Don,

You respective feedback ratings are really irrelevant. Mine is approaching 1,000, and I still make mistakes. Receiving a negative feedback comment would feel just as bad today as it would have when my rating was 10.

I find that 9 out of 10 problems like this are really the result of communications failures, rather than actual wrongdoing. I'm sure that if the seller knew in advance that the timliness of the delivery was as importnant to you as it apparently is, then he would have mailed the chip right away. Perhaps not, but most sellers like to feel they provide good customer service. Sounds like he handled your sale like he does most others, on sort of a "whenever" basis. Most of the time, it's not a problem. In this case, it's caused you some concern.

I have no idea if you are "wrong" or not, or if he is. Mostly, no one is wrong and no one is right, you just had different priorities.

In my experience, terse emails seldom accomplish anything constructive, and of all the "hey, you're not treating me right" messages I've ever sent, (and there have been a few, being a feisty Irish/Italian), I usually end up regretting having sent them. I now have an "overnight hold" on any negative email I think I need to send, and I try to pull some of the hostility out of it the next morning before sending it, if I send it at all. But that's just me.

You have a right to leave whatever feedback you think is appropriate, be it positive, neutral, or negative. Once the chip arrives, sleep on it, and leave whatever comment you feel best fits the overall transaction. A good beginning, a rough middle, but a good ending, is still a good transaction to me.