I tell you what I had happen one time. No lie, I bought a set of brakes off of ebay buy it now and paid with paypal at the same time. A few days went by and I didn't get an email saying that it had been shipped. I gave it a few more days ( it was shipping from like indiana to NC) I sent a message and gave it a few more days. I sent another message and waited a few more days. Ebay only has buyer protection for a limited amount of time so I went ahead and opened a dispute. When I opened the dispute it gave me his phone number and email address. I sent an email and waited a few more days. Nothing. One afternoon I picked up the phone and called. A woman picked up the phone sounding very confused. I told her what was going on and she told me her brother had been killed in a car accident just after he had listed the auction and she just happened to be over there checking in on his old dog at his house. I caught her by chance and she was getting ready to leave. I told her I was sorry for her loss and forget about the deal. About four days later a package arrived with a note and the stuff I had bought in it. She said that she had found the emails and completed the deal because of how patient I had been.