I agree with your post. And you didn't even include costs for insurance. Even if you self-insure all of your packages, eventually you will take a loss on a mailing so there is a cost eventually to you on insurance or lost package.

Not to stir up the UCC debate again (I don't want to hijack this thread with that debate again), I guess that's why I was saying a couple weeks ago that if I can keep the seller's cost down and my costs down by declining optional insurance I would be more willing to bid on cheaper chips. For those situations, I would never ask the seller to reimburse a lost package even though some people here thinks it's ok for me to demand a replacement or refund if package was lost.

Thanks for taking the time to detail out the true costs on an auction like that. Sorry I missed you at the convention this past year. Hopefully I can get out there next year!