Bitcoin Forum

I can't be the only person who's getting the silent treatment from Coinbase with a greyed out sell button, can I?

They'll let me buy as much bitcoin as I want, but they won't let me sell not 1 of my 20+ bitcoins on my account.  So, here I'm sitting with over $3K profit, trying to sell, and not only do they not allow me to sell, but there's no one around to give me an explanation.  The chat feature isn't running and they won't answer email.

This is criminal if you ask me.  I'm sure this bullshit is covered in their TOS (read: legalized criminality), but I don't care.

This is my money.  When you tell me that I can't withdraw my bitcoins and I can't sell my bitcions...well then, that tells me that they aren't really my bitcoins.  So what did I pay over $5K for?  Some numbers on a screen?

I'm wondering if it will be convenient for coinbase if I sell when it's back down in the $200 ~ $250 range, or if they'll only allow me to buy "bitcoins" (if that's what they're really selling there) again.

What a joke that place is.  No wonder why bitcoin hasn't went mainstream yet, when the world's biggest bitcoin exchange blocks you from withdrawing or selling your "own" (again, I question this) bitcoin.

It's a standard tactics of Coinbase, next time google about a company before using its service.

Hey my good sir, I have had similar occurrences.. It just wouldn't move.
I waited 3 weeks after sending multiple mails..

I would just pull, like I did.
Honestly.

I am in Blockchain now, but I am trying to move to something more secure, so I can hold bitcoins safe there, and allow people to hold theirs as well. :)

Just my thoughts

Molotovski

Coinbase is the devil. Sponsored by banks and is trying to wrestle power away from Bitcoin users by supporting an implementation that would soon make it impossible for regular users to run nodes without dishing out thousands of dollars.

I suggest you don't use them.  :)

Calm down. Technically it's not your money until you've realised the profit.

Does that mean your account might not be verified?

Well, I'm logged on.  So I'm not sure why it would qualify as unverified.

This is generally verification issues...this would be better suited in service discussions btw

Can't you just chat with the live chat support and directly ask them why this is the case? I have absolutely no problem whatsoever with Coinbase. And verification is you verifying your identity by giving them a copy of your driver license or such.

Just logging in is not having a verified account.

They'll only let you sell when you have uploaded ID documents. Standard KYC AML procedures for any exchange that handles both crypto and fiat

You need to verify that you are who you say you actually are. Not simply log on.

How is that?

When I put in $250 to buy a bitcoin, that $250 was my money.  The agreement between myself and coinbase, I assume (perhaps I have to read the TOS more closely), is that the exchange of cash for the bitcoin means that I now own it, as in, I can now spend it or withdraw it from the account (just like any normal bank account) and, being that it is an EXCHANGE after all, I should also be able to exchange that bitcoin back for cash.

I would understand if Coinbase sold on a spread (say 4 to 8 dollars under the listed price), taking some commissions on the sale like a normal exchange, but not freezing your withdraw function and erasing the sell button without explanation.

PS:  I'm not stressed, just disappointed.

Yes, that is typically is what happened when you deal with a bank.

Just move your money out of it and carry along.

Hold on to that Bitcoin also for dear god did you not look at the price?

But if I understand you correctly you haven't sold your coins so haven't yet realised any profit. And it's not likely to happen until you verify your account or move the coins elsewhere to sell.

Do I have to send them proof ID every time that I want to sell bitcoin?

I already sent them photo ID and jumped through all kinds of other hoops to verify my identity way back when I first opened the account and went through all the steps to increase my buy limit, have $1000.00 instant buy, and $10,000 sell limit.

And, since this forum will only allow me one post per 360 seconds, to answer a question from another person, I would chat with them about my issue if the chat feature were made available to me.  They've been "gone" all day.

I've tried to sell my coins.  The not selling of the coins is an issue on coinbase's end, not mine.

Or maybe it isn't their issue.  Perhaps I am just ignorant as to why I don't qualify for selling, but coinbase should have a rep who can respond to my situation in less than a day, right?  Because I've been trying to contact them for the better part of the last 6 or so hours via email w/ no responses and their chat box says that they're "away" (unable to chat).

So, what's a man to do?

...

I know very little about exchanges, but I offer up the below as a company that Provident Metals uses to handle their precious metals sales via Bitcoin (never a glitch when I have paid, and I doubt that Provident would use them if they had bad service):

https://bitpay.com

But, they may only work with businesses...  Anyone fed-up with coinbase should look for other options.

Thanks for the suggestion, OROBTC.

I might just end up moving my coins elsewhere, if this doesn't get solved soon.

PS: I was mistaken earlier when I said that coinbase won't allow me to withdraw my bitcoin.  I can spend and move my bitcoins, but they won't let me withdraw from my $USD wallet to my bank account and they removed the sell button for exchanging bitcoin for $USD.

You've obviously not bothered to verify your account properly or done it incorrectly. I've just logged onto my account and sold a mbit. Process was effortless I'm glad to say. I guess you need to move your coins to sell elsewhere or contact support.

Hmm, well that's positive news, I guess.

Thanks for doing that, btw.

Well, like I said in an earlier post, I had to send photo ID and verify my identity in other ways (answering questions that related to my home address), in order to expand my buy and sell limits, so I'm not sure why I would need to send all that stuff again.

Unless I'm expected to fax photo ID every time that I want to sell.

