I would thank my lucky stars if you have gone 25 years without much of a loss problem. I have been selling for over 23 years and have shipped well over 10,000 packages via USPS from on and off eBay sales. I have only had one loss claim and that was prior to tracking. That was yesterday and now we enter today with the USPS. They are having the same problems as most businesses do today - poor-quality employees that just don't care. Obviously, you roll the dice every time you ship without insurance. That's a business choice you make. I normally insure everything, but lately, I let a few inexpensive items go without it. Thankfully I have a third-party insurance company for expensive items, say over $300 which cost about 10% of what the USPS insurance fees are. The downside of using a company like this I have to pay an annual subscription fee. So you have to cost justify your potential insurance savings by paying the annual fee. For me, it has saved thousands.
I am not positive who told you the USPS will not help. Unless you ask them directly, that can't be proven. Some Postmasters will track your package right down to the pallet or bag last scanned at. You do not have anything to file a claim on if you did not have insurance, you are correct. I would also review how you mailed it. Every once in a while check your labeling and packaging to see if you could improve. I use bright stickers on my padded bags and parcels. These are especially important when mailing anything of value, like coins. I put DO NOT BEND and FRAGILE labels on everything. Anyone looking for coins to steal would see these labels as a sure sign that nothing of metal value is inside or that the padded envelope probably contains photos - DO NOT BEND. You can buy these bright-colored labels anywhere.
And as an FYI - I am a retired Postmaster of 33 years. I am amazed at how most sellers on eBay ship things. Reused supplies, old boxes or envelopes already used. I recall one I received that the seller reused which had the prior address still on it with a USPS return to sender hand stamped marked DECEASED. I couldn't believe that one.
If you or anyone else here has any USPS questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I will always try to help by falling back on my experience and knowledge of the dark mystery holes in the USPS organization. I do still have quite a lengthy contact list with numbers.
