Apparently with the advent of Paypal postal services the world over have gotten worse in recent years as it seems that items are "not received" more and more.
No, I really think it is eBay. Or at least online commerce.
Anecdote is not data, but having sold by mail order since the Eighties, claims for non-delivery (or even late delivery) are much higher here than, for example, from our own website.
Note that we rarely use tracking because of the unnecessary expense. Most of our lower value items go LetterPost/Light Packet.
Although we take cc's directly, most of our new customers usePP, and many of our long term customers, even those who have been in the shop and met us, will prefer to use PP when shopping by mail/online.
That being said-- time for the Cookie Jar Insurance rant?
Sellers of low value and small items, which do not require Parcel Post handling and are usually automatically tracked, can use the cheaper Letter/Light Packet services which are not tracked as long as they self-insure.
This just means adding a few pennies, rarely more than a dime, to the asking or shipping price of every item.
Those virtual pennies go in a virtual Cookie Jar.
When faced with an Item Not Received complaint, the seller refunds from the Cookie Jar, BEFORE eBay gets involved.
This means no Disputes on the seller's record.
In most categories, complaints are few enough that the Cookie Jar may even turn a profit.
Always ask the unhappy customer to return the refund when the item arrives. This usually works in my experience.
