I need a step by step guide on what to bring to the tranaction when selling bitcoins or when buying on localbitcoins.com local face to face transactions.
how to be safe and not ripped off?
A brief search of the forum turns up the following:
Are you buying or selling?
Buying:
Find a seller near you.
Open an order to buy BTC from them. I suggest an even amount of USD and let the BTC fall out of the price. That way the money is easier to count when you meet. For example buy $200 worth rather than 2.000 BTC worth.
The seller should then fund the contract. You will be notified when this is done. You will be given a secret number that only you know. Remember or write it down as it comes in handy later.
Arrange a place to meet. I usually meet at a public place with free WiFi, Starbuck's for example but any public spot (for safety) with free WiFi will do.
It is best to bring a smaller number of bills. For example if you are buying $5000 worth you should bring $100 bills, not $10 bills as it takes a long time to count that many bills. If you are buying only say $200 then it $20 bills work, etc.
The seller will then count the money and if it is all there they can release the BTC directly to your localbitcions account.
When the funds are released the seller will get the secret number that only you know. If he shows you that secret number then you know the BTC has been transferred to you. You can also just check your own localbitcoins wallet and see that the funds have arrived.
Most of the time the people I have met have been really cool Bitcoiners so if we have time we have some coffee and chat and get to know each other. Sometimes the other person is in a hurry or they don't want to chat for whatever reason and that is fine too.
Seems like a pretty good description of the process for buying. I've found that a lot of first time buyers get all worked up over "how the process works", as if this were some sort of serious carefully orchestrated business. All of my face-to-face transactions have been far more casual than that. To me, it tends to feel a lot like buying something at a garage sale or farmer's market.
By meeting in a public place such as a Starbucks or a McDonald's you do 2 important things to reduce the risk of theft.
1. You provide an environment full of witnesses and limited escape routes. Many of these places will have security cameras as well. By sitting away from the doors, you increase the distance a thief would have to publicly cover while you are shouting "stop! thief! call the cops!" and chasing after them. A thief will have a much better opportunity if they grab a random person off the street than trying to commit theft in such a public business.
2. You provide a potential thief with higher value targets. Why pull a weapon in a public place where you'll likely be witnessed and perhaps even end up on security cameras for $200 from some bitcoin guy, when just 30 feet away there are multiple cash registers filled with cash. If you're going to commit armed theft, you might as well get as much as you can out of it.
After hundreds of face to face exchanges, I have never yet encountered anyone that tried to steal from me. Still, it is always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and bring a friend if you can. In the end, your life is far more valuable than any amount of cash or bitcoins. If you are threatened, do what you must to protect your life, and deal with any financial loss afterwards.
