Losing out

The exact same item WILL show up again only the new owner will be selling it at an inflated price, that happened to me before.

"Hello Mr. Seller, I am ready to BUY NOW and send you a payment"

"Sorry Mr. Buyer I am waiting for someone who may or may not follow through"

"Sorry Mr. Seller,  I will move on to someone who is actually ready to sell".
  

drpat
Sorry to hear about your frustrations but as stated throughout this post you are dead wrong. If you wanted the item you should have stepped up and bought it, period.  Mulling it over means you were still unsure, someone else knew what he wanted and made the deal. I have been on this site for over 15 years and have learned the hard way that if you want something just step up and buy it or you will loose it.  And as a seller all potential buyers all too frequently back out or the person simply disappear. When a firm offer comes in I take it.
I have become particularly leery of people who like to play 20 questions with the item I am selling. OK a few questions about the item is fine but the longer it continues the less likely that person is going to buy it and is just looking for information.  So next time act faster. If you still want that piece of gear put out a "wanted" posting. Remember the next best deal is always just around the corner.

I'm sorry to hear about your disappointment, but from the seller's perspective I'd say "bird in hand" will usually trump an email offering to buy.

When I sold my last amp, I must have gone back and forth with a guy for at least a week, even discussed where to meet him (he didn't trust UPS), then got a bit of a low-ball offer, when I countered, he accepted and paid right away.

The emailer was really disappointed, but I wasn't going to ignore a solid offer.