Bitcoin Forum

As I just became a member of this amazing forum I'm restricted to making post in this thread, however I'd really like to get the word out on two new services my team and I have been developing.

The first is BTCMerchants.com which is a simple online directory of merchants that accept bitcoin.  Now I know the wiki page has a list, but I thought it would be good to have a more detailed directory of all the businesses that accept bitcoin as a form of payment.  Also, please note we just launched this evening, so don't let the lack of listings scare you.

The second service we are working on is the Bitcoin Merchants Association (BTCMA.com).  This will be a service designed to help bring bitcoin merchants together and build ideas, and provide the latest merchant news and updates.

As I said both services are in their infancy but we hope they will grow and with that, the community as a whole.  Make sure you check both sites regularly as we get things rolling and follow us on twitter @BTCMerchant and @BTCMA

Site looks good!

Im from holland, so i think we need a separate dutch site or something....
Good luck!

Please! Ebay type site for btc buyers! BitHarbor is my idea of a name that way ebay hates it and we love it! It could and would make our beloved bitcoin booooom! Nice site touche!

Einstein, there is http://www.biddingpond.com/. I also own bitcoinauctions.com and I'm thinking about doing something with it.

is it just me or is there no search function on biddingpond ?

lol thanks. how is the bidding help accountable is there an intermediate similar to a paypal involved which holds the bitcoins? otherwise also a fail.

I just added our website to your platform! Good work!

I think an eBay type site would be great for bitcoin. We need to help promote commerce using bitcoin as much as possible because the currency simply won't work if the only things people do with it are mine and trade them.

I have another service that's in early development that focuses on services offered in exchange for bitcoin similar to fiverr.com.

I think one thing we need is more of a payment integration (such as bit-pay) that makes it easier for merchants to accept and track bitcoin payments as well as an easy way for consumers to pay using bitcoins.

^right on. RALLY!

Under which category would a browser game fit under on BTCMerchants.com?

This would be awesome!

I'll add a category for games right now.

Are there supposed to be duplicate entries? I see "Bit by Bit" and "base2shop.com" listed twice in their respective categories.

Also, any chance you'll go through and fill in the directory a bit? I was thinking of starting a competing service to base2shop.com but just came across DownloadCoin.com. Glad I did, because the latter is really well done and has a lower transaction fee than I would have started with. It would have been incredibly wasteful had I not stumbled across it before starting development of my own service.

Interesting, downloadcoin looks like it has potential. Could I ask what you are selling? Maybe even a link to your content on the site?

There are duplicates because the site allows users to put their listing in more than one category, so for instance, if I put my business in the sub-categories of computer repair, web design, and hardware retail, then the listing will appear 3 times under the main category of IT.  This is a format that may be changed in the future, but I like giving the user the ability to get more exposure on their business and I don't want to pigeonhole a business into just one category.

In regards to filling in the directory, since it was just launched 4 days ago I'm still deciding if I want to fill in the directory with businesses myself or not.  I would rather have merchants submit the site themselves, that way I know they found the site, they find it useful, and I feel more comfortable having merchants fill out their own business details.

Sure, that's ideal, but there's a hurdle every community has to get over before it spreads. I can't see this taking off any time soon with only 3-4 unique entries. Maybe fill in some light data about each business and allow them to "claim" or "replace" it later on with a full-fledged listing, that way the site is at least somewhat useful to the community that'll be spreading the word about it.

Sure, that's ideal, but there's a hurdle every community has to get over before it spreads. I can't see this taking off any time soon with only 3-4 unique entries. Maybe fill in some light data about each business and allow them to "claim" or "replace" it later on with a full-fledged listing, that way the site is at least somewhat useful to the community that'll be spreading the word about it.
[/quote]

That is true and it was a concern of mine from the very beginning.  For the time being I'll start adding some of the larger and more prominent merchants while I continue to promote the site.  Since it's only 4 days old we're not even in the google listings yet so hopefully people will be patient while the directory grows.

Oh... in that case, you're doing fine!  8) I'd still suggest fixing that multiple entry "bug".

It should be corrected now.  After I looked into it I realized what was happening was that members who picked the featured listing option would have two listings posted- the free listing and the featured listing. 

I also began adding some of the more popular sites in myself so if anyone wants me to add their site for them so they don't have to create an account let me know and I'll add your site for you!

Love the idea.  Any plans to support SolidCoins for merchants?  I've been reluctant to jump onto the btc bandwagon until now because of the slow transactions.

At some point we may adopt solidcoins into the directory but right now we're focusing on getting everything with the bitcoin aspects fleshed out.

 For the latest updates regarding btcmerchants.com please check out the main thread at https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=39468.0

Good idea.  Perhaps a rating system on the merchant list would be a smart idea, too.  That way people can know who to do business with and who to be wary of.

Yep, that's already been implemented.  Users can rate each business out of 10 and leave comments regarding the business as well.