Well at least I'm not the only one to have the notification issue then, means it's not anything 'wrong' my end or with my account, just another glitch. I'm just making sure I check my messages repeatedly as I'm worried the next notification to 'go missing' will be a message one. I always feel a bit lame saying it was an Ebay glitch, I know some people use excuses to cover up their lack of service (or as a buyer lack of payment) and I've probably had the family emergency one the most so I tend to view it with a certain amount of skepticism (especially for a single buy it now item), as do most people I think, but another one is 'my computer/paypal isn't working' or 'I can't pay for the item online, you have to accept cash sent in the post or a money order'.

Even when I've been in hospital (ED not something scheduled) I've tried to send a message or email to a buyer with my phone saying I can't get to a computer, but will contact them again (usually to combine an invoice) asap (and wince when I read it because it just sounds fake!). That's probably why I always give people a chance. I'm trying to find the balance between being reasonable as I know stuff can pop out of nowhere and hit you for six, and offering good service but not being taken advantage of.

A site I've been looking at for selling on has a clear rule of 5 days for payment (or other arrangements made and agreed to) or you're booted off and 5 days to post, or again booted off, sellers agree to having the exact physical item available for immediate postage. No back ordering allowed. It has a zero tolerance to buyers who don't pay or arrange for cancelling a transaction for legitimate reasons. Granted you could keep making accounts, but you'd have to supply a different name and email address every time which is a fair amount of work for someone who is just trolling. It looks like there is far more protection available to sellers and buyers and with the policy updates to Paypal coming into force on October 11, you will also have seller protection outside of Ebay! Food for thought really, Ebay gets it's money from the sellers and if they continue to provide poor service that impacts a sellers ability to sell then people are going to look for alternatives!