I frequently order goods without insurance if signature is required for delivery ; however, I knowingly make that decision, assume that risk, and absolve the shipper of responsibility as long as they can show that goods were in fact shipped.

If I didn't personally waive the insurance etc., then I would expect the seller to resolve the problem.

With that said however, in a case like this I personally would have sat back and thought long and hard about making a fuss about it. If you truly were getting the goods at cost, then that is a pretty substantial saving. Making a fuss about this issue would seem to gaurantee that you will not be getting that discount in future, so I would have looked at it in terms of "is it worth it to eat the $300 (or even the full $600) loss in order to safeguard my future discounts" ? I might have simply accepted the loss and asked the friend to insure all future shipments, because the 'friend discount' could save me WAAAAY more than that in the long run.

Gordon