When shipping high value items, USPS Registered mail is the way to go. It’s one of the best kept shipping secrets for shipping high value items. Includes insurance and must be signed for. You get a tracking number but due to security RM cannot be tracked by normal means. You need to seal all package seams with brown paper tape (they hand stamp each seam at the post office). And you need to take it to the post office for mailing.
Example: The cost to ship a $2000 item by Priority RM would only be the regular priority mail postage plus $14.50. For a $5000 package it would only be $18.10 plus regular postage.
https://about.usps.com/postal-bulletin/2008/html/pb22247/html/not123_063.html
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One caveat to note is that the shipping time is considerably slower because of the additional handling steps. If that works for both parties, great.
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I sent coins and currency to an auction house via registered mail, worked out well. The postal clerk was, so you really need this service? Told her the insured value, that ended the conversation 
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Thanks for pointing that out. Another point: most make the mistake of sending by First Class RM. Priority RM speeds it up more.
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I read somewhere when I was shipping high end watches around the country that the USPS has never lost a single piece of Registered mail with Return Receipt Requested.
The Hope Diamond was sent to the Smithsonian via Registered mail.
Everyone at the USPS who handles your package has to sign a chain of custody. The extra taping of the box seams and edges with the brown paper tape makes it difficult for someone to pilfer the box without it being very noticeable.
If I want absolute delivery, I use Registered mail. I have never had an issue.
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Speaking as someone outside the U.S.A., I vastly prefer when a seller ships to me via USPS. The receiver here – Canada Post – will charge only the actual taxes due, plus a flat $10 processing fee. The private shipping companies (DHL, FedEx and most notoriously UPS) slap “cross-border brokerage charges” on top that are often horrific and sometimes exceed the actual value of the item. Given the choice, I will ask for USPS every time – and am happy to wait.
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