He said he also can't withdraw, sound like his account was frozen pending investigation or something. Personally i haven't seen the chat on tonight either so saying they are "gone" as in "they scammed be and now they're avoiding me" is a silly thought.

Have you tried selling a small amount? Maybe it's limited for you how much you can sell per day? Just thinking out loud.

He can withdraw them, and if I follow the recent posts correctly it was a problem in the verification according to the OP

Like I said earlier, the sell button is greyed out.

When I click on the Buy/Sell bitcoin tab it brings me to a screen that shows the price chart.  Scrolling down I see a "number of daily transactions" chart.  Scrolling down more a "bitcoin money supply" pie chart.  And then, at the very bottom, there's only a "buy bitcoin" tab.

If I click on that it sends me to the familiar screen for buying bitcoin.  At the top of that page is "sell bitcoin", but it's black.  I try to click on it and it does nothing (no hyper-link, it's supposed to be clickable, but it's basically just text).

In other words, I can't sell anything.  Not even a satoshi.

I'm in no way implying that I've been scammed.

I'm just trying to get in contact with somebody that can explain to me why I'm experiencing so much trouble doing something that I expected would go smoothly and I'm pissed that there isn't a rep available to help me.  For all I know, I'm on my own.  It could be weeks before someone's available to talk to.  And by then, bitcoin could easily be back in the $250 to $300 range.

Ok I'm using the mobile friendly website and it asks how much I want to sell first. I take it you've tried different browsers and devices?

Browsers, yes.

Devices, I only have my laptop.  No smart phone and no tablet here.

I thank you for your help, Minecache.

I'll send you some btc for your time.

For now I'm going to leave and hopefully I'll get in touch with a Coinbase rep soon.

Thank you that's very kind of you Sir. Sorry I've not been any better help. If it was me I'd probably try 2 things simultaneously. Contact coinbase support whilst looking to cash out my coins elsewhere if you have no luck. Have you tried Kraken? I've never cashed out large lump sums so can't really advise on the best alternative to coinbase. If I get the chance I'll try to contact coinbase myself as, being a coinbase user, I'm curious as to your situation. Otherwise let us know how you get on and what you decide. Maybe this is lady lucks way of telling you to hold? Best.

thats not true, my account isn't ID verified and i have daily buy/sell limits of $500. im guessing OP has the same limits which is preventing from selling hence the grey button.
maybe try putting in a number <500 and then see if the button is still greyed?

Every traditional bank works the same way. When you deposit money in a bank your exact, physical currency isn't put into some envelope awaiting your need to use it. Your money is pooled with everyone elses and it's used as the bank deems fit and they have the duty to pay you out when you want to be paid.

I can't explain the grayed out button though, I hope it's just a glitch. The sell button is not grayed out for me...and I have more profit to take than you do per coin.

Avoid coinbase and learn how to use bitcoins the way it was meant to be...

That's weird. I never got any problems with Coinbase. Maybe they have extra security standards for your country. Ask them. I am sure they will help you out.

Else, don't ever use them again. Kraken is a service i can recommend. Very very fast SEPA withdrawals.

When i try to withdraw today 0.22 btc website hang on after clicking "Send" button. Later, after refreshing my browser everything went smooth..

Does it mean that there are problems with amounts > 1 BTC?

You were helpful.  I was in need of another perspective for solutions and you were helpful in that respect.

I ended up just googling "coinbase exchange" and entering it that way, to find that I was logged in there and was free from that side to sell my bitcoins after transferring from my coinbase wallet.  I don't know why it took me so long to come up with that idea...I guess I was too frustrated with not being able to enter it from the coinbase wallet to leave room for it and after calming down a bit I had a moment of clarity.

My buy/sell tab doesn't work at all now for my coinbase wallet (before I could buy, but not sell from it), it's basically just "dead" text, so I'm not sure what's going on with that.  I've yet to contact a rep about it, more out of my laziness than anything (lazy after I was finally able to sell, that is), but they do seem to be hard to come by lately.

I sold at $409.33 yesterday and $471.95 this morning, btw.

Thanks again for your help and thanks to the rest of you who offered your suggestions.

Yeah, I saw on a youtube video by Mike Maloney, I believe his name is, that banks may legally give out 90% more in credit/ loans than they actually hold.  They keep 10% of what is deposited, send the other 90% away as a loan or what have you, and then pay you back in "credits" for that 90% that they spent from your deposit, basically creating money out of thin air.

I think I said that right...?

Good luck on your bitcoin trading!

Yep, it is true. But they do that in some smart way - They loan money to themselves (one bank to another bank) and in this way they make "money from air".

Thanks for the feedback. It's interesting to know but I'm a bit unsure what you mean. Did you have a coinbase wallet application installed on your PC and this was how you were originally trying to sell? After that you logged into the website and managed to sell from there? Anyway, happy that you managed to sell and realise some good profit. I know from experience that most times when stuck trying to solve a problem it's best to take a step back away from it for some time because subconsciously your mind can come up with new insights.

I had this same problem. they would let me buy bitcoin but not sell it. i had linked my credit card. the coinbase support is non existent i was told to wait 5 days for an email reply and 5 days later they sent me an automated email so I figured it out myself. in the options to add payment you can select credit/debit card, or bank account you have to link your bank account. not your credit card to sell. to link your bank account you click link bank account, then click the bank you use, then put your username and password in. then you can sell. if you still can't sell you probably need to add your id verification. hope this helped someone so they don't have to freak out like i did.