What to do when seller does not send item paid for

I went through something similar on two different occasions just recently. I had someone ( supposedly ) send a piece to me here in Chicago from Ohio. When they did reply to my emails, they kept insisting it had been sent out, but would not forward any tracking info. As it turns out, they had sent it out via USPS. It took 10 days to travel two States over. Needless to say, it was not their fault nor do i think that this is "normal" transit time.

The other situation was quite similar. This time it went from Texas to me here in Chicago. Same situation with this one too i.e. the seller was not real responsive to emails, did not forward tracking info. Once again, it was the USPS delivering the component. This one took 14 days.

Needless to say, my idea of "timely delivery" no longer includes the USPS. I know that the shippers were not pulling my leg on either account, as the post mark on the packages verified the actual date of shipment. The fact that both pieces were damaged, probably due to a massive amount of handling and less than optimum packing, did not make me any happier.

Let's hope that you are in a similar situation. In a case like this, it IS better to be late than never. Sean
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My impression is that there are extremely few cases of fraud here on Audiogon. At Ebay there are always all kinds of scams going but I've been using Audiogon for 3 years and have never heard of someone getting chested outright on any forum thread.

On one of my first transactions through Audiogon, I nearly panicked when I didn't receive a set of expensive speaker wires for 4 weeks! UPS said my tracking number was not valid. I thought maybe the seller had pulled a fast one on me but in fact, it turned out that UPS had completely misplaced my package in the wrong state and had somehow deleted or never entered my tracking number into their computer system.

Has it been two weeks since you sent the maney order, or two weeks since the seller shipped the unit? My advice is be patient for a little while longer.

Sean, funny you mention Texas! That problem package, did it come out of San Antonio? I have had nothing but problems with mail delivery to and from San Antonio! I understand that mail service there can be a nightmare!