Quote from: FreedomFeens on November 26, 2013, 01:58:18 PM

Thanks, with regard to local bitcoin, can't i just meet with someone and give them cash after they've transferred bitcoin to my phone in person?

Yes, indeed you can. LBC was originally started to support that method and many sellers use it primarily today. I no longer do.

I used to sell BTC face-to-face but stopped doing so about 6 months ago. After an experience with counterfeit USD, I made my meeting-place the lobby of my credit union, where everyone knows me. I would accept the buyer'a cash and hand it to a bank teller. The bank teller verified that the cash was good, and then I immediately transfered the coins to the buyer. Then one day it dawned on me that I did not need actually to be there. If a buyer was willing to hand his cash to a bank teller and receive his BTC instantly, and I could see the deposit as soon as the teller hit her terminal button, why meet physically? The buyer can go to his nearest bank, I can sit at my office desk, and we can do the trade faster, easier, and with less driving.

From the buyer's viewpoint, it may seem safer to look someone in the eye rather than over the internet, but this is an illusion. First, with LBC the seller's coins go into escrow tagged with the buyer's userID the moment that the buyer requests a trade. The seller can only release the escrow to the buyer (presumably after the bank deposit appears online) but cannot get it back. Second, as with any other business, the tradesman's reputation is everything. If a seller has a spotless reputation after trading with several hundred different buyers, physical presence does not really change anything.

In short, if you are more comfortable meeting a seller face-to-face, I would encourage you to do so. Just keep in mind that many no longer consider physical presence necessary.