Out of town deals can be complicated, but not impossible. Some sellers will ship.

I can sometimes travel up to 100 miles or so for the right item (or I may be headed to the nearby city anyway).

PayPal is easy enough, and the "gift" feature is free (and presumably more difficult to get the money back).

With a check, you can do your own verification. Look for microprinting. Maybe call the issuing bank. Call phone numbers written on the check. Make sure addresses match. Then tell the buyer you have to wait 10 days for the check to clear.

And, I'll mail $50, or maybe up to $100 or so cash. Up to what I'm willing to lose.

I find sellers that delete or ignore legitimate replies to be annoying.,