How do I ensure I'm protected when buying wholesale from overseas?

Hi everyone,

I've found a product on etsy that I want to buy wholesale from Europe and import into New Zealand. I have messaged the etsy seller and they provided an email address to discuss further.

I've bought samples from Alibaba, but have never imported from overseas before outside of any Website or B2B platform.

My question is as a buyer, how do I ensure that I'm protected in case things go wrong or if I get scammed. Are there any Websites/payment providers that the transaction should be completed in?
What are best practices in these situations?

Thanks.