Question on when to issue a buyer refund if Standard Envelope for Card package not received

[shenterprises]

I've used the eBay Standard Envelope for card service for more than a year and generally find it workable. This is the first time an item hasn't gotten to the buyer within two weeks and tracking says it is stuck in a USPS facility. 

According to the information at https://pages.ebay.com/sell/standarddelivery/termsofservice.html ebay wants me to wait 30 days to file a claim for a lost package.  It's fairly obvious USPS lost this or is holding it in a warehouse for some reason and I doubt workers will magically find it in a couple weeks. 

The claim process has the refund sent to the seller's paypal address, from what I understand. So should I go ahead and issue a refund to the buyer before the 30 days or wait until the process is ended, which could take much longer than 30 days? 

It's a small order of about $6, so I don't care that much about issuing a refund now and waiting to get the money after 30 days. But  I'm wondering what should be done with larger orders, say of $19, when it might matter more to make sure the claim is accepted by eBay. 

And I don't remember what happens with lost claims for larger orders not under the Standard program. I guess those are still filed directly with USPS and you wait months? I haven't had to do one of those in several years.

Thanks,
SH 

[murphy71605 · Accepted solution]

It is not unusual to have an item take this long, frustrating but not unheard of especially this time of year. Most of these do eventually show up. I would wait until the 30 days are up and then refund. Once you have refunded you will then be able to file a successful claim if everything checks out. If you refund now and the item shows up you may never see that money again.

[biggymoe]

I ship hundreds of cards, using ESE, with little to no problems.  But stuff happens.

However, I wouldn't even consider shipping a $19 card, using that method.

[shenterprises]

Yeah I hear you. This is the first time I've had an issue, but I don't think i will use the standard envelope for a more expensive card in the future.

[shenterprises]

Good advice! Thanks