Fred, sorry to hear of your problem. PayPal (eBay-owned) has had this signature confirmation rule for a very long time. They never hid the rule. They might mention it on Paypal payments transaction detail advices above a certain amount. I just checked, and I see that when you print a PayPal shipping-postage label, the form (even for low priced items) says "Note: Signature Confirmation is required to qualify for the Seller Protection Policy on shipments valued at more than $250.00 USD." ... .... ..... I guess it wasn't insured. The seller can always require the buyer to pay for insurance, though some buyers refuse to cooperate on insurance claims.

I am no eBay-PayPal fan. I dislike them for a lot of reasons.

A lot of people call eBay-PayPal too buyer friendly and an invitation for buyer fraud. I would no longer use eBay-PayPal for a high-priced item for one very good reason: the buyer can lie and say he received the package but the item inside was not as described in the auction. He could return a brick to you, or return nothing (I am told). EBay-PayPal does not insure the seller (Seller Protection Policy) against a SNAD (Significantly Not as Described) claim... ... .... And anyone can do a credit card charge-back. I like checks, as a seller.

Dangerous world out there. That is why many people say only use PayPal if you are a seller of many similar priced items where you can build the occasional fraud into your profit and loss program.

Robert