I did not include insurance, but the max declared value the Post Office will cover internationally is $2500 IIRC. I declared that value to put it on the record, but declined the so-called "insurance". A whole separate topic, but the "insurance" that shippers sell is not insurance at all, and is largely useless in the event of a claim. They have about thirty excuses to evade paying, and you really have to fight with them to get anything. They sure do like collecting the premium, however.
My thought process was: a CF instrument well packed in a gig bag inside a box is very unlikely to be damaged by impacts or mishandling, except for the most extreme of events. Further, by going through Customs and shipping by Priority Mail, the shipment is thoroughly tracked and unlikely to get lost (the other major hazard). There were no issues getting Chimeara from and back to Ireland, or getting my new X20-12 from Ireland (it isn't going back).
Tracking with AnPost (the Irish post office) is fine, but tracking on the US side is marginal and lags severely. By the time USPS showed my X20-12 released from Customs in New York, it was here in Boise.
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I just looked at the Emerald web site out of curiosity. They don't have an X20 Opus (plain Jane model) in stock, but they have a blue Artisan X20 on hand for $2100 shipped. Upgrade to an Artisan gives you a pickup, a hard case, a full gloss finish, and the color.
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