I had a positive resolution of my case - all money returned.
Warnings for everyone:
1. Large amounts of positive feedback is meaningless - most of these scammers have/exploit this.
2. If you buy what appears to be in-stock but are then told it's pre-order - this alone is violation of ebay rules - you are being scammed. If you pre-order on eBay you are crazy.
3. Leave negative feedback before the 60 days from ORDER DATE (not delivery date) is over. It helps others and hurts the scammer - every neg helps.
4. If they send you anything PHOTOGRAPH everything, especially envelope ensuring TRACKING NUMBER is visible.
5. Don't buy anything on eBay for over the amount you're willing to lose - for some that's $200, others $100, for me it's $50 from now on.
Good luck to everyone.