Paxful or LocalBitcoins? Which one is better and why?

[peonminer]

www.paxful.com and www.localbitcoins.com both allow for an escrow system for exchanging bitcoins for cash with peer to peer

What are your experiences with each?

Which do you prefer?

Thanks

[magneto]

www.paxful.com and www.localbitcoins.com both allow for an escrow system for exchanging bitcoins for cash with peer to peer

What are your experiences with each?

Which do you prefer?

Thanks

Personally I'd prefer Localbitcoins over paxful any day. It's more established and more trusted, and there are more advertisements and better rates in general.

However, in terms of privacy I think that paxful may have the upper edge. Localbitcoins has recently implemented a verification system that forces you to submit ID once you reach a certain threshold of trading volume, on top of the fact that they already force you to verify if you want to place any ads. From experience, there are also more ads on paxful that allow you to buy/sell with certain payment methods without needing to be verified.

I don't think that you can go wrong with either, I've heard some complaints about Paxful's support speed but I've never experienced it first hand. The most important thing that you should look for is probably rate if you're comparing the same payment method between the two.

[therhslv]

Never used Paxful before . Did use Localbitcoin like 1-2 years ago quite often and had no problems at all with it . Just googled Paxful and there is loads of good reviews about it , so looks like just pick the one you are most comfortable with Why not try both ? =]

[OmegaStarScream]

I would prefer Paxful simply because of the UI/UX which looks much better and more modern then Localbitcoins.

LB has definitely a bigger userbase and a wider set of payment methods so it depends on what you're planning to trade.

The support in Paxful is very fast from what I've seen, I've bought once some gift cards and It took only a few hours to take that scammer down after providing the necessary details to them.

[hugeblack]

Which do you prefer?

Both platforms have an excellent reputation and a lot of ways to buy and sell Bitcoins.
It's up to you if you're looking for multiple options, I recommend LocalBitcoins, if you want a quick response and specific transactions without you being scammed, Paxful is the best.

I have tried them and through my experience, I prefer LocalBitcoins because they offer a lot of options for buying and selling in addition to plains of transactions.

[Hamphser]

Never used Paxful before . Did use Localbitcoin like 1-2 years ago quite often and had no problems at all with it . Just googled Paxful and there is loads of good reviews about it , so looks like just pick the one you are most comfortable with Why not try both ? =]

Trying both things would be the best good option to be done since you would able to differentiate and able to know which do really suits your needs.
Basing into my own experience I would prefer LBC since you do have the option which you cant see on Paxful.

[AdolfinWolf]

Paxful offers more anonimity for sellers as well. LBC for example requires every vendor to provide their ID, Paxful doesn't.

However, this might chance very soon again. https://paxful.com/blog/id-and-address-verification-update/

All of our users can immediately choose to verify their IDs and vendors will have the option to require it of their trade partners. In about one month’s time, ID verification will also be mandatory for all users who wish to post an offer.

As others have mentioned, I personally prefer the UI of Paxful over that of LBC, but LBC is way more trustworthy(longer in the game) and has a lot more trade activity/vendors.

However, in terms of privacy I think that paxful may have the upper edge. Localbitcoins has recently implemented a verification system that forces you to submit ID once you reach a certain threshold of trading volume, on top of the fact that they already force you to verify if you want to place any ads. From experience, there are also more ads on paxful that allow you to buy/sell with certain payment methods without needing to be verified.

Additionally, the following mandatory verification checks will be imposed:

Users who reach an equivalent of $1,500 in trade volume or wallet activity must provide ID for verification.
Users who reach $10,000 in trade volume or wallet activity must provide ID and address verification.
Users who reach higher trade volumes or engage in certain wallet activity may undergo enhanced due diligence and may be asked for additional information.
All buyers of bitcoin for bank transfer must provide ID and address verification.

 

[peonminer]

Thanks for the replies everyone! What I have learned:

Paxful wins in the UI experience, anonymity factor, and trust factors

Localbitcoins wins in the speed, options available, and ability to profit off of price ranges

great answers everyone this has helped a lot!

[squatter]

www.paxful.com and www.localbitcoins.com both allow for an escrow system for exchanging bitcoins for cash with peer to peer

What are your experiences with each?

Which do you prefer?

Thanks

Personally I'd prefer Localbitcoins over paxful any day. It's more established and more trusted, and there are more advertisements and better rates in general.

However, in terms of privacy I think that paxful may have the upper edge. Localbitcoins has recently implemented a verification system that forces you to submit ID once you reach a certain threshold of trading volume, on top of the fact that they already force you to verify if you want to place any ads.

This is the trade-off. It used to be a very obvious choice -- Localbitcoins, hands down. It has much more listings and also just a superior UI. But now that you need to do KYC with Localbitcoins and individual traders are sometimes asking for ID, it sucks for privacy reasons.

Bisq is an option to trade without KYC, but volume is lacking.

Next time I need to do a P2P cash transaction, I'm probably going to try Paxful so I can avoid giving up my ID, but I'm not sure how long that'll last.

[peonminer]

www.paxful.com and www.localbitcoins.com both allow for an escrow system for exchanging bitcoins for cash with peer to peer

What are your experiences with each?

Which do you prefer?

Thanks

Personally I'd prefer Localbitcoins over paxful any day. It's more established and more trusted, and there are more advertisements and better rates in general.

