I had a similar experience with a long time cable manufacturer. When I inquired about making me a custom umbilical cord for my Pass XP-22 I got an instant response. I sent him the money to start the process, and then he went dark. He went way past his approximate shipping date. I sent him several emails with no response. Finally I contacted Paypal and they reimbursed my money.
About 2 weeks later the cord shows up at my door. He then sent me a friendly email asking me to resend him payment. I did and was ultimately happy with my purchase.
The company is Revelation Audio Labs. With that said...He is a one man show. He makes fantastic cables/power cords. I think he's older and not the greatest communicator. I also think he is an honest man, and does live up to his word....but he is horrible at returning emails. I pride myself on being a good communicator, so its hard for me to understand why some people just suck at it.
I mentioned the company because I do think they make excellent cables/cords. I do think he's honest, and wouldn't rip you off. However, he's kind of famous for not following up with inquiries from customers.
I would purchase from him again, but at least I would know that this goes with the territory.