Paying and then waiting is not uncommon. If you buy a custom made McHale backpack, sailing rig from Balogh Sails, folding kayak from Folbot, you pay up front and you wait. And wait. And wait. The funny thing is, when you finally get a top of the line product and start using it, you forget about the wait............and the price. I have bought all these listed plus a Santa Cruz Blur mountain bike and a Trek project one road bike and had to wait. And wait. And wait. As you can tell, Rivendell does not have the lock on paying up front or on quality.