Bitcoin Forum

Hey guys!

Some of you may think that my question will be dumb and that Google can help me but Google does not have everything - it does not have personal experience.

My question is - how can I sell my BTC without paying high fees to someone? I made a big mistake and lost my BTC using an exchange that's not reliable. In the end, it turned out they don't even have a customer support team.

I need a personal experience of how you have done it or maybe a place or an article where you can learn these things.

Because of the price increase, I want to sell some of my Bitcoins but I want also to make sure the transaction goes through.

It would help to tell us what local currency and what country you are in first, then people might be able to make good suggestions.

Personally though, as I always say to threads like this, LocalBitcoins[1]. Just make sure you're buying or selling to decently reputable people. Also, my second option is Abra[2]. Though I can't choose my own prices or set up buy/sell offers, it's still pretty much seamless on my side.

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[1] https://localbitcoins.com/
[2] https://abra.com/

My currency is Euro and I am in Latvia. Yeah well, couple of my friends has a bad experience with LocalBitcoins so...

With the recent pump, many people have been thinking about selling their Bitcoin holdings.

I don't blame you.

 I saw this question also when BTC hit 19k back in December 2017. 

Don’t sell your Bitcoin at the first available exchange. You will end up paying a lot more than you should, just like you already did, and you will not get the best exchange rates.

And, on top of that, it is often as you said - Customer support is nowhere to be found.

That is why everyone should read guides and perform his own research.

The one thing I would recommend you is this - https://paybis.com/news/how-to-sell-bitcoin/

This is a great guide for beginners and experienced crypto enthusiasts alike.

They have everything from different ways to sell your Bitcoin all the way to what you have to do after the sale and info about taxes you might need to pay.

I hope it comes in handy ;)

A bitcoin atm is always an easy way to sell btc.
There appears to be one in Riga

https://coinatmradar.com/bitcoin_teller/6254/bitcoin-teller-bitcoin-teller-riga-crypto-embassy-cryptocash/

It’s worth checking it out, but always check the fees first .

I've been using either Bitstamp, either some exchange from my country, either Wirex card.
I've ordered the 3 by the fees, small to high.
Also people tend to not keep big bucks on Wirex cards because of some issues in the past.

For all of these you'll need to fill KYC though.

That's not fair, because with each and everything if you're not satisfied then it is truly not possible to sell your bitcoin. Your friend could've done some mistake, without which there is no chance for any flaw on selling. You could see a list of traders, you can select based on the trust rating of the traders. Other than this only possible way is to sell through our forum services section.

Localbitcoins is fine as long as you sell to a reputable buyer with lots of positive feedback/trades.
Honestly you shouldn’t have a problem with it.

That so cool and the first time am seeing someone suggesting bitcoin ATM for selling bitcoin, can you please tell us the fee on transactions from the ATM. I normally use Remitano.com it a p2p escrow platform and the charge  a fee of 0.0002 btc for any deposit to your account on the platform.

P2P exchanges (Peer to Peer) are the only choice for me when it comes to selling cryptocurrencies for fiat. Find out a trustable P2P exchange that supports the currency you wanna cash out for and make the deal over it.
How to find if it's trustable or not ? You will have to do a research for it. Follow the exchange on social media platforms, look for the user reviews and customer feedbacks and you will get an idea if the exchange is good or not.
I tend to prefer making all my deals on P2P exchanges but in rare cases I have to take the alternate option which is to sell it to somebody I know. Not everybody can do this since you need crypto contacts to buy/sell crypto .

First preference : P2P exchanges like LocalBitcoins : Find buyers with 100% ratings and trustworthy feedback and execute the trade. Everything will be held in escrow. Your friends were unlucky in this case.

Second preference : Popular exchanges like Binance and Bittrex

Enable 2FA and execute your trades!

I have been using Coinbase (https://www.coinbase.com) since every and i can easily / safely say it's one of the bests not to say the best one out there of any exchangers.

Coinbase provides you an easy way for you to buy / sell your coins as long you fill out their KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements - which is preaty easy as well if you are legitm in filling such form.

It has specific fees as well for each country: https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/2109597-buy-sell-bank-transfer-fees

The thing is, bitcoin ATMs do have high fees in them whenever one wants to create transactions and OP is looking for ways to sell bitcoin with low fees. The first thing that comes to my mind are DEX platforms though it's a bit hard to see that's reliable and trustworthy. Another thing is this very forum on the currency exchange section which isn't that active compared to its heydays in 2017. The last option you have is to register on an exchange and read carefully on how to sell your bitcoins in order to not make the same mistake ever again.

Means that your experience did not choose reputable seller. Actually localbitcoins is great place to sell your bitcoin, you only need to find reputable seller and check the reviews.

If you have a Bitcoin balance into your wallet, it means either you Bought it into some exchange platform or you Bought it to the person.  If you want to sell it to someone perhaps localbitcoins will suite for you dude. But you can also sell it too at the top exchange platform site at the coinmarketcap.

