Can't get in contact with buyer, how long do I leave it?

[Indadhanu]

We sold an item on eBay on November 7, pick up only, he decided to pay when he picked it up and I assumed this was what you normally do for pick-up items anyway?

He contacted us, arranged to pick them up in a week, on the 14th, which again was ok by me. Then he rings on the 11th, says no he can't pick them up because he has to go overseas to Zew Zealand for a funeral and he was arranging flights etc?

I give him the benefit of the doubt, even though it sounded sus, because these things do happen. He contacted me later, really apologetic and said he had arranged flights and he was arriving back in Australia on the 26th, and he'd be here on the 27th.

Today.

Well no contact since the 11th. I've tried to email, call etc, nothing. i figured if he was overseas maybe he didn't have email access and his phone might not have been working properly ... anyway, needless to say, I've been trying yesterday and today to get in contact with him, with no luck.

What do I do? The last email I sent I said look i need them picked up today, its 3 weeks now, if he can't then I'm offering it up as a Second Chance Offer to the next person.

How long do I wait to hear from him? Maybe offer them up tomorrow morning if I haven't heard.
My 'nice' side says if there was a death in the family, he's likely to be all over the place in his head and probably not thinking about his eBay purchase.
On the other hand, it's a well-worn excuse, and I've given him a chance, and its not like its $20, its a few hundred, and we sold it because we needed the money when we sold it. And since we havent won lotto in the last 3 weeks, it'd be good to get our money now...

Is it reasonable to say, ok 3 weeks, you lose, the next highest bidder wins (HOPEFULLY, assuming they still want/need the item... 3 weeks before Christmas and I don't like our chances but oh well...)?

[Visitor7]

I'd be giving him until tomorrow at the latest. He said the 27th, no later. And considering you've gone to extreme measures to get in contact with him, and he hasn't replied.

[Daydream Believer]

If he doesnt pay by tomorrow, start un unpaid item dispute with ebay. Acording to ebays terms they only have 4 days to pay for an item unless otherwise stated by the seller