Placed an order - no plants

Several months ago I placed an $800 order with a foreign vendor from SE Asia that doesn't come to the US but goes to some shows in Europe. So the vendor is real and there are nice reviews about their plants on European forums. I sent money via PayPal in January and being told that I'll be able to receive my plants in April. I was not smart enough to follow their advice and send money as to "a friend", not "business" because it is "cheaper and they do it all the time with their customers". I've done it this way before with some South American vendors and I didn't have any issues so I was Ok doing that (never again though).
For the last several weeks I've been contacting the vendor and asking when will I receive my order only to hear that the CITES hasn't been approved yet and they are still waiting. They don't even estimate when will they be able to get the CITES, how much longer should I wait and what are they gonna do if they don't receive it at all. This is my second time dealing with direct orders from abroad so I would really like to hear from other, more experienced people if it looks like I should say a goodbye to my plants and my money or if there is still a hope.

P.S. I'm not saying the name of a vendor (yet!) only to hope that the issues will be resolved soon.

 

Thanks, Ray.
I think I can only wait. I was just concerned after the vendor suggested to send them without any proper documentation, saying that they've done it before. Sounds sketchy to me.