However, in terms of privacy I think that paxful may have the upper edge. Localbitcoins has recently implemented a verification system that forces you to submit ID once you reach a certain threshold of trading volume, on top of the fact that they already force you to verify if you want to place any ads.

This is the trade-off. It used to be a very obvious choice -- Localbitcoins, hands down. It has much more listings and also just a superior UI. But now that you need to do KYC with Localbitcoins and individual traders are sometimes asking for ID, it sucks for privacy reasons.

Bisq is an option to trade without KYC, but volume is lacking.

Next time I need to do a P2P cash transaction, I'm probably going to try Paxful so I can avoid giving up my ID, but I'm not sure how long that'll last.

Wait a minute, LBC makes you KYC with them yeah, but with the individual traders? So if you do a transaction on there whoever you traded with has your dox info? That doesn't seem quite right. The in person meetings are there for just that option. No need to dox yourself over one bitcoin trade to some random person. Seems weird.

[leowonderful]

I typically use Paxful over LBC as there are still vendors on Paxful that don't require KYC and trading on there in general does not require that you verify yourself. There's just less opportunities to buy without verification on LocalBitcoins. I don't really care about UI in the end since you tend to get used to things over time, but Paxful is indeed easier to use the first few times around and easier to view overall.

As for site support, I'm lucky that I've never had any major problems with any of my trading partners on both LocalBitcoins and Paxful, but the two times that I have needed to contact site support on Paxful, they came through very quickly after I provided all the evidence I could get.

[eternalgloom]

I don't know, while I do prefer Paxful's UI, I just tend to avoid using them because their CEO has been involved in some shady stuff.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/paxful-exchange-ceo-and-cto-arrested-in-miami-on-weapons-and-drugs-charges

Look, I'm pretty libertarian myself, nothing against weapons or drugs, but I do consider it a liability when the CEO of a Bitcoin exchange gets caught with it.
So yeah, I'll gladly use LBC's outdated UI over Paxful any day.

[semobo]

Which do you prefer?

Thanks

Localbitcoin is my favourite because can find the traders at vatous payment option and good response from the site as well.But I am not preferring any of the site to store any bitcoin in it because faced and heard may stories about hacks occuring on LBCs.

[Ave_Maximus]

I used LocalBitcoins for a while and never used Paxful. LocalBitcoins is quite convenient, but for me is more profitable to use changenow with their low fee

[peonminer]

I used LocalBitcoins for a while and never used Paxful. LocalBitcoins is quite convenient, but for me is more profitable to use changenow with their low fee

What is the link for changenow please? Thanks for the advice

[semobo]

I used LocalBitcoins for a while and never used Paxful. LocalBitcoins is quite convenient, but for me is more profitable to use changenow with their low fee

What is the link for changenow please? Thanks for the advice

Changenow is not a trading platform like LBC,which is an anonymous exchange let the users to  trade without any verification but I heard that they turned into scam so using it is really not advisable.

[peonminer]

I used LocalBitcoins for a while and never used Paxful. LocalBitcoins is quite convenient, but for me is more profitable to use changenow with their low fee

What is the link for changenow please? Thanks for the advice

Changenow is not a trading platform like LBC,which is an anonymous exchange let the users to  trade without any verification but I heard that they turned into scam so using it is really not advisable.

oh wow okay! Wow I am glad I asked and you advised to not use it!!! I hate getting scammed or seeing others scammed! Good looking out.

[ethereumhunter]

I only use LocalBitcoins, and I never used Paxful. I don't know about Paxful services, but in LocalBitcoins, I can found local sellers who can help me to send fiat or buy bitcoin from him. So far, I don't have any problem with LocalBitcoins, and I am delighted with them.

But I think in Paxful, we need to verify our account before we can make a transaction, but I am not sure of this. If you are curious with both Paxful and LocalBitcoins, you can try to register both and follow the instruction in making a transaction and try to verify first, so you don't have any problem with both websites.

And after you were done, you can give a review on here, so we know what the advantages and disadvantage between those websites are.

[peonminer]

I only use LocalBitcoins, and I never used Paxful. I don't know about Paxful services, but in LocalBitcoins, I can found local sellers who can help me to send fiat or buy bitcoin from him. So far, I don't have any problem with LocalBitcoins, and I am delighted with them.

But I think in Paxful, we need to verify our account before we can make a transaction, but I am not sure of this. If you are curious with both Paxful and LocalBitcoins, you can try to register both and follow the instruction in making a transaction and try to verify first, so you don't have any problem with both websites.

And after you were done, you can give a review on here, so we know what the advantages and disadvantage between those websites are.

That's a good idea. When I get some more fiat to feed into my portfolio I will have to do this and report back here so everyone can know what the experiences were like as of recent using both platforms. Thanks for the recommendation.

[figmentofmyass]

Wait a minute, LBC makes you KYC with them yeah, but with the individual traders? So if you do a transaction on there whoever you traded with has your dox info? That doesn't seem quite right. The in person meetings are there for just that option. No need to dox yourself over one bitcoin trade to some random person. Seems weird.

it probably depends what country you're in. in the USA, lots of traders have been arrested and jailed for ignoring AML laws. i don't think LBC having a trader's KYC on file is good enough to satisfy the requirements from FINCEN and the bank secrecy act. the law requires the exchanger to record the buyer's information, not just rely on a third party like LBC to do that.