Let's consider both LocalBitcoins.com and Paxful as marketplaces where you can trade bitcoin for a myriad of other payment methods. Let's consider both platforms from the buyers' and sellers' perspectives as well. Both their ratings on BitTrust disappoint, both are rated approximately at ~2.4/5:

http://bittrust.org/localbitcoinscom
http://bittrust.org/paxful

Is it BitTrust, the trading platform themselves, or the people who rate the services?

The funny thing is, when I checked them also on BitTrust a few months back, the ratings were like ~3/5 for LocalBitcoins.com and ~4/5 for Paxful. Now they are equal, equally worse. I understand that certain amount is risk or fraud is inherent to these platforms, caution is required, or we may call them a minefield as well, depending on your perspective.

I just remember reading posts back in the days how Paxful is trying to get this marketplace thing right, how it tries to be better than LocalBitcoins.com. They even wrote this sketchy(?) piece on Medium: https://medium.com/@paxful/i-m-3-108-closer-to-paying-off-my-college-debt-by-selling-bitcoin-bf3aadc60f08
But is there any truth to it? It's on Medium, so.

All in all which is the best social trading platform like these? Some recommend Mycelium Local Trader, but that's certainly a different, much more constrained environment.