only new to the forums but been on ebay for years, i have sold and bought alsorts including some cars
and have sold all over the world
the trouble with ebay is it is buyer friendly, as a seller if an item does not arrive, even with proof of postage, unless it is a signed for item recieved by the buyer, ebay/paypal will refund the buyer and the seller has to claim for loss of the item
as for offering differnt methods of postage, if you offer first class with only £32 cover on a £150 item and it does not arrive, you as the seller will be out of pocket as again the buyer will recieve a refund via ebay/paypal
royal mail is a very expensive postage option as a seller, use parcels to go, it can be linked to you ebay account and paid by paypal, and you have the option to drop parcels off or have them collected plus adding the insurance is a much easier option on each and every item
min cost to send a small packet is now £5.20 or something where as on parcel to go you can and will half that in most cases
i have had all these scenarios happen to me so speak from experience, you will always have to refund as a seller unless you have proof the buyer recieved the item, the same as if it is faulty
aslo the latest issue is sending items to russia etc, they will pay by paypal, you post recorded/signed for, they recieve it but no signiture is requested or recorded and after about 40 days they start a item not recieved with paypal, and and as you have no way of proving delivery they get a refund from paypal , the only way around this is fedex and other international well know couriers but there prices are astronomical
also beware of any high value purchase from china, honk kong or korea, they all use fedex now who will regardless charge you 20% tax as the item hits UK, they pay this on your behalf, delivery you the item and then you get an invoice for the tax and £10 handling fee about 2 weeks later
hope this is of help