Help! Lost in Transit Hardware!

[dwh1]

Help! Lost in Transit Hardware!
I am having a problem with INSIGHT, the company I recently ordered an HP DAT backup drive from. Here is how my situation goes:

I paid for the drive($805), it arrived.

It didn't work, I called Insight, got the RMA and address, put the drive in the mail.

The drive never made it to Insight, the US Postal Service says it's "ir-retrievably lost."

Insight says "sorry, no drive, no replacement nor refund."

What is the deal? Should I take them to small claims court?

Additional info:

No, the drive wasn't sent insured or registered(it was broke,) but by PRIORITY MAIL.

Yes, I have a signed and witnessed statement, and a postage receipt from the person receiving the package at the post office.

Yes, I have a letter from the US Postal Service stating my package was lost, and that they are not liable.

[SysOpt]

Doesn't sound like it's Insight's fault at all, but rather the USPS. It's common for shipping companies to mess up and for the shipper to want to assign blame elsewhere. I'm not familiar with the insurance practices of Priority mail - seems like it carries a default insurance amount, but perhaps not. In this case it may be an extremely expensive lesson, but always ship things insured using USPS (or by UPS/Fedex/Airborne and be sure you have the right amount of insurance) unless you can afford to lose the item, monetarily or otherwise. That's what the insurance fees are for - you can't expect the USPS to take responsibility when they make insurance available that you didn't opt for. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif

Scott

P.S.- I just checked the USPS site: "Priority Mail can be insured, registered, certified, or sent Collect on Delivery (COD) for an additional charge. Contact your local post office for more information."

[This message has been edited by SysOpt (edited 01-15-2000).]