Hi all

I'm a first time seller on Localbitcoins and I wanted to sell a small amount (0.5 coins).  So I replied to an advertiser who was offereing a reasonable rate and who had "100+ trades with over 300 partners, trusted by +20 people, blocked by zero and a pro trader badge" .  I was looking for a bank transfer.
 
Now, this person asked me to release the coins from escrow as soon as he had marked the payment as "done"  , which he was going to do straight away.  I asked him if I could release the coins when I'd  be able to check that the money had indeed arrived in my bank account, but he said no - he insisted it had to be done straight away.

In the end we agreed to cancel the deal, and that was that.  

So Im wondering what the point is of having my coins in escrow? Of indeed the whole escrow system.  

Also, would it be reasonable to ask the buyer to upload a screen shot of the transfer, which I suppose would be done via his home banking ?

What are your views?  Am I being over cautious here???

Many thanks