i sell a fair amount of stuff on ebay...and have shipped internationally. as a seller, i could understand your situation and would rathr you not buy the vest unless you truely want to
i can understand your thoughts about keeping your word, but most sellers (from my experience) feel the same as i do. we're not out to stick anyone. and honest misteakes can happen.
eiehr way, if you are the high bidder and do decide to purchase, i t's possible that you could resell it in the states for a good bit, if not more than, of what you paid for it. the international aspect probably discouraged some potential bidders that didnt want to take the risk.