Posted By:
Al C.risafulliPersonally I don't even worry about it until two weeks after the date I make payment (if it's Paypal - if it's a check I'll wait 3 weeks). Winning an item April 8 and emailing the seller about it when it's just barely a week after the transaction, to me, seems a bit premature. March 23, however, is a bit longer and it's acceptable to ask the seller what's going on.
In general, I'll send the seller a friendly note after two weeks, which usually does the trick. If I don't hear back, I'll send another note a few days later, perhaps a little more firm. When it starts getting close to 30 days, I'll file a dispute - but it almost never gets to that point.
On a similar note, though, I sold an item on eBay on MARCH 13. Yesterday, I discovered that I never shipped it - it was sitting in my briefcase. Thankfully the buyer is a friend, but it just proves that even with 100% feedback on 1200 transactions (or whatever I have), a seller will occasionally flake out.
-Al