OK so I am playing the first round of the newbie ordering game and thought I'd expound on the experience....

First I figured getting a small first order from a new supplier was a good idea. It was.

As a US based dude ordering from Europe I was led to beleive that it would be 2-3 weeks before the order arrived. We are almost at a month. A confidence shaker.

Suppliers do not all answer e-mail promptly. In fact my first supplier's e-mail gets answered one time for every three or four messages sent and I have been only sending one every few days.

Language may be a a problem. Despite the fact that I have asked for a tracking number on the order several times it has not been sent and the supplier keeps saying it has been. This is the reason for my e-mail "mini harassment." When the supplier says the package has been sent and a few days later says the package has not yet been sent, it tends to make a customer think he has been scammed. How can there be a tracking number on a package that might not have been sent?

PMs here at the site get answered more than e-mail to the supplier. Photos tagged with a supplier's link get answered even faster. I am not taking this to mean I will get my order, but at least someone is watching.

I still have not received this first order package and am looking at ordering from a new supplier with a domestic section if nothing arrives pretty soon.

• What have I learned?

Order small until you get confidence in your supplier. I do plan on reviewing this supplier whether I receive the package or not. I am not yet doing so.

• Suggestion for European suppliers dealing with US clients:

Get someone who speaks English well. Then do what you say you will do to build confidence. If you say your orders will have a tracking number, get it to your clients without requiring a request or many requests. Give a realistic range of ETA on your products. Set ground rules on communication and tell your clients the local time at which you answer communications. When a client starts e-mailing you more frequently, something might be wrong. You might think: He hasn't received the goods or he would not be doing this!