My advice is make sure the breeder is reputable and well known. Also make sure you pay through Paypal and DO NOT pay through 'friends and family' option. If something goes wrong, Paypal will NOT take any recourse. What i do since the Paypal fee on the breeders end usually is about 10% more i believe, is i split the fee if the breeder mentions it.
And if you use Paypal frequently and have had an account for a long time as well as very low claims, if there is a problem, they will be on it like white on rice. I had a claim once in about 15 years and they immediately got it taken care of within a couple days. This wasnt with an animal though.