one thing i have learned through countless years of doing business is to put money into escrow or into a letter of credit. any bank will do this for you for a small fee. but when your dealing with tens of thousands of your dollars its good advice. i never new these avenues existed until i started researching how to protect my investment on internet deals.
Excellent suggestion. There are on line services that can do this too. I recently did business with a Japanese broker. The $60.00 fee for escrowing my $12K was very reasonable insurance to make certain the transaction took place as promised on both parties parts.
The other advantage is: scammers are not likely to want anything to do with escrow.
I own a larger machine shop where I have always done business with large manufacturers, I generally financed the machine and the finance company would not pay until I said I was fully satisfied with the machine and installation.
Now I'm partially retired and dealing with small companies is different. I like the idea you proposed with the escrow. The money is there all they have to do is keep up their end. I always worry about a company that needs all my money just to get started.