I disagree with the other answers on here. Though very unorthodox, the item might be unique enough for the buyer to want the item off eBay while they come up with the funds. As a buyer, I would never trust the seller with this arrangement, but this is none of the seller's concern.
From the steps proposed so far, there's no way that the buyer can scam the seller of their item or money. Automatically assuming this is a scam is a bit paranoid and is not backed by any evidence presented so far.
Having said that, if the seller wants to go down this road, they should be VERY, VERY, VERY careful and back down as soon as the buyer proposes something the seller cannot protect themselves from; so far the seller has shown the competence to recognize such a situation.
Note: If the payments are going to be made over PayPal, make sure the buyer categorizes it as "personal" (no buyer protection). These payments are irreversible and the buyer has no recourse to file any complaints with PayPal afterwards.