Online Escrow Angst

A couple of weeks back I looked for online escrow facilities for domain purchase and escrow.com was endorsed by a few people I trust so I proceeded. Alas the transaction failed because they would not accept a European credit card (after days of refaxing and jumping through hoops) or provide me with the IBANN number to make an electronic transfer. In the end the seller began to worry about getting his money back so we jumped ship.

So I checked ICANN and was recommended to Iron Mountain. After a phone call with the UK office I received a charming email from the USA end (while travelling in Asia!) inviting me to call her on her rented Korean mobile phone. Or offering to call me. Extraordinary that in this day and age a simple transaction like this should be stalled after two weeks.

On the bright side I got to know the vendor much better than expected! And I trust him more than any of the escrow companies I have come across. But my domain remains unpurchased. Any one out there have any ideas or recommendations??