eBay lets buyer wait 548 days to report item not received

By: Ina Steiner
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A seller woke up today to find an item not received claim for an eBay order. The kicker: he sent the article 548 days ago. It’s been 18 months – a year and a half ago.
Let the seller know your item hasn’t arrived
If your item’s estimated delivery date has passed and you still haven’t received your item, let the seller know. You have 30 days from the estimated delivery date to notify the seller that you have not received your item.
Because the item was a postcard sent in an envelope with a postage stamp, there is no tracking. (Buyers won’t pay as much in shipping as the cost of the item, which in this case was $5, with free shipping.) The seller has indicated that they now use eBay Standard Envelope, be it said by the way.
The incident raises the question: how sure can a buyer be 18 months later that an item never arrived in the mail? (And why wait so long to report it?)
The seller discussed the INR claim on their YouTube channel, which you can see here:
We are curious if this is a rare occurrence and if there is anything the seller can do to avoid getting a performance rating.