I am buying a guitar from a guy. I have pictures of it with serial #,his email address(official net account address), address, and name
How would I go about not getting ripped off, even though I probably wouldn’t?
You could use one of those escrow services.
There is never a guarantee, but if it is a big item such as yours, get his telephone number and call him to arrange details. If possible, use a credit card to pay. If this is through an auction site, some have insurance. Make sure you pay for mailing insurance.
Have it sent COD. Then you pay for it when the postperson brings it.
Get him to agree to a middleman. This doesn’t have to be an internet site or anything, but maybe you know a store owner in town who would be willing to, for a small fee, act as the person who keeps one item until the second one has been successfully delivered.
Worked with trading cards all the time.