it is the shippers responsibility to make the claim...

First of all, I agree that the shipper owes you a refund or should ship new skins. I agree he is responsible until you get the merchandise.
But, there is always another side of the story.
I shipped a ton of stuff before I sold Sipsey River.  We stood behind every shipment. We offered insurance, but most people preferred that we ship without it because it was cheaper.There were some items and some locations we would refuse to ship unless insurance was included, we required it. Some customers buying these items or living in locations where we required insurance sometimes complained that they were being "gouged" on the shipping. The cost of insurance is set by USPS or UPS, not the shipper. As suggested above, any item over $50 or so should be insured, but even with insurance there are sometimes other issues. UPS sometimes refuses to pay if there is damage during shipment, they say the packaging was poor.
Insurance does not solve all problems, but it sure helps.
This is especially true when shipping to other countries. The Customs Offices of some countries slow items by Months and loose a lot of stuff. Be careful shipping to Europe.
All that said, he owes you a set of skins.

I can see Bill Tell's point about fairness. But the simple fact is that everyone in our trad community goes out of their way to EXCEED "fair" and do what's right for their brother. That is, in fact, OUR "standard". This dealer has not lived up to our standards and now faces the consequence. This is exactly as it should be.

Thank you for posting this. If we don't uphold the integrity of this great brotherhood, we will dengenerate into a s**t-heap like the rest of society.

A man who has earned a very good reputation as a snake skin suplier is Mike Yancy at Pine Hollow Longbows.

Well we haven't heard form the shipper.  I would be interesting to hear his side of the story at the very least before we build the gallows.

I hate to hear about this. I bought some skins from him last year and had a very good experience. He worked with me to find the skins I needed and I received them promptly. I have since recommended him to several other people looking for skins...I won't be doing that anymore without sharing your experience!

Wow , is me or does it feel like Monday around here...      

I waited a long time before I posted this.  I asked him several times to offer a replacement skin (which in the long run would be a lot cheaper than a refund).  I explained my philosophy. I sent him a bank check (his site listed that as the check option) to increase his profit since there would be no charge from paypal, which I communicated to him.  I can ship a knife anywhere in the country priority for under 5 bucks.  I sent him seven extra to cover shipping,which should have been enough to insure if he desired.  He used the USPS priority boxes which have no cost to him.  It took three emails after he emailed me the tracking number, to get a description of what he shipped the package in so I could pass it on to the Post Office.  I sent him the check on 1/10 and waited until Feb. 1st until I started to inquire.  So I have given him and additional three weeks to decide.

I would like to attest to Jim's reply.
Looks like I'm the only order he has had
that went astray.....and he made
good on it with out my even having
a chance to do anything.....Guess
where I will go when I need a service such
as his ?......and I will
most certainly spread the word of
a good product and service because of his actions.....oh , by the way , he even added
to the order because of the inconvenience....
Thanks again Jim....