I’ve just had a quick look at that atm in Riga and it doesn’t supply the fee structure.
On atms in the UK , you are looking at about 2-3% for selling btc and unfortunately for buying it can be up to 10%  :(
Personally I’ve bought btc at btc atms , but never sold .

Pretty much this. I'm guessing that your friends probably picked to transact with people with little to no reputation, hence the bad experience. If possible, try looking for people to transact with personally, in a mall, a bank, or somewhere safe enough to transact significant amounts of money.

Hi,

There are many ways to sell your bitcoins:

cash: you can search BTC dealers on localbitcoins
bank transfer: also you can search BTC dealers on localbitcoins or sell on high ranked exchanges

You can search trusted exchanges on coinmarketcap.com..

There are many reliable exchanges. Just do not forget to check on exchange sites on the minimum cash out or maximum.cash out and the level.of KYC to do when it will involve huge money. There are exchanges that do not do KYC but either exchanges doing KYC or not will do fine just to be sure that they the exchange is working then try to.deposit little amount first and then sell.

It might be hacked account of some past reputable user or some past reputable user sold it and now new owner might be dishonest.

What about buying things from BTC for your friends and accept fiat from them .(No idea if purse.io or something equivalent to it exist in your country.)

Possibly, but what are the chances that every single one of OP's friends had the same experience? I'm still leaning towards them transacting with non-reputable LBC users.

I am not sure how this will work for you, since I am from a different country with a different fiat currency, but I usually use this website when it comes to fiat/crypto exchanges: https://www.bestchange.com/bitcoin-to-euro-cash-in-riga.html. This is what it offers for people from Latvia, and perhaps it's not what you are looking for, but I always use the exchanges this website offers, and I have never been scammed there. I notice now though that these exchanges are only for big money transfers. You can still try to explore the website, and maybe you'll find what you need there.
Another option you can try is choose the trading pair with EUR and use one of the listed exchanges: https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/bitcoin/#markets. The exchanges are reliable, but you have to look into fee structure. They might also require kyc if that's a problem.

You can trade your Bitcoin for fiat money on this forum using escrow but since you don't want to pay for extra charges and fees, you can try exchange  platforms like coinbase if only they are available to use  in your country. Its the safest way to exchange your Bitcoin for fiats with less fee charges.  But I'm kinda surprised that your friends had bad experiences making transactions on localbitcoin.

If you are in a location where bitcoin or cryptocurrency is legal to deal in I would still advice you to use an exchange although you claim to have had some challenges with an exchange that could be probably as a result of not using a top exchange. I use luno for all my bitcoin transcation and the fee are quite minimal with no loss of bitcoin.
Although you can sell your bitcoin offline I don't advice that but if you must employ the services of an escrow

I better choose another exchange if to use LocalBitcoins for transactions, the high price when buying and when selling demand is very low. Its not clear that exchange works and I'm not interested in lingering there, moreover seeing a bad reputation regarding exchange.

If you can HODL, then please do.

If you still want to sell your Bitcoins then first option will LocalBitcoins - https://localbitcoins.com/

Always check the profile of the buyer/seller on LocalBitcoins to check their Trust score. You may only incur bank charges for transferring fiat. Since, everyone registered with LocalBitcoins have to verify the mobile number. You can contact them to see whether they can buy Bitcoins over the counter, if the buyer is local. Then you can do the transaction in cash without incurring any bank charges.

The best way is to Use Bitcoin - Coinmap.org, check things around you and you would most probably be surprised that more and more places start to accept Bitcoin as payment :) Get a Pica for example  8)

The thing there is the good exchange sites, you can use google to search for the top cryptocurrency exchange or you can go this and check the rankings of the exchange: https://coinmarketcap.com/rankings/exchanges/ If you're selling bitcoin you can also look at the volume of that coin to the exchange.

After choosing your top 3 exchange don't create an account yet instead do a research about their rules and regulations, minimum withdrawal and exchange fees. You can also read some reviews about the exchanges you choose and from that you can now choose a good exchange. Don't choose an exchange with lower fees but sacrificing the safety of your funds choose an exchange that has a fee but can secure your account and funds... However i think the fees are not that high and I think it depends on how big are you going to withdraw

This is all according to my own experience of using cryptocurrency exchange sites.

It really depends on what country you're located in. The laws and regulations regarding cryptocurrencies vary from country to country. If you are within the U.S, Coinbase is a staple within the American diet of exchanges. It"s pretty simple to set up an account. but does require some personal information. A somewhat regulated exchange is the go to option. I'm not too sure about Local Bitcoins, because I don't know the exact laws governing money transmission services. There are regulations in place within the U.S that require money business transferring licence, some states require it as well as federal registering.
  There are policy's for AML/KYC that must be met in order to do so, etc. Like I said, I'm not sure, but I think you should consult with you're local financial attorney/ advisory/ professional if you're not sure, at least before making any hasty moves.

Just my two cents!

for over a year now, I have been using the luno app to sell my bitcoin and get fiat credited into my bank account directly. It has been really reliable with flexible transaction fees. You can get the app from play store.

