Genarr,
I'm 100% positive C wasn't scamming. Shipping orders a week before the big day. As with any delivery service, some orders are put on backorder. It's those backorders that were the ones who lost out.
Also, for anyone who requested his list, he was VERY specific with what he had in stock ... even days before he went private and stopped taking orders. He listed specifically how much of each he had left ... 10 of this, 8 of that, etc. The list was very short too. So for those who didn't pay attention and ordered items which he didn't currently have, they were put on backorder ... just as any mail order company would.
Then the bust.