Help! I think I've been scammed...

Hello, everyone. I am at my wit's end, and I just don't know what to do. On April 19th, I won an auction for a pre-sale item for $300 that was to be released on May 25th. The whole transaction was very smooth, the seller had good communication, and he had a 99.9% feedback rating (with over 6000 feedbacks). On May 28th, having not received a shipping notice, I talked to the seller about whether he was shipping, and he explained that he was a one man operation and that things had been hectic for him. He assured me he would ship my item the next day. Come June 1st, I finally receive a USPS Priority Mail tracking number for my item, with a notice that the seller has shipped the item. I had talked to the seller previously about whether he was shipping, and he explained that he was a one man operation and that things had been hectic for him. The seller listed his shipping would take 2-3 days, and as of June 5th, I had not received the item. Not only that, but the tracking system still said "Electronic Shipping Info Received". I tried to contact the seller again, and did not receive a response. On June 7th, I left the seller negative feedback. On June 8th, the seller contacted me back, requesting a feedback change. He explained that he had a family emergency, and that he was shipping out my item that day. He said I would receive my order before the weekend, or early the next week. So, here it is June 17th... I have not gotten my item, and the seller now does not respond to emails or phone calls. Unfortunately, eBay does not allow me to dispute the charge, because it's more than 45 days after I paid... which honestly is BS in my opinion, as it was a pre-sale item that was to be released on May 25th. I should have 45 days after May 25th in my situation. What can I do? I'm really worried that I've been ripped off and am out of $300. I have tried to open claims with PayPal and eBay, but again... I'm past the 45 days. I'm really at a loss. Thanks for any help you guys can give me.|||Oh, and I'd also like to note: Back in April, the seller had a 99.9% rating. He has since fallen to 98.8%. I am not the only one being scammed by this guy.|||Did you make your PayPal payment with a credit card? If you did, on the back of your card, there should be a telephone #. Call that number and do a chargeback. If you paid with a debit card, you may be able to do a chargeback, but you'd have to call your bank on that (I think). Some do offer some protection for cases like this; some don't. If you paid from a PayPal balance, or from your bank account, you're probably out of luck. Your seller certainly seems to be racking up some bad FB this past month.|||You might still have 1 day left to NEG him.|||Ebay /Paypal require a seller to ship within 30 days Link Once you allow a seller to string you along ,beyond the 45 days from date of payment filing deadline, you have nobody to blame , but yourself. Once the situation hit the 30 -40 day mark (from payment) you should have filed to protect that Buyer Protection filing deadline. As stated above, if funded with a credit card, do a chargeback with your card issuer. If you failed to protect yourself with a credit card, especially on a Pre Sale Item,There is no further recourse for a refund.You can file a Mail Fraud complaint with the USPS, but it wil not result ina refund . Link|||You are not the only one he has done this too. His feedback is terrible. --> Link"When choosing between two evils, I always like to try the one I've never tried before." ~Mae West|||The more feeback they have received the harder the percentages are to determine. Always check toolhause for the list of reds and greys before jumping in on a high ticket item. Sorry this happened to you and hoping for a good outcome!|||