About two years ago I bid on and won a large set of tokens on eBay. The seller was new and had no feedback at all. I emailed him and point out that I was an experienced auction bidder and seller and that I felt uncomfortable sending several hundred dollars to someone with no history. He called me and we chatted a bit and he agreed to send the lot first and accept payment when I was satisfied. I had no problem with the item and paid him promptly with a money order.

EBay can be a pretty informal venue, particularly when one of the parties is new to the procedures. I'd suggest you contact him and work out something that's mutually agreeable on the payment. In your case, with a seller having some negative feedback, I'd be particularly careful.