You are selling not buying right?

I need to buy bitcoins anonymously for private domain registration, plus a matching .BIT address through NameCoin, but do not live near a BTC ATM or a seller on local bitcoins.

I would like to purchase roughly 60$ US worth of bitcoin. To keep it as anonymous as possible I'd like to avoid anything like PayPal, so i'd like to work out a trade for an online gift card or some other service (it sounds like you've been doing this a while and probly know the right routes to go through).

If that isn't an option, does it help if I PayPal myself on a new fake account, and then shift the funds around like that a few times before buying bitcoin, or is that just as traceable?

Finally, could you explain how to contact someone with a bitcoin address like the one you have posted? it looks the same a wallet addy...are they the same?

You can reply to this post or email me: praedonum[at]riseup.net

by responsibilities, i just meant being available to act as a go between to make users feel confident about purchases.  (an unrelated but relevant example: there are some sites like printroot I'd be curious to try, but they require a "donation" of like .5 bitcoin before they make an account for you, and as a donation theres nothing to keep them from stealing it.) Anyway MY site idea, the one I'm asking these questions about, is still very much in the brainstorming and planning phases, havent gotten to the details of the logistics yet!

Thanks for the info, this is all really helpful—sorry to ask so many noobie questions.  

I still have yet to buy my first bitcoin because it bothers me that a system that is supposed to be anonymous and untraceable requires more personal info than many banks. PayPal—as much as I might hate them for the monopoly they hold and the fees it allows them to charge—only requires a simple email address for signup and to send/receive payments.

If anyone has recommendations on anonymous wallets, I'd appreciate some pointers or referrals.  I'm not trying to do anything illegal like Silkroad or whatever the kids are using: I have just read it's pointless to pay for privacy services that I use like VPN through companies that track and record and sell one's buying habits.  And these days everyone should be on VPN—on principle alone.

And back to the escrow thing, how would I go about building a feature like that into a site?  Are there individuals or groups in those above, that take on responsibilities like that?

Thank you for your reply, but I am not sure what I'm looking at.  You said it was a list of escrows, but it seems to be a list of BitcoinTalk usernames? Are you suggesting that as an alternative to someone I know but not in person who I don't know I can trust, I choose a complete stranger who I don't know that I can trust?

How was it determined that these users could be recommended and trusted to be an escrow?  What are the requirements they had to meet?  Who did the determining?  Is there a feedback system in place?  Have there been fraudulent users running scams on this list?

Also what does the abbreviation [ANN] mean?

Are there really no escrow service companies (for bitcoin or for paypal) that someone could recommend?  I'd rather trust a licensed company over an individual, even if it means paying a flat rate or percentage.

I am looking for existing sites and services that people and/or groups who do not know each other in person can use to split the cost of digital services and goods.  If something like I am describing does not exist, I am willing to build it myself and am open to feedback and suggestions for getting started.

The service should allow users to work together on projects and split the cost of services while remaining anonymous to one-another.   The ideas that I have in mind are for fundraising/crowdsourcing, developing desktop and web applications, working with subscriptions such as hosting packages or remote desktops: doing legitimate work together and/or buying products and services that aren’t illegal, but where users may wish to remain anonymous from one another.  Ideally the service could be used for buying any digital product, service, or subscription.   I wouldn't want it to be limited to Bitcoin either—the anonymity aspect would block users from knowing the personal details of those they enter into agreements with, but because I wouldn't want it to be used for illegal activity, it wouldn't be necessary to make user details anonymous from the service itself.  If I do have to start my own escrow company, I'd like it to accept as many forms of payment (credit/debit cards, BitCoins, PayPal, PayZa, etc) as possible so that a large percentage of people have access.

Allow me to give a few examples.

•  My adopted sister is looking to raise $5000 for a charity in Nicaragua for a piece of medical equipment, I suggested that she start by placing $5 into an escrow account earmarked with a unique project identifier to encourage others to donate, no funds would be released unless/until the remaining $4995 is raised.  Maybe it even has an expiration.  This would make a great alternative to Kickstarter.
•  I have a website for a literary journal, run by people I don't know in person.  We own a license to the webfonts we use on the website, but to license them for print and/or embedding in an app, we need to buy a much more expensive license.  If we split the cost, we could easily afford it, but not knowing each other in person, none of us trust the others that we will be paid back.  However, if I can deposit 10% into escrow for this reason,  then we could probably figure it out.  Of course, there is still the question of who buys the license when all the money is deposited:  will they be released to me, or to the retailer?

Again, I'm open to suggestions.