Refund or replace the buyer first, then claim. Those are two separate problems and letting the second delay the first is what turns a lost parcel into a bad review.
Why the claim is yours
You booked the carrier, so their customer is you. The buyer has no contract with them, no booking reference, and no standing to chase — which is why they are told to come to you rather than to the courier. The courier damaged my parcel
That is not a burden invented by Metzee; it is how sending a parcel works.
What to do, in order
1. Check the tracking properly. Most "lost" parcels are unscanned rather than gone, and a few days of silence is normal — longer to remote PIN codes and around festivals. Tracking has not moved in days
2. Tell the buyer where it stands. Specific, not apologetic. A buyer who knows you are chasing it waits; one who hears nothing opens a dispute.
3. Decide at a sensible point, not when the carrier finishes. Refund or replace once it is clearly gone. Your money is held against that order anyway, so a refund is not you being out of pocket twice. How refunds work
4. Then claim, with the proof of posting, the weight and dimensions you declared, and the item's value.
What makes a claim work
Proof of posting, kept. The receipt with the tracking number.
The declared value, honest and recorded at booking. Carriers cap what they pay and usually at a low default unless you declared otherwise.
Photographs of the packed parcel, label visible. The same two minutes that settle damage disputes also settle claims.
The honest limits
Carriers pay out slowly and often less than the item was worth. That is the risk of posting valuable things, and it is a reason to think about declared value before you send rather than after it vanishes.
For something genuinely valuable, pickup removes the whole category of problem where you can offer it. What is a pickup point?
What it costs you if you handle it badly
A lost parcel is bad luck. A lost parcel with no communication becomes a dispute, and an unanswered dispute freezes that order's money and counts against you. The parcel was the carrier's fault; everything after it is yours. How long a dispute takes
Reducing the odds
Weigh and measure honestly, so a parcel is not re-handled or surcharged in transit. Weights and dimensions
Use a carrier that actually reaches where your buyers are, rather than the cheapest. Choosing a courier
Pack so it survives the worst handling you have seen. How to pack an order
More: choosing a courier, tracking has not moved in days, how refunds work.