Well my friends, the saga continues.
Initially the seller was adamant on cash in person. Nervous guy, doesn't want the aggrevation of sending expensive stuff. Having talked to him over the phone, he relented and agreed on an insured shipment.
Vetted him. Guy is legit. Wired the money (paypal was out of the question, friends&family as well). He contacted me today, his bank advised him that I would be able to retract my payment the next 10 days (which I most certainly am not able to) and that he would only ship after that.
Some deals eh...