On the escrow topic — one thing I always tell new buyers: if a vendor pressures you to release escrow before you have received and verified your order, that is the single biggest red flag in the marketplace. A legitimate vendor will never ask you to release early. The escrow exists to protect both parties. Use it.

Technical addition: for PGP, use GnuPG 2.2+ and always set an expiration date on your keys (1 year is reasonable). A key without an expiration date is a liability — if it is ever compromised, you cannot cleanly retire it. Also, sign your messages so the recipient can verify the sender.

Regarding Monero vs Bitcoin — there is a common misconception that Bitcoin mixers make transactions private. They do not. Chain analysis firms have demonstrated that Tornado Cash and similar mixers can be deanonymized with sufficient data. Monero's ring signatures and stealth addresses are fundamentally different. Use XMR if privacy matters to you.

Has anyone here actually had a successful dispute resolved through the escrow system? I used it once and the process was straightforward — I opened a dispute within the window, provided evidence (screenshots of vendor communication), and the funds were returned within 48 hours. But I have heard horror stories from other forums about escrow disputes taking weeks.

u/cipher_junkie — The Lantern's escrow system is one of the better ones I have used. The key is to open the dispute within the designated window and provide clear evidence. Screenshots, tracking numbers, vendor messages — the more documentation you have, the faster the resolution. Disputes that drag on are usually due to insufficient evidence from the buyer.

One more tip: be very careful about "off-platform" deals. Vendors who ask you to transact outside the escrow system are almost always trying to avoid accountability. The small fee that escrow charges is insurance against losing your entire payment. Worth it every time.