Luckily my LPS doesn't get a lot of special orders due to the fact people don't really take fish keeping as a serious hobby around here so they trusted me when I ordered them up...I'd never send without money up front. But a lot of these characters take you right up to the money point. You do the legwork, they vanish. And then they return. It is a little strange.
People in the business are used to it - it's why so many wholesale only. We're our own worst enemies in this hobby. A lot of stores won't special order unless they trust you because of this behaviour.
So we picked up the fish and it all went ok