Sellers not marking items as sent is a pet hate of mine, too!!

Doesn't matter whether it is tracked or untracked, I like to know when it is on its way.

I think nowadays most sellers are much better at posting things off quickly, because they have to be-ebay has forced them to have a time limit.

I used to find in the past it was much more common that I would have to do what you describe- drop an enquiry to the seller. A lot of them used to take their sweet time, it was nothing for them to wait a week or two before posting something off.

If they tried that on me now and something wasn't even posted by the estimated due dates, I'd be opening an item not received claim.