are you comfortable with the cost of insurance relative to the amount of any claims you may have collected?

Insurance of any type is a hedge against catastrophic loss, but in the long run do you get what you pay for, particularly at the Post Office?