When I buy something I expect that I am responsible for getting the payment into the seller's possession. AND I expect the seller is responsible for DELIVERING the item to my possession. If I pay with a bad check then the seller has a legal case against me. If my bank goes out of business and the funds are not transferred to the seller, then that seller has a legal case against me, not my bank. Nor is it the seller's responsibility for collecting those funds: it is my responsibility to pay him.
Likewise, when an item is purchased and the funds are conveyed to the seller, it is then the seller's responsibility to deliver the item purchased into the possession of the buyer. If it is lost in shipment, then it has not been delivered and the seller is still responsible for that delivery. Who pays for the delivery charges and for any insurance is an item that should be negotiated before the deal is finalized. But, if the seller does not INSIST that insurance be a part of the deal, then that buyer is still responsible for delivery. Even if there is insurance, it will usually be paid to the seller and the responsibility for delivery is his, not the buyer's. Any court in the land will uphold that.
This is why you can purchase almost anything over the internet or by a phone call and pay for it. Then, if it is lost or damaged in shipment, you can expect the company to either ship another one to you or refund your money. No large company will dispute this because their lawyers have told them that they ARE responsible for delivering that merchandise. Companies like Amazon, Walmart, McMaster, and millions of others, VIRTUALLY WITHOUT A SINGLE EXCEPTION, follow this policy. All you have to do is tell them you did not get the item and a replacement item is on the way. The act of putting the merchandise into the hands of a shipping company does not end the responsibility of the seller unless that is an EXPRESSED and MUTUALLY AGREED UPON provision of the transaction. And yes, fine print does count but it must be there when the contract is made, not inserted later.
It is only with individuals or companies that that make only a few such sales and are not familiar with this simple principle of commerce where you will have a problem. They are not familiar with the law and will try to wiggle out of it. But the same principle applies. The purchase is a contract. The buyer agrees to pay an agreed upon price and the seller agrees to DELIVER the goods. If either side fails in this then the other side has a legal case against them.
Large companies engaged in internet and telephone commerce do not insist that insurance be a part of every transaction due to one or more of several reasons. First, if you insist that your buyers pay insurance, they may very well go to another source. In many cases it is simply less expensive to replace a low dollar value item than to insure it. Finally, some of them do have insurance against these losses but they do not mention it in their advertising or when a purchase is being made because there is no reason to do so.
I worked for a company that frequently shipped high dollar items ($10,000 and more). They had a deal with their insurance company where these items were either automatically insured in shipment or a simple phone call would add them to the existing policy before they were shipped. They were a relatively small company but they knew the law and their responsibilities. They knew the risk while those items were in shippment was THEIRS. I know how this worked because I was often the one who prepared those shipments and I asked about insurance.
"Free on truck at my premises..." or what is commonly referred to as FOB is a statement about who pays for what part of the shipping cost. It means that the customer must pay any costs involved in unloading the freight from a truck. This often means having something like a forklift or other equipment for handling large and/or heavy items when the freight company's truck arrives at the destination. The supplier is not responsible for any costs involved in unloading the truck. It says NOTHING about the legal responsibility of the seller to actually deliver the goods. Stating that an item is FOB does not relieve that responsibility.
And none of this even discusses the freight company's responsibility. Read THEIR fine print if you want to see what they can wiggle out of.
Not in my opinion. You're asking him to take the risks all the way from his door to yours. I'd not do that unless I was getting paid to do so.
Free on truck at my premises, photos of the machine being crated to your satisfaction, photos of it being loaded/secured and then my responsibility ends.
After that, it's yours and you insure it for transit or personally come collect it.
I understand your reluctance to trust someone at a distance but think you're being unrealistic.
PDW
