Today, I think one has to seriously consider how they ship anything of value. USPS priority mail with a triangular USPS box, contents securely packaged, will probably arrive 99% of the time undamaged, even if uninsured. I believe that regular priority mail insured is not a good idea as you are telling every potential thief along the way what a great target your package may be for them.
Honestly, I believe that any cue of mine worth $1,000 or more that today, if I were to sell one, I would insist that it go FED EX 2 day with signature or USPS Express- splitting the cost with the buyer. This is just a logical cost of doing safer business by mail today. I would not go for the extra insurance, and I would always pack the cue myself with photos taken during the process as proof to the buyer of what was in the box.
I doubt that many Express packages are lost, and damage along the way can be very much minimized by proper packaging. Stay away from shipping during major holidays , weekends, check the weather for major snowstorms in the direction that you are shipping- all common sense ideas to minimize risk.
I cringe every time I receive a box from a cue repair place that has the name "Billiards" printed on the box itself- I doubt the advertising is worth the risk for theft in today's environment. Yet probably about 60 times in the past 20 years I received a priority mail USPS box with " Mueller Billiards" printed in BOLD across the box and never lost a cue or a shaft.
I never place the word "Billiards" or" Attn: Cue Repair". on any box shipped with cues or shafts that I have shipped for repair- never lost one in 20 years either.
