Missing Parcel & small Irish business

Gru

over 10 working days ago i made an order from a small-ish Irish based company for products (a gift for a birthday which has now since been missed)

they on their website stated 1-2 working days delivery, which was brilliant (i was expecting it to be a little slower in the current climate),

3 days after ordering it i got the courier tracking number, but the item never showed up, so a few days ago (day before the birthday) i e-mailed the company i bought from to ask when i'd be receiving it, they looked into it and got back to me saying that "It seems to be missing in the courier warehouse" and again today e-mailed me to say the courier was still looking for it, and because that the courier they are using is prioritising delivering important medical goods they don't know how long i'll be waiting for my lost parcel, (for the record the same courier has had no issues/delays delivering non medical goods from other retailers to us or to our friends we were talking to about this during these working days.

what can i do here? obviously i don't want to be waiting indefinitely its already a late birthday gift. (and i do not want a refund because to be honest it was a pretty good deal i got online and stock unique to this business that i'm unlikely to get elsewhere)... but in my opinion the company are taking an "it's not our problem please go away" approach.


am i being unreasonable here?

Caranica

Courier deliveries should be insured so the retailer can claim against the courier and refund you?

RichT

Your contract is with the retailer who sold you the item, so it's only them that you should be dealing with. Don't let them fob you off with excuses about couriers. it's up to the retailer do deal with the courier that they used.