Maybe... but also the buyer should have known that surface mail can take much longer, possibly falling out of the PayPal dispute timeframe. It's a tough one to answer, really. Good that it worked out.

Easy answer. If the seller is foolish enough to offer seamail, the seller gets an INR and relies on the buyer to repay them when they receive it.

Not a business model I subscribe to. Mind you I only sell to Australia, for good reason.