Bitcoin Forum

I am looking to make my first bitcoin purchase, interested in purchasing 2-3 coins to start. I'm interested to know what the best(and cheapest) way to turn cash into a small number of coins would be. Thanks in advance.

Join an exchange (mtgox, bitfloor, campbx, etc), deposit fiat, buy coins. 

I've looked at mtgox before, but not familiar with the others. Are they relatively the same?

The main difference is the sheer volume on Mt Gox.  I focused on that exchange in my book for a reason.  What I think is very important is the Multi Factor Authentication offered by Mt Gox using the Yubi Key.

Also check the bitstamp.net for fees, if you are in EU, they are very cheap.

Bitinstant is pretty easy to use and also quick (like the name implies, ha).  Just open a Dwolla account (if you don't have one), transfer in some money from your bank (important; you need to transfer money from your bank and wait for it to clear before trying to use bitinstant), then go on bitinstant and select Dwolla under "Pay from" and select "Bitcoin Address" under "Pay to".  I think the fee is 2% for dwolla purchases on bitinstant.

Or you can check out the currency exchange forum: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=53.0

I am also interested in this question, is there any exchanges in australia that sell bitcoins, and have decent volume?

Depending on where you are located, it might be worthwhile to check out:

https://localbitcoins.com

Some geographical areas are more densely represented than others, so it may not be the best option for you.  On the other hand, if it turns out that your area is not well represented, then you may have an opportunity to make a nice profit by being the local face-to-face provider of small bitcoin transactions.

The main one was called CryptoXchange and it's closed now AFAIK.

The sites Spend Bitcoins (http://spendbitcoins.com/) and Omnicoins (http://omnicoins.com/) deal in AU$ deposits for BTC purchases (deposit ca$h at bank branch).

PS I'll happily owe you BTC100 if you can find me a nice Australian girlfriend! ;D

Thanks I will have a look into those two

100 btc just for a girlfriend? She better put out on the first date in that case  ;D

Mwahaha ;D Well, I happen to believe that Aussie girls are amazing - too good to be true even - but sadly, they are desperately scarce, or, as I occasionally like to phrase it: they are the 0,3 per cent! :)

Maybe I could borrow BTC10.000 over at BTCjam and have an ill-judged second crack at international studenthood down under and see if I get lucky next time around... nah, that's not gonna work. :P The irony is, it wouldn't be a scam!

PS Welcome to the forums, greyscale. Friendly n00b tip coming your way, spesh for that post. :)

Im always using virwox for small amounts of BTC , usually through ukash.
Not really cheap but i can get Ukash here walking 5 minutes, so maybe 10-15 minutes and i got my BTC

The factors that matter in order to give you the best answer include:

 - Where are you located (country)?
 - How much are you looking to buy?
 - What payment methods do you have available?
 - How soon do you need access to the proceeds?
 - Is privacy important?

A fairly comprehensive list of options is compiled here:

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Buying_bitcoins

In the U.S., if there is a Chase bank branch around, BitMe.com is probably your best option for a purchase of $30-ish of coins.  

If you are in the U.S. and have a bank account you might want to get started on a Dwolla account, but that won't help you for 30 days due to Dwolla's 30-day probation period for new accounts with respect to Bitcoin exchanges.  But after that, Dwolla gives you the cheapest method to buy coins in the future.

Skip Mt.Gox if you are in Europe, bitstamp.net all the way.

It is really fast when adding funds through bank deposit.

I used Bitinstant for my first coin purchase, it was a fairly simple and painless process and was more or less instant once the transaction was initiated.

Just to report, I made a smooth and quick fiat-to-BTC exchange on blockchain.info using their new Bank Transfer facility.

If you have a US bank account coinbase.com is good. They currently have a $100.00 per day limit on buying or selling BTC, but if you only want a small amount of coins that should not be a problem.

They have low fees and I haven't had any problems buying BTC from them, though it does take a few days.