When you initiate a transaction you have two options. You can either use the localbitcoins "transaction service" or you can agree to have the bitcoins sent directly to a bitcoin address.
No. Your choices are transaction service (for FTF) or escrow (for online). I bellieve that the original question was about online trades using the escrow service. There is no provision within the LBC system for direct BTC transmission. Of course, you can use LBC only to make contact, and then do whatever you mutually agree, but this is not sanctioned by the system for online trades because it would be exceedingly foolish. In short, if both parties ignore the LBC system services or violate its rules, then anything is possible. But that was not the context of the question.
May I ask how many different individuals you have traded with using LBC in, say, the past 6 months? Rounded off to the nearest 100.