What all those guys said.
He may have had experience with the Amazon model. I don't know what kind of insurance they have, or deals they have with carriers, but if you report that a package showing "delivered" was not delivered to you, they immediately send out a replacement, and if the other package show up, they ask you to return it with a free shipping label.
That's very nice of them, but loss of the package isn't really their responsibility if they shipped it properly. It is generally the responsibility of both the carrier (to get it to the right address, if provided by the shipper), and the receiver (to ensure the package is left in a secure location or signed for). I had this happen to me a couple of times now with Amazon when they use OnTrac, the worst carrier in the business. The first time, I called OnTrac first. Their reps are very nice and helpful. The rep made the driver come to my house the very next day to talk to me. The driver swore he left the package at my front door, pointing to the corner where he left it. That's where OnTrac left me hanging and I called Amazon and they shipped a dupe order out overnight to me. Then two days later, a neighbor that had been out of town came by with the original shipment that the driver swore up and down he left on my front door. I live in a condo complex and I'm upstairs. The neighbor is cattycorner and downstairs.
I've never had a problem with any other carrier, just OnTrac (I think they are West Coast specific, they used to be California Overnight). I live in a very safe neighborhood, so I let the drivers just leave most of my packages until I get home. The only exception is expensive stuff, which I either route to my office, or get with "signature required". Signature required is usually initiated by the sender. Maybe you should institute that for your more expensive items (don't know if it costs you more)? The receiver, if they have a UPS or whoever account can override the sig requirement, but at least you would have documentation that puts the problem in their lap.