As an Italian who's had his fair share of travelling round the world often I cannot but share Mark's views: generalisations are bad, no matter what.
An easy example is when we see "No shipping to X" where X can be: Italy, China, Malaysia, Philippines etc. I must confess I feel so frustrated when I read this, as if these were the lands of bandits: a much more reasonable position, luckily shared by more and more people, is "Shipping to X only via FedEx" (or UPS or you name it). And if we are from or live in one of those countries we have to put up with the bad reputation it may have accrued regardless of our personal actions or trustfulness.
Sometimes we tend to follow suit and of course making a deal with a fellow citizen always makes things so much easier (no customs, easier communication etc.) and therefore makes us more comfortable.
Still I find one simply has to stick to the same standards no matter where the counterpart is located: ask the same tough questions, get the hi-resolution pictures etc. The real fuss comes with shipping, but hey we must be prepared to sweat a bit for our passions, mustn't we ;-)?

This said, I started my small vintage collection with a real bargain from Equador exactly because probably most potential buyers were afraid of a seller located there, and nobody else but me showed up. The seller was an exquisite gentleman, and this piece is the one I've worn most and with a great satisfaction!
So sometimes we can take advantage of others' fears!
Cheers.
Fabrizio