Bitcoin Forum

Hi all, I am currently looking to sell some of my BTC but it turns out to be quite a hard task :P
As I currently live in South America, most money transfer options used to trade BTC is not possible.
As far as I see I only have two options:
1. International bank transfer
2. Western Union

(1.) being quite difficult as I hardly find any one selling for International bank transfer
Now I found out about Western Union and it sound like a super simple way, just go to the local WU agent and pick up the money.
Is there any draw back when using it? Any one have experience with them, any pros and cons ?
Thanks in advanced!

Once you pick up the money you are safe.

Western Union is safe.
Soon as you pick ur money,there is no chargebacks or refunds.
And yeah, it is simply and easy to use it :) Same as money gram

Hey thanks for your feed back :)
Now I just would have one more question, what are the fees from Western union? I searched on there website and on google, but I seem to be to dumb to find there rates :P

It depends from the sender country and the amount will besend:)
If u receive from US/CA/EU the fees are little bit high than chinese.

i sent to Europe from the US and fees were roughly 10% at a 600 USD transfer  (sender pays fees) i hear they also take a small (1% i've heard?) fee to convert that USD to your local currency when you go to pickup cash..so you get 600 USD I pay 660 and then they take that 600 and covert it to your currency at whatever exchange they recognize taking a small fee

Yes, I almost expected something like this....otherwise I guess more people would use Western Union.
I thing I will then rather look at other alternatives, paying 10-11%fee and then also the prices on localbitcoins are way lower then the actual current Price.
That would mean that I might get only 60% or less of the actual price :o

Well any ways, thanks for your help all! Helped me a lot :)

The thing I know about WU are there FEES. it ranges in high percentages like %10 and higher. Not sure about safety of receiving payment chargebacks or being sued etc... so you better do your own investigations.

As a buyer i would never use WU to pay for bitcoins. Once the seller gets the secret code and takes the money There's nothing you can do in case you don't get your bitcoins.

I think it is quite more difficult to find buyers who want to send their moneyh through WU.

Good luck!

In what country do you live?

Well but isnt that the same with bank transfer etz. ? Also if people sell on localbitcoins.com they use a ascrow, so I guess that would then not be a problem.
But I don't know, I had no experiance with localbitcoins so far.


Currently in Paraguay (south america).

There are few exchange services with reputation, some of them can send you WU. But look for testimonials first...

Wow, realy? Do you have names? I have already looked for this but did not find anything, that would be nice!
Would thse exchanges also use money gram? Money gram seems to be way cheaper than WU, so that would be perfect.
Thanks!

I used wm-center.es few times, they can send both WU or MG, but unfortunatelly they are fixed rate exchanger, and their current XBT/USD rate is awfull... I am currently using them to withdraw money from bitcoins this way: bitcoins => btc-e redeem code => WU thru wm-center, and loses are much smaller

Wow, they do look promising, thanks!
Can you tell me if I have to verify myself before using them (sending drivers license & utility bills )? Or can I just send them BTC and they will send my Money via Money Gram/ Western Union?

I was already verified by them before, so I am not sure, sorry. Check live chat at their website, it works in browser 24/7, and I'm sure they will let you know what is their current AML policies, limits to withdraw without verification etc. Good luck!

wire is safer. Western Union is for small amounts among families only. they may forfeit/freeze your account otherwise.

you can buy/sell on our exchange LakeBTC for USD (and CNY)

Thanks you, I am shaking them out and asking them some questions via there contact form (chat dose not seem to work) and they have been quite helpful this fare, if all goes well I will make my first test sell with them tomorrow.
I will let you know if it worked or not :)



Hmmh, that might be right, I think I will also use wire transfer with wm-center.se as that also seems to be the cheapest way. Thanks for the info though.
Should wm-center not work, I might come back to you....what are your verification requirements? I have no problem  with a copy of ID card, but I can't  provide a proof of residence as I am on travel right now, thats the reason I am not using bitstamp for selling BTC.

justs copy of id and photo.

yeah try wm first. it could save you time & fees if that works. we negotiated with these payment companies before but it turned out wire is the best feasible option out there

Wow, so if I register at your site, can I sel and buy BTC (like on mtgox,btc-e,etz.) and have my money on your exchange? And then when I decide to cash out I have to verify my self, with just a photo ID?
Were are you located, how come you don't need a proof of residence? That sounds great :)

we have teams in US and China, and you can trade in USD and CNY, for the time being. thanks for your inquiry. :)