I thought it was up to the buyer to find and pay the escrow service, but perhaps I am mistaken?
You are mistaken. If you solely let the buyer find an escrow, then you're more prone to getting scammed as well. In a deal, both the escrow and the fees need to be mutually decided. With this, I mean that there are cases where the seller pays the fee, and cases in which both parties share the cost of the fee.
If I need to be the one to make contact, who would be the fastest and least expensive to deal with? We almost have a deal, but the escrow price and wait time is killing it, and I'm uncomfortable sending expensive hardware to anyone without at least some protection.
I've posted a link that contains the most updated list of escrows.
Can anyone help me out here, please? If I need to pay the escrow, I don't quite understand the entries in the fees column.
The fees are simple in that thread, either it is a percent of the transaction or a percent with a minimum. For example, for Crypto Escrow Team (CET) which I'm a part of the fees are usually 1-2% with a 1cB (that weird 'c' sign in the table) means centiBitcoin (0.01 BTC). For example, Lutpin escrow fee is now at minimum 5 mBTC = 0.005 BTC.
Thank you for this information, Lauda. With this in mind I've updated my offer, and I don't mind paying a 1% fee like I see one some of those entries, assuming it's actually under $14. I appreciate that this community is so helpful.