Audiogon policy is as stated; shipper/seller assumes responsibility to
deliver items in the condition stated at time of sale; just like with a
retail purchase. That would make it a very straight-forward, except in
the wild wild west, I mean internet, few things are straight-forward.
Unless the parties agree up-front, the standard conditions apply, but
there are legitimate reasons to make it part of the negotiation, as long
as all of the conditions are spelled out in advance.
A few points to consider before taking a blanket stance one way or the other:
1. Paypal buyer protection and credit-charge charge backs in general put the seller at substantial risk of fraudulent claims of shipping damage or non-delivery of goods.
2. The risk to the seller is made greater due to UPS/Fedex policy of denying virtually all claims, at least at first, due to "inadequate packing" or re-use of shipping materials, or some such nonsense. I had one claim initially denied by UPS because they said the item weighed more than the burst strength printed on the bottom of the box, even though the box DID NOT burst.
3. Some of the items for sale here are VERY FRAGILE, irreplaceable and/or difficult to value. For example, what about discontinued speakers where one of a pair is damaged and parts are no longer available. Even if you can get the insurer to agree that a 20,30, 40 y.o. speaker is worth more than 10% of original retail, they will most likely only pay you for one speaker even though a "half pair" has no resale value.
4. There is the customs/duty issue raised above.
5. There are cases where the buyer refuses to cooperate with the shipper's claim procedure.
Of course the "standard" policy applies in "standard" situations. But it's not unreasonable to make the "who takes the shipping risk" issue part of a negotiation or condition of sale. Just like the buyer is free to reject a sale on that basis, there are also circumstances where a seller might reject an offer that does not provide some protection to him or her on the shipping issue. If you're not comfortable as a buyer accepting shipping risk, then walk away, especially if there the seller cannot provide a reasonable explanation as to why you are being asked to assume that risk.
Just my $0.02. YMMV.
