Quite a few of us rather pack extremely good and self insure instead of giving extra money away to a third party.
Every item i sell i put a dollar to the side which is cheaper than buying it from someone else. then after a while you build up a surplus of money. When you don't use it then you have that much more that you can dip into from time to time.
My first dip was when i learned about an auction down the street within minutes of it starting that was poorly advertised, just grab that cash and good thing i did because i came home with 2 truckloads full. My biggest grab brought me a truck. if i didn't self insure but brought shipping insurance every time i would not have that truck but some third party would be making good mony on me.
Biggest key is when you self insure is ALWAYS put something aside from each sale. some say a quarter or two but i like putting a full dollar away because it adds up faster and bills are easier to store than a bunch of change and it is still cheaper . Big mistake people make is they stop or never put anything away and if something does happen then they don't have the cash to repay back. Another key factor is don't dip to soon or to often. you need to be able to cover every package that you have in the mail in case of some rare big disaster.
Some people say they cannot afford to self insure but in reality most people would be farther ahead cash wise if they did. yes, at first, it might be a little hairy to cover yourself but it doesn't take long to be on the positive side especially if you are a good packer. Even if you are a good packer and buy insurance from someone else, doesn't mean you are gauranteed to collect shipping insurance but guess what? i never been denied a claim when i self insured. 🙂
