delivery insurance?

[Sa Da Tay]

I'm sure this has come up before here so I apologize for the repeat. I just ordered from a vendor that I"ve been perfectly happy with in the past, but now they are offering an extra charge for delivery insurance else the delivery is not guaranteed. I don't order from many different vendors so is this becoming the standard? My first thought was that e-cig vendors are comparably small businesses so maybe this is a needed added expense, but then I recalled all the other (very) small (non-ecig) businesses I've internet shopped from who never ask for this insurance charge; plus, this particular vendor seems to be a fairly large operation compared to the other mom n pop vendors I've ordered from (who don't charge for insurance btw).

I'm sure the vendor perspective is different, but from a consumer viewpoint it seems to me that this is a cost (rectifying delivery issues) that the vendor should take on as part of being able to sell their product online, rather than passing the cost on to their customers. Am I completely off-base in thinking this?

 

[Saintly1]

When you ship through the post office insurance is an additional cost. If you ship through UPS or FEDEX then insurance is free up to $100 value.

They're probably just going a step further and allowing you to pay for the insurance if you so choose. In effect what they're telling you is that they don't guarantee whether or not the PO delivers the package to you nor will they absorb that cost for you.

With that said.. should the vendor be responsible for insuring your package delivery? Maybe so, but if they do then they're going to increase their shipping cost in order to provide that insurance. I believe they're simply giving you the option as to whether or not you want that insurance.

 

[Underwhelmed]

I'd recommend it with anything coming using the USPS.

I bought some stuff from the classifieds and it disappeared at a USPS sorting center never to be seen again and I'm out $50.

 

[Saintly1]

I actually wish more vendors would add that as an option or just go ahead and add it to the shipping cost. It's possible you might be able to tell them in a comment section or something but insurance is usually pretty cheap. $2 insurance on a $30 order seems silly until the package never arrives and you have to spend another $30.