---

@clubesquirewrote:

 

 

 All our items are tracked, mainly because of value, and I agree, that is the Sellers prerogative.

 

I might have thought registered was too, but now in consideration if I was sending registered, I'd make it very clear to the buyer.

 

 

---

It kind of is, as least the SOGA (sale of goods act) indicates as much, which states that the seller is responsible for selecting the most appropriate postage method , unless the buyer provides instructions. It doesn't get any more specific than that, either, which also indicates "appropriate" is entirely circumstantial. Of course, that was written long before the implications of ebay / PayPal seller protection were ever a thing, nor was there even widespread advertising with specific postage methods pre-selected, but it still exists in that form today. 

The way I look at it is this...

I want to get the purchase to the buyer safely, and part of that task is to make a judgement call on the most effective way to do that. In some cases, I decide safety trumps convenience. Tracking that shows delivery, or proof of post (for PayPal) will protect me in most cases but doesn't help the buyer if they genuinely don't have the package, so when I add signature on delivery to a parcel, it's because I don't want either myself or the buyer to risk loss such as post-delivery theft, because nothing covers that (unless the buyer has contents insurance that will cover it, I guess). As I'm not in direct communication with about 95% of my buyers, nor do I have any knowledge of their personal circumstances, I have to make that judgement call on other factors. 

If you don't always send registered or with signature on delivery, then the best you can do is have it in your policies that shipments may be upgraded to registered at your discretion (I do have this myself in one of my policies, and also add that it's at no additional cost to the buyer).