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Your FFL may not be willing to accept a firearm from a private seller, so it's possible that the seller may have to go through an FFL anyway. Even so, an FFL can ship a handgun through the USPS cheaper than a private person can ship a handgun through UPS or FedEx, so that may offset the FFL's fee on that end.
But even if the seller agrees to use an FFL, he's not likely going to just pay someone to ship out his pistol if he hasn't yet been paid for it, so I don't see how that in any way solves your concern. I know I wouldn't ship a firearm I hadn't been paid for.
There are escrow deals that can be worked out, but I've never been involved in one and it's only reasonable that the escrow agent gets paid a fee, so that adds to the price, as well ... if you and the seller can find and agree on an escrow agent.
Mostly, people I know us postal money orders. If the seller doesn't ship the gun, the postal inspectors get involved. Mind you, they aren't going to help if he described the gun as being 90% condition and you think it's only 80% when you receive it, but if you send him a money order and he sends you nothing -- they'll be interested. That's mail fraud.
Coincidentally, just two days ago I gassed up and things were slow at the deli/quik/mart and the manager was in a chatty mood. Turns out he's a retired USPS supervisor, and he got started about the postal inspectors. According to him, they are the absolute worst (in the sense of the most dedicated, ruthless, implacable) of all types of federal investigators. He said they were suspicious of one of the people he supervised, and they made life miserable for everyone in the entire department for months until they finally had the goods on the guy. He said they would have kept at it for years, that once they get their teeth in they just don't let go.
That's totally anecdotal, but it supports what I've heard previously about postal inspectors.
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