whats stopping the escrow holder from running and not returning any of the amount that was deposited what makes someone trusted and who would you recommened as a escrow?
Nothing but their reputation, so I'd check for evidence of that and trade history first. Somebody who has done hundreds of trades and has held on to 100s of Bitcoins at a time probably isn't going to run off with your Bitcoins.
hm.....and TF ran away with 4000 coins....