Pay Before You Try
Online commerce, de facto, has to operate on a system of mutual trust with a financial locking mechanism to gently enforce the otherwise ad hoc nature of the transaction in question. Fine; and in the current world of eBay, Uber, Amazon, AirBnB et al, this system is largely structurally sound, even given the sometimes labyrinthine procedures it is necessary to endure if something goes wrong in the process. Having said that, close to all transactions processed online essentially work fine. The online payment paradigm of pay, lock, supply, unlock has logical merit given the usually remote nature of transactions thus made, and follows basic database methodology in the process [something the Post Office and their software goons most certainly did not respect, but I digress], ensuring the best continuity of flow of cash and goods to complete the distant transaction. All well and good, and now that the dust of the Wild West of the early days of the likes of eBay - a Dodge City of minor crime ...