Bitcoin Forum

I've never used this service, it looks like a good deal but I'm worried about getting scammed (coins not being sent or stuff like that).
How would you recommend to proceed? Some useful tips or must-dos?

Take a look at these tips: How to buy on LocalBitcoins and not get scammed. (http://www.844bankbtc.com/buy-bitcoins-localbitcoins-get-scammed/)

Thanks looks like a good read

Sorry for the noob question, but what is "escrow system"?

Is basically a middle-man which safeguards your transaction when you're trading with unknown/untrusted people.

An example:

You want to sell 1 BTC to someone.

1. You send 1 BTC to LocalBitcoins.
2. They hold your 1 BTC while the buyer does the money transaction (deposit/wire/etc...).
3. When you confirm you received the money, you tell LocalBitcoins to release the coins.
4. They send the 1 BTC to the seller.

So, LocalBitcoin is acting as the escrow. You <> LocalBitcoins <> Buyer.

This way, you can't run with the buyer money if he sends first (since the 1 BTC is with the trusted middle-man, which is LocalBitcoins), and neither he can run with your 1 BTC if you send first (because they are only released to the buyer after the wire).

Thanks again! Much appreciated!

One more : "Floating price. The final Bitcoin amount will be determined at the time of the trade finalization."

Let's say I want to buy BTC for 1K€ in cash. I will know my price (amount of BTC), at the moment I give my cash to the seller?

AFAIK, it's the price at the moment the seller confirms to LocalBitcoins that he received the money.

P.S: Not every trade has this option enabled.

The guide that TryNinja provided was good and all the things you need to transact and identify a trusted seller is there. Just keep in mind about the payment methods being offered to you and know if they have your bank available for deposit, they clearly indicate it with their "terms of trade" section. Another thing is if you are trying to sell some BTC of your own try to avoid Paypal as a way to receive payments especially if you would go to a not so reliable buyer as transactions are reversible.

There are two types of trades on LocalBitcoins. With or without the Floating price option.

If the option is not checked the exchange rate for the trade is determined at the moment you open the trade. If you are buying Bitcoin you then have an X amount of minutes to send the payment to the seller. This can be anywhere between 30 mins - 3 hours or more. No matter what happens with Bitcoin in that timeframe (if it goes to $20.000 or drops to $200) the trade will still go through according to the exchange rate that was determined when you opened the trade.

If the Floating price option is ticked the exchange rate will be determined after the seller confirms receiving the payment and once the Bitcoins are about to be released and not like in the example above when the trade was started. This means that the exchange rate could change depending on the current Bitcoin vs USD exchange rate.