There's a reason I try to avoid direct shipping: human error and high risk.
Sellers process lots of items, in most instances manually, and then there is a language barrier. Both of which quickly lead to confusion and mistakes.
It happens too often that a seller sends the wrong size or color to the agent. But thankfully enough, nothing is lost and you can just get a new one.
But if you chose direct shipping, you lost. You might get a partial refund if you are lucky, but usually at this point you wasted weeks waiting and spent too much money.
And I haven't even mentioned the elephant in the room: scams. Direct shipping leaves you completely open for bait & switch or total loss.
added: 6/26/2023