I've been dealing with a breeder for about 2 months length regarding a snake.
I paid a deposit the first day of contact and the rest of the balance 30 days later. I'm not worried he stole my money or anything. And it's in the 1K range. We don't keep contact 24/7. We speak maybe once a week at most. I was suppose to get the snake shipped last week, but he got extremely caught up with his snakes being hatching season and all. He messaged me right away to let me know and it sure saved me the worry of waiting for a package that wouldn't arrive. (it's going to be sent tomorrow)
If the breeder you're working with has had nothing but good reviews, just trust him. If he doesn't pull through, you can write a review and have paypal revoke your payment. Calling is definitely better than email. Many people don't check their emails every day.