Yes, that is true, I could buy the item locally. True the price turned out to be much cheaper, however, I have verification of the serial number of the item. I have an appraisal of the item and I have confirmed the serial number with the vendor. However, the seller was unfortunate in his bid. He wanted 2600 for the item (no reserve) but only had the item up for auction for 12 hours, therefore the price didn't rise to a sufficiently high value.
The deal I am getting is far superior than any I could get, and it just happened to be luck...

You are smart to be concerned about any transaction of this nature. You should also ask youself, is it luck or could the transaction have been manipulated to look like luck? The advice about escrow agents is right on target, there have been cases where the escrow agent was part of the scam.

I can honestly say that I would not consider using an Escrow service, unless it was one of my chosing.
I have asked to handle the item via "COD" and told the seller that I would pay for the costs of the COD. I am now awaiting the answer. I will update you all as to what happens, and with which method I went with, and how it all turned out.
I appreciate all of your comments.