Title: In person trading considerations and suggestions Post by: Serenata on April 04, 2012, 03:26:23 PM Hello all!
I searched the forum and can't find any thread that sums up all the suggestions, considerations and best practices for trading in person. Although trading in person can be quite limited and limiting, I believe there are people who would prefer hand to hand exchange than buying Bitcoins via wire or bank transfers. We wouldn't want to discourage those people, would we? ::) To get the conversation started, here are my thoughts about it... SAFETY
TRADING
FEES AND RATES
SITES and SERVICES
By all means, please feel free to correct any of the above and/or add your own thoughts. Title: Re: In person trading considerations and suggestions Post by: Stephen Gornick on April 04, 2012, 06:27:12 PM
So that you don't get mugged or shot for the $200 cash and/or the bitcoins being traded. That's one reason some people really don't want to be trading person-to-person. Yes, using reputation such as the trust history in the #bitcoin-otc's Web of Trust (WoT) will help lessen the risks. I've come across what is essentially a $5 intra metro-area delivery service in the U.S.. I'm thinking it might help here: - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=74912.0 Title: Re: In person trading considerations and suggestions Post by: Serenata on April 05, 2012, 06:28:36 AM Yeap, yeap, I stumbled upon your post while looking for information about in person trading. Sounds really interesting for those people living in those cities.
Title: Re: In person trading considerations and suggestions Post by: miscreanity on April 05, 2012, 06:36:51 PM SAFETY
That first point is critical. You don't have to actually meet, either - a publicly-located physical drop box or drop point works; e.g. ask a reliable coffee shop employee to hold the flash drive for a person buying a particular drink - not only is it a fun bit of pseudo-clandestine excitement for all involved, but it introduces another layer of protection; and be sure to leave a nice tip. It really works only after establishing a reliable relationship, but it's worthwhile. TRADING
You should only send the encryption passphrase after the exchange, not before. Maintain control at all times, especially for large amounts and/or high volume. If you've done a few small-ish transactions already, the buyer should have no problem with this. Another technique that can be used is to create an empty or partial wallet, ship or drop it at a specified exchange location, then transfer the rest of the purchase upon receipt of payment. HipSwap is cool, if pricey. Also, the delivery service is only available in Los Angeles for now. Other courier services would work as well, or even hiring a kid with a bike or car if the price is right. Even a UPS driver delivered a flash drive once (gave a few dollars and it was in the area), after I received payment of course. Title: Re: In person trading considerations and suggestions Post by: Serenata on April 06, 2012, 08:04:37 AM You don't have to actually meet, either - a publicly-located physical drop box or drop point works; e.g. ask a reliable coffee shop employee to hold the flash drive for a person buying a particular drink - not only is it a fun bit of pseudo-clandestine excitement for all involved, but it introduces another layer of protection; and be sure to leave a nice tip. Hmmm... Interesting thought. Sounds like fun :) |