On all the local hay I have bought, I generally pay half up front and the balance after the last load is weighed. Last year I was forced to buy hay sight unseen, from someone I still haven't ever met. The seller was a broker from Texas and the hay was in ND. I wasn't very comfortable with the deal but couldn't afford not to buy it, it saved me an easy 50/ton. I did get him to let me pay for one load with the agreement that if I thought it suitable I had to pay for all the rest of the hay up front. I bought the hay by the bale, I got lucky and it worked out. I hope I never have to buy hay that way again. Unfortunately, when I have gotten the bad end of a deal it is with someone I know. I gave someone a tip on a set of cows that was for sale, his customer bought at least 700 hd. I did finally get about 1/10 of my commission out of the deal but had to beg for that. I had made an agreement before I passed the information on and he didn't hold up his end of the bargain.
H, I sure agree with you. A man's word has to be worth something. Most everyone in this part of the world is pretty dependable, if they aren't everyone knows it. I pay for most of my customers cattle at the barn and send an invoice to the customer after they have seen the cattle. I have never met one of my customers, I have boughten cattle for him for 3yrs with no problems.