Bitcoin Forum

Hey guys , I live in Toronto, Canada. I own some bitcoins and even though I don't really wanna sell btc I need abit of money Right now. So I looked for some local bitcoins people and other sellers that advertise e transfer or local sale . One of the vendors I bought btc before and it was at my. Gox rate . Now he and one other buyer that I tried to buy from, they are saying mt gox is no longer the standard for price setting and they wanna buy from me using Canadian exchange site virtex , which has the price there   Under 1000 dollars  avg where mt gox is like 1150. I am  only looking to sell like .1 maybe . 2   So I know it's not a huge difference but I feel like I'm getting ripped off especially considering that same guy that wants to buy from.    me under 1000 rate is selling on localbitcoins for 1300 for btc.  Is this a common practice  that I should just accept even though it feels like I'm getting undervalue for btc especially considering that they can resell same btc much higher so easy. I need money now and I don't have time for online exchanges . Are these really my only realistic options and is this really how it is right now or are people taking major advantage of sellers and buyers right now. It just doesn't feel right. That a big price difference even for something as small as . 1 btc.   Thx everyone

The short story is that the more trading you do and the more reputation you build, the more people you will find you can trade with. Generally that can allow you to trade on more favorable terms.

You have to look around to see what you can get. Some will offer less while others will offer more. that is the free market. As Atruk said , you also need rep to if you are going into negotiations.

I understand your frustration... before the prices went sky high, I wanted to sell 15 BTC all at once because 1) I needed the fiat, and 2) I didn't want to deal with selling piecemeal. Needless to say, I was being low balled like no other. It seems a little unfair... I buy at excessive mark up, but I have to sell wholesale? Ha! I'm lucky to have found a fair buyer.

Perhaps post the offer to sell on this site using bank wire (not sure how safe this is tho). You might find a buyer quickly. Hell, had I not found coin.mx today, I would've asked to buy the somehow.

A lot the the problem right now with the over the counter market is liquidity.

No it's not the standard, people just use sites like that for their own personal gain. Say he buys 1 BTC locally he could turn around and sell that for $100-$200 profit instantly using an exchange site or to a customer if he has a lot of reputation. Every buyer you run into that you can sell securely and instantly to will most likely be doing that right now, so I guess in a way it's the standard, but if you have the time you can find someone who will buy your BTC at the highest exchange rate.

These guys will buy as little as 0.1 BTC.  https://www.canadianbitcoins.com/

Mt. Gox is no longer the benchmark because they have banking problems and are no longer able to pay their customers on time. For USD bitstamp is the benchmark price now. I don't know about CAD.

If you are going to trade locally then people will keep significant margins. If you don't like that you can always risk it with an exchange.

The price difference between mtgox and the other exchanges is almost entirely because of their problems getting people their money and lack of faith in them. Obviously the gap would fill quickly if those problems weren't there.

There isn't a single good place to buy bitcoins right now really though. They all have their issues.