No experience with them, but I have seen a Lothar pencil thin barrel shoot a 20 shot string at 200 yards that could be covered with a fifty cent piece, hot barrel, but they must be heat treated and stress relieved very well. I wouldn't hesitate on Lothar unless the guy wanted a blank check! And that is strange, how do you know how much to make the check out for? Have you checked their website? I thought you could actually put one in the cart and pay with a card.
Best of luck and let us know how you make out.
Bookmarks