@ Puppy Raiser: Thanks for your reply! No, it's not a professional or Power seller, but a private person (by my best guess). Wire transfer was not one of the payment options offered. Most payments in Germany are done - forgive my lack of proficiency with technical terms - directly from account to account. Money transfer? Direct deposit? I am not really sure what the English term is. It's very secure, but it requires the seller to contact the buyer via e-mail to submit the account information. (eBay Germany will store it for you, but many people do not seem to feel entirely at ease with leaving their account information for buyers to access.) I hope I'm explaining this comprehensibly...
What I'm worried about is getting negative feedback if, in case of some cosmic coincidence, the seller has not been able to reach ME. I have a clean slate (100% positive); on the other hand, I have already exchanged correspondence with the seller whose auction I won yesterday via Auction Sniper - it went smoothly as ever...
I know I should be more patient; I know that my concerns are probably silly and that the problem will vanish into thin air - so thanks for bearing with me!
streak