Here was the email I sent that finally got results. The names have been changed to protect the guilty...
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I am writing in a final attempt to resolve the situation involving order number xxxx at xxxxxxxxxxx.com, placed on November xx, 20xx. As I have communicated in previous emails and other forms of online correspondence, the item has still not shipped, and my credit card has already been charged. Per your email of December xx, 20xx, you stated to expect shipment within 2-6 business days. Since that email, ten business days have passed, not to mention 32 days since the order itself was placed (and, according to my bank records, approximately 30 days since my credit card was charged for the purchase). I have tried to be very patient with the order process and your claim of heavy holiday demand, but I am growing more and more weary of this process. I am also beginning to see more and more complaints about your company online, and have now noticed that the Better Business Bureau has downgraded xxxxxxxxxxx.com to an unsatisfactory rating. I see very little recourse in getting my situation resolved in a satisfactory manner. I am further disheartened by the fact that the company has been practically impossible to contact -- the phone number has been listed as disconnected, and it took several hours of online research to find a working email address. Several attempts to contact the company have gone unanswered. Thus, we are at a major turning point in this transaction.
If I do not receive a satisfactory response from the company by 12:00 PM (noon) Eastern Time, Wednesday December xx, 20xx, I will be forced to pursue all legal options available to me. A satisfactory response will be determined as a response proving that the item has shipped (and, as mentioned in an as-yet-unanswered email to you on December xx, shipped via overnight delivery at no additional cost to me). I expect a tracking number through one of the major delivery carriers. Failure to ship the item and provide such proof will result in...
A) A dispute of the charge via my credit card company.
B) A complaint through the Better Business Bureau .
C) Any other legal remedies available to me, including litigation measures on my behalf, for apparent credit card fraud (IE, charging a customer for an item that the business apparently has no intention of shipping -- and charging a customer for an item that has not yet been shipped, despite a written policy stating that charges will not be made until item ships).
D) Notification of [ bank ] and Visa regarding apparent credit card fraud involving their payment instruments.
E) Notification of several 'partner sites' of xxxxxxxxx.com (which accept advertising from your company) to advise them of your business practices and current Better Business Bureau rating.
Please note that the only way to prevent these options from being exercised in their entirety will be to fully meet the terms described above. I will, in all likelihood, still exercise options (B), (E), and possibly (D) above, if the order is merely cancelled with a credit to my charge account.
Please respond immediately to this request.
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The response -- in about one hour -- was a complete refund of my charge card, a $25 gift certificate (which I have yet to -- and may never -- use), and a promise to ship my order anyway (never happened).
Just glad I got my money back. Found the book I had ordered at another site for $25 less and got it with no problems at all.
