Gee whiz. I've read two threads here today about potential bad deals. I've only been buying, selling, and trading here for about three years but I have yet to have anything but perfect transactions.
If someone wants to deal that I don't know I check their posts. I read several of them to see what kind of feel I get. If I read the person is interacting with someone I know then I'll contact that person and ask them about the person.
In most every case I feel so good about the transaction that payment and merchandise pass in the mail rather than one party or the other waiting for $ or merchandise.
Of course I'm only dealing with lefties -- sorry I couldn't resist the dig.