What to do if figure gets lost in mail?

[Lynx]

One of my holy grails, a figure that isn't widely available (carnegie figure), has been stuck in transit for a while now. This is my first time dealing with this stuff and I am really worried. Am I able to send the figure back or get a refund if it won't come back? I'm not sure if this is the right area, but I am really concerned.

[ceratopsian]

I don't think there is a clear-cut answer. It depends from whom you bought it and how you paid for it. For instance you can open a dispute process on eBay. I had to do that a couple of times and got my money back when things didn't turn up. If you paid by PayPal (but not if you used Friends and Family), then you might be covered under their purchase protection scheme.

I guess something else to consider is where it was coming from. And how great is the delay. A few days?  A few weeks?  Your own country or from abroad?  International transit can be slow these days.

I would start by contacting the seller and flagging up that you still don't have the package.

[Halichoeres]

Agreed, it's much more likely to get stuck for a while if it's an international package. Things get stuck in customs for days or occasionally weeks, depending on the source or destination country.

And unfortunately, things do just get lost sometimes. Several years ago I bought a set of Bullyland figures from Michigan, and they failed to reach me in Chicago, just a few hundred kilometers away. You may be able to get reimbursed if it's through eBay or PayPal, though, as ceratopsian suggests.

[Faelrin]

I remember one of the packages I got from my friend in Germany had tracking stop updating after it reached the German international mail office (I forgot what it was called). It stayed like that for months, and concerned I was at risk of loss I opened up an investigation with the USPS who would be the receiving party. A few days later it showed up at my door. I wonder if they just needed some pressure to get it done?

If I recall I think this occured last year. I think it was my haul of Bullyland figures, Mattel Postosuchus, etc.

Edit: I should also mention my friend initially started the investigation with DHL over there. I had to continue it through USPS.