ATMs are reliable but expensive. Their fees are very high so I would only choose an ATM if I really needed money and was abroad or somewhere where I can't safely log in to an exchange or my bank account.

The best is always localbitcoins or setting up a face to face trade through social media. If there's a bitcoin embassy nearby you can also exchange there.

Your best bet are still exchanges- one with good reputation. It also depends on your country of residence, withdrawal can be made in your local currencies in most countries without a ban or restriction of cryptos.You may want to check Localbitcoin.com if they are operational in your locality.

In my country Nigeria, there are lots of people who do buying and selling of bitcoin for a living. It makes it easy for me to sell my bitcoin and get cash with ease and the good part is I get to negiotiate what price i want at any given time. This how i have been selling bitcoin for long.

everyone has different ways to sell their BTC. but I'm sure selling BTC on exchange is a method that is often used by other people. people are always looking for professional exchange, for them it doesn't matter the expensive transaction costs. because today, costs are not a problem. but people prioritize security more than transaction costs.and they can use lightning networks.

You should use a cryptocurrency exchange platform. My pick is CoinDeal, since it has low fees and now they are even lower if you use an address beginning with bc1... (native segwit, bech32).

You can check it here: https://coindeal.com/news/lower-fees-btc

Selling of Bitcoin for Fiat depends on a number of factors like location, quantity and price. Before now I used to sell it through WhatsApp escrow group until i was scammed. That's when I was introduced to escrow exchanges.  Since then, I sell my Bitcoin conveniently through exchange running escrow services like Luno, remitanno etc

There's nothing wrong with Localbitcoin becasue there you get reliable and most reputable buyers without panic and if have any issue, contact the customer care immediately. Personally, i have been using the said Localbitcoin without any issue from them, and will like to recommend it for you. Before you sell, ensure to check on the buyers profile to confirm his/her reputation before engage in business.

Using exchange are the best way to sell bitcoin and you can do a research on what exchanges are good when it comes to exchange with lesser fees.

However, there are other good ways on selling bitcoin and I have been trying to do that since i have coins.ph app to which it can buy out load, ecoins for esports games like dota2, crossfire, ros and etc. I have compared the fees using the fiat money and the btc and found out that BTC us better.

Base on my experience the fee in any transaction have expenses,so now it was only depend on the person who uses it ,if he/she want more fast transaction it cost high fee but if she/he want normal transaction it cost normal fee.

Agree to your point but basically, OP said the most efficient and reliable ways to sell Bitcoin. From this point of view, there are thousands of ways an individual can sell his/her Bitcoin to buyers but there are more efficient and reliable ways or means to go about that; Coinbase, paxful are some of the ways to sell but will advice to use Localbitcoin which to me is the most reliable ways to sell Bitcoin, also, because of their reputation in the industry.  

I usually use exchange site whenever I sell my bitcoin and I mostly use major exchange like binance whenever I sell it. Actually, there are a lot of ways to sell your bitcoin but the easiest way is through using exchange site. If you have crypto ATM machine in your country you can use to convert your bitcoin into fiat. I think you should use major exchange so there will no problem or error if you will sell your bitcoin.

well, in this case, I have a trusted local exchanger, I also have trusted partners to exchange bitcoin, or assets that I have in the form of fiat. so far, they are still trusted and of course very safe. since getting to know crypto, they always help me in this matter.

It's really much important to make sure that the exchange is safe though the point of OP is the fees so there's always differences about that, you can check it out from every available exchange that catered your place making sure that you'll be able to transact without having any issues., As there's always rules and regulations to take place.

Maybe you can sell your btc into another coins in exchange, then you send the converted coins to hte person that you wanna sell to, with the same rate.
So, it won't eat much btc fee

It seems to me that it is the stock exchange that is now the most popular and secure bitcoin exchange.  Because they are aimed at it and specializes in this.

Trusted P2p exchanges are the best place to trade Bitcoin (Btc) and Ethereum (Eth), I personally use remitano and I haven't faced any issue so far.

no other way, you have to trust exchange with high reputable and trusted. only exchange can trade your btc into fiat.
you have to research first and find best exchange with no negative feedback[ i thing there are nothing ] find with low percentase negative feedback and be confident your self.

Choosing a reliable is hard for me. Especially that most of my holdings are Altcoins. I too was searching a reliable way to sell Bitcoin and in my country there is one. But for Altcoins I find hard to give my KYC. Do you have suggestions on how we can make sure an exchange will secure my KYC? Is there a legal entity behind this? Bitstamp seems to accept only few popular coins and most reputable exchanges do.

Here in my country, we have a good exchange where we can sell and also buy Bitcoin for that matter and so far there has been no major issues that can deter anyone not to trust. Now, another best option is doing it peer-to-peer but make sure that you are dealing with an honest person or buyer but if you don't trust each other then maybe use escrow if there is one. These days there are now many businesses in cryptocurrency and soon we can be overwhelmed with many choices but of course at all times we have to be careful.