On bigger ticket items, I think most buyers will request an inspection period before any large funds are transferred.
A buddy of mine sold a Boss 429 Mustang for $185k last year. The buyer wired $10k to him to hold the car. After flying in to inspect it, the balance was transferred.
I sold my drag car to a guy clear across the country (Bellingham, WA) back in December. We spoke numerous times on the phone, and in those conversations I earned his trust. When he finally decided to buy, he wired $32,500 directly into my bank account the next day. He never once saw the car in person. Only digital pics.
I think a lot can be learned about a persons character just in phone conversations...
On a side note...
I've gotten hosed already on auction listing fees when a buyer backs out.
I won't even offer a "buy it now" price anymore. It's too easy for some punk to fool with my auction and bone me for listing fees.
I used this method to retaliate against a seller that took me for $20 and never shipped the T-shirts I ordered. I even paid him via paypal, which I thought was somewhat foolproof. Turns out they were unable to reimburse me due to probs with the seller.
I registered on ebay using a bogus email address, then clicked "buy it now" on about 20 of his currently running T-shirt auctions. He was forced to eat the listing fees on all those auctions. I closed the bogus email account, and felt a WHOLE lot better.