When using the bitcoin-otc using the command ;;rating <handle> will provide you with a rating for a user. this is based o the web of trust infrastructure.
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Secure_Trading#Using_the_Web-Of-Trust. It will provide you with a pretty good idea who you can trust and who you might want to take a little caution with.
Getting set up with IRC is not too difficult. You'll need to install it, create a user account and secure the user account, then bcauth it and gpg auth it. I cover the things in my book, see the signature. You can also get some instructions online here:
http://bitcoin-otc.com.
Hope this helps. I have an article on my blog about dwolla, you should read it before relying on it. Its a better longer term strategy then a shorter term. see my signature for link.
There are also BTCPals on
https://blockchain.info/wallet online wallet. You can gets Pak and then use it like a money pak to fund your paypal account. I go over that in the book too.
If you have larger amounts $500 or more there are a a number of Bank transfer options that work as well.
