I'd be very hesitant to put any sort of deposit on a CL item. That said, I have bought a bike while on the road. The listing had only an email through CL contact. I emailed the seller through CL the morning of my arrival in that city explaining my travel plan and ETA, he replied fairly quickly with a phone number . I called the seller a little ways out, was given a meet point and the deal got done. I did feel lucky that it worked..