Seller is responsible to get item to you, intact. yes? or no?


Is the seller responsible for packing and shipping? or not? Should the seller insist on a safe form of shipping? (and if the seller does insist, can he make the buyer pay for air, or 2-day?) or can the buyer say ship cheap (even though the seller eats the shipping fail?) ((And DOES the buyer eat the broken equipment cost?))                  
Who should be worried about insurance... the buyer? or the seller? Since it it is lost or broken, the buyer can get his/her money back. (usually)  
My 'take' is that the person AT RISK for loss is the SELLER. And the SELLER should certainly be needing the insurance. (Notice the seller is the person who has to collect insurance, NOT the buyer)... So IMO the Seller should be including the cost of insurance IN THE ASKING PRICE. Since the seller is the one 'needing' the insurance.                   
The other side is why should the buyer PAY for insurance when the seller is the one being protected by insurance?            
I have asked this before long ago, and the main answer seems to be FURY on the part of (mainly) sellers claiming they have no part in any shipping fail, that they say it is 100% on the buyer. (to which I just laugh)Where I would say the shipping packing, and burden of surety is 100% on the seller/person shipping.So what's your thoughts on it today...(like I said, I asked this years ago, and got a LOT of flack for even claiming the seller is the bad guy, and is responsible 100% of the time for the insurance and proper packing and insurance against loss.) So I thought it was a pertinent question. and wonder what all you folks think, today?

elizabeth
If the seller does not get the stuff to you in MINT shape then kick ass and take names.
It depends on your "contract" with the Seller - whether you accepted risk of loss from the Seller’s location, or whether the Seller did.

As a seller, I always, make sure the Buyer accepts risk of loss, during shipment, from my location, when the carrier picks up the package. And I place the shipment in the name of the buyer, so the buyer may settle any claim for damages with the shipper, directly.
UPS Store is the ABSOLUTE WORST !!!! They wrap everything in bubble wrap and send it.... 90% chance of damage. And UPS employees play football with the packages... I have only had claims with UPS.
I prefer FedEX .... they have never damaged anything I shipped.
Agreed. UPS is a joke. I'm amazed at how many dealers ship via UPS.
As I read through these, it becomes obvious that, whenever possible, meeting the seller to pick up the item yourself reduces a lot of potential headaches and actually reduces expenses. I drove from Newport News to just south of Philly to meet the seller of the pair of Maggies I bought a couple of summers ago and even with the investment of driving 12 hours, tolls, fuel, etc (and being handicapped, it wasn't necessarily a pleasant trip), there's really no good way to package 6 foot tall speakers and ship them without damage no matter how much $$ spent or what carrier you use. Don't know how Magnepan does it, but I'm very happy Jerry Norrell was willing to travel to meet me and kind enough to load the speakers into my car...