Lynne
I have had exactly the same problem for years.  I firmly believe that this
is a "clever" ploy of the fulfillment house in Colorado (which distributes a
lot of the more popular magazines). EBSCO agrees with me on this and keeps
an in house supply of issues just in case.  The fulfillment house also has a
habit of sending a card asking for issue and cover date information, which
we always send in the initial claim.  SO, I send the information again and
then they claim that we have now exceeded the claiming time limit. Sound
familiar?

I now try one claim to see if by some remote chance (which occasionally
happens) I might receive the issue and then, if not, I pursue a replacement
through USBE. If you wait too long the issue may go out of print.

Sheila M. Hufeld
Senior Library Specialist
Bibliographic Services
Milner Library
Illinois State University