If the other party is comfortable sending first in a direct trade (as would be indicated by the other party trusting me with escrow), then there is no difference in having them trust me as escrow. The other party accepting me as escrow means they trust me more then if they were to do a direct trade.
Of course the other party is going to be comfortable and trusting. You have been outright lying to them, telling them whatever they want to hear.
The key to being a good escrow is honesty and openness. You should not be doing any escrow, period.
Please point out the lie. Do you have an escrow agreement that says explicitly that I am not either the buyer nor the seller?