I like to think that I have a bit of experience under my belt but this time my curiosity got the better of me. So basically I trusted a vendor I haven't used before, on SR, without escrow... Dumb. Ass.
For us Aussies it can be tempting to get our hands on stuff that we can't normally get and this vendor exploited that temptation. My only advice to myself and others is always follow the fucking rules. Stick with what you know.
I don't think you're an idiot. as an Aussie we don't have a choice, basically no one uses escrow to us from international, its either finalise early or go to the streets. knowing first hand what our street stuff is like (absolute shit) its not really a matter of poor choices and just a matter of risk to ratio. I've lost out well over $4000+ to undelivered international goods however I've also received plenty of stuff too.. great, amazing stuff... that provided experiences that I could not gain anywhere else in any other way... how much is that worth? to me, it's priceless. one life, many experiences. soak them up :)