RE: Hobby Lobby issue
Wow. This does not sound like the Hobby Lobby that I've been doing business with for the better part of 10 years. There have got to be some simple misunderstandings going on here...
Shipping overseas, I don't think there is such a thing as an accurate package tracking system. Say what you will about the United States; we keep a tight lid on our mail and shipping networks internally, but we can't tell other countries how they should run their postal services. I don't know how it is in Cyprus, but I've heard many horror stories from people in other nations of corrupt postal systems, rampant theft, etc.. I'm not sure how Hobby Lobby can be held responsible for a shipment that disappears in transit.
Whether you're a registered member or not, there should be an order number in their system, and you should have an email receipt with that number. With that number, a customer service rep should certainly be able to help.
I've met Jason at Toledo and NEAT on multiple occasions, and he's a good guy. If you email him a copy of the order receipt and your issue, I'm sure he will get to the bottom of it for you.
When dealing with order issues, a calm, rational phone call is always much more effective than an email when dealing with any company. Companies get 1000's of emails. You are guaranteed to get personal attention with a phone call.
With regards to the original question, I have ordered from Hobby Lobby where some items were in stock and some were not. As I recall, I got the instock items shipped via my chosen method, and the other items were shipped via normal shipping with no extra charge. If you think about it, you've already waited X days/weeks/months for the backordered item; what's an extra day or two?