Stu Wrote: "I buy all of my laptops from Dell. Generally, shipping is free."

If you don't think Dell is making enough profit on the laptop to cover their "free" shipping and that you're not paying for it, then I have some swamp land in Florida that you might be interested in purchasing too.

Stu Wrote: "Chances are, that chip will show up uninsured in a regular envelope with a 37 cent stamp."

How do you know it's not insured? Did they specifically say that you are buying USPS insurance? How do you know that they don't have insurance coverage from another company? Maybe they have collector's insurance that would cover the chip in case of a loss. Maybe they are willing to take the risk themselves and do "Self-insurance". In that case, they are paying themselves to act as the insuring party. All insurance agents have to charge enough money so that they can bank enough money to cover a loss if and when it happens. If they don't specifically indicate who the insurance provider is and if you don't ask, then are they not free to use whoever they want to insure the item (including themselves)?

If you don't like it, then once again I say fine. Don't bid on it. Sounds simple to me. I don't think it's fair to essentially group all ebay sellers into a group as if they are crooked or out to cheat you.

I actually agree with you... I would not pay $3 for shipping and then pay $1.50 for insurance. I AGREE with you that this is too expensive. As a result, I don't bid on those auctions. But I still feel they have every right to charge what they want.