Robert; I maintain a very popular new issues service for Atlantic City chips and tokens. I NEVER require payment before I send the chips/tokens out to my subscribers .... and I routinely send out ALL new issues up to and including the $100 denominations. A typical mailing to over 100 individuals at a time is not uncommon. A club membership number to me is their bond of good faith. THAT, is their only "deposit" required.....

I'm not a big seller on ebay, but those relatively few transactions I've had as an ebay seller, I have always included in my lot description, "CCGTCC members receive immediate shipment. All others must wait for check to clear."

As for your question; "Are the purchasers any less honorable than the vendors?" No, but I can understand that if some vendor's are mailing out to considerable numbers of purchasers, the vendor has a considerable outlay of investment in mutiple mailings, where the purchaser is only paying for one mailing at a time. That's not my policy, but as stated, I can appreciate why others do wait for payment in advance before shipping. Perhaps they have had some bad experiences.