You pay slightly over the market price but I quite like buying on Localbitcoins. They have an escrow type service that protects both buyer & seller.
I had to verify my real life name & address there last year though as they said Id sold too much (it was when I converted BCH into BTC & sold the BTCs there. It added up to I suppose what some might consider a lot (fiat wise) in a short space of time.
I have never used Localbitcoin's, but if you are using them as an "escrow," aren't you basically trusting a third party with your coins? Plus, you reveal that you had to give them KYC information. Therefore, it appears using Localbitcoin's is only slightly better than using a standard exchange.
I'm not seeing the advantage at all either. ATM's would be better, there are low cost ones.
KYC is the bane of crypto and the more holdouts the longer the freedom.