Your available options depend very much on the country you are in.
Discussion
yeah, i remember when local monero was a thing there were a lot more cash in mail options - which seemed reasonable
but, every p2p option with liquidity in australia seems to be “payid” or some sort of bank transfer which i’m pretty sure potentially has your first / last name - and, definitely the details of your bank account 🤨
as you mentioned, gift cards seem lower in liquidity - mining seems to really be the only foolproof option 😢
otherwise, as dumb as it sounds, if you assume that it’s always a fed that’s on the other side of the p2p trade; then you’re probably putting a bigger target going p2p than just going through an exchange (again, as terrible as that sounds)
as you say, p2p at bitcoin meetups could be good - but, even that carries the extra risk of wrench attack
Well, every option is loaded with its own risks ...