[PointyFox]

I've noticed some sellers saying stuff like "buyer would be responsible for paying insurance" in their listings.

As far as I'm aware, insurance only protects the seller since the item is not legally the buyer's property until they receive it and in as described condition.

It's the same with Amazon and eBay. Sellers must provide their own insurance. If the item becomes lost or damaged it is the seller's responsibility to replace it or provide a refund.

Is it not the same here?

 

[Sonic Defender]

Wouldn't be with me. Once I sell it and ship it, it isn't mine. If they want insurance it is up to them to pay for that. Often the selling price used is so much lower than new that even if the seller has to pay insurance it is still way less money than buying new. This is of course something that you can negotiate, but for me this is not by default the sellers responsibility.

 

[F208Frank]

My personal policy is to make sure the customer receives the product, by using tracking number/signature confirmation. I would also ask if the buyer wanting insurance or not and give them the option to pay for it.

Everyone does it a little different, but your reputation is your reputation.

 

[Sonic Defender]

For sure, but ultimately insurance coverage has to be agreed upon, not assumed. It is ethical and professional as a seller to inform potential customers that they will need to pay for the insurance, or negotiate something, but if there is no conversation, again, that should never be taken as on the seller by default. Like I said, once I pack it securely, ship it, provide the tracking number to the buyer, at that point it is literally, and ethically out of my hands. I have shipped quite a bit of stuff in my day, and up to now, I have never lost a package. Although once a very delicate tube amp was apparently received not working, but the buyer and I worked it out. Apparently it was well known by the manufacturer of the amp that a design flaw they fixed in later versions made it susceptible to even modest bumps during shipping.

 

[moriez]

I've noticed some sellers saying stuff like "buyer would be responsible for paying insurance" in their listings.

It's a guess what some here mean by it. Most logical to me is they hint at buyer paying the additional percentage to cover the Paypal fee. That's all the insurance buyer needs. For cases of maximum seller protection he's best off to spend extra on insured shipment to be able to file a claim with the shipment company in case things go bad. If he tries to lay that extra on buyer then well.. one can always try ^^

As far as I'm aware there are no hard rules on Head-Fi except using Paypal. I'm kind of happy we're given the freedom to negotiate terms that suit both.