If it was with PayPal, chances are that you are worse off than if you
paid cash.

What nonsense. I've had two (out of over a thousand) purchases run through
paypal that I disputed. Once was the result of destruction in shipment (and
others likewise had trouble) and the other was non-delivery of goods. Both
times they refunded the amounts to me within a week. Oddly enough even
after refunding to me the seller eventually DID get around to sending the
items 3 weeks later. Go figure.

Bearing in mind you can also indicate you want to pay the amount using a
credit card (not a direct transfer) and still retain that channel to seek
refunds.