[barrysloate]

Over the years I've had a few packages lost via US mail, and to their credit the post office has always reimbursed me in full. I know UPS is much tougher to deal with, but I've never put in a claim with them.

And I agree a seller is fully responsible for getting a package delivered. I think it is silly for a seller to offer optional insurance; he should either insure or add tracking to every package he ships out. If it gets lost he can't blame the buyer for not taking insurance.

As a side note I won something on ebay a few months back and after a week to ten days it still hadn't arrived. The seller assured me there would be no problem because he included tracking. But when he contacted his local post office, they were unable to track anything. They had no clue where the package was. Finally, after seventeen days it arrived. But the tracking service is worthless.