Bitcoin Forum

I have added the ability to buy a discount coupon from www.codeshirts.com (http://www.codeshirts.com) using bitcoins. I wasn't really sure of the best way to go about it but in the end decided to allow the purchase a 1/3 off discount for 200 bitcoins. The discount code is the bitcoin address, it becomes active when the transfer is confirmed.

What I would prefer (and may work on in the future) is the ability to buy an arbitrary value coupon at the current exchange rate. The reason I haven't implemented it this way is that I don't want a customer to be able to use only bitcoin to order and magento's coupon rules don't really allow me to set it up as I would need. I really like the bitcoin idea but need to make some "real" money too ;).

I think using bitcoin to buy discounts might be a good way to go, exchanging something virtual for something else virtual might be a way to get away from bitcoin being classed as "money" and any issues that may bring with it.

A quick question; Will there be any way to remove a bitcoin address in the future (assuming it hasn't been used in a transaction)? I can see myself ending up with alot of "useless" addresses from people clicking on the button (which generates a new address) and not following through. I'd like to be able to prune these addresses at a later date to remove some of the clutter.

The irony of using a pseudo-anonymous digital currency to purchase an item that links to your digital identity hasn't escaped me ;)

This is cool.

Very nice.

Is shipping 1/3 off also?

The discount doesn't currently apply to shipping. Thanks for picking that up, I've added a note to the page. Some destinations have a pretty high shipping cost so I cant really have a blanket 1/3 off, it would cost me way too much.

If I get one it's $23. At $7.66/200BTC that's not a deal compared to market rate, plus I don't get the benefit of not having to give out CC details or use PayPal or anything. And I can't tell all my friends "I bought this with BTC"

Just some things to think about. I understand not wanting to take a large BTC position all at once, especially when you don't know if it would be 2 shirts or 20 or whatever. Have you used MtGox though? It's pretty easy to flip coins into PayPal.

I understand the majority of orders would be for single items so I guess 115 BTC would be about market rate, if you bought more than one though you could get way above market value;

2 = $0.0766/BTC (1.14 times current market rate)
3 = $0.115/BTC (1.71 times current market rate)
4 = $0.1533/BTC (2.28 times current market rate)
5 = $0.1916/BTC (2.85 times current market rate)

I was trying to strike some sort of balance with 200.

I have visited MtGox, haven't used it yet but at a glance it seems there isn't much liquidity yet? The bitcoin exchange seems like it might be quite efficient though.

My initial thought was to not cash out the bitcoins but use them to buy other products/services as they arise to help grow the economy, I guess I could just cash out 2/3rds of them and do the same...

I'll have to think on it for a bit.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it.

Check it out now, liquidity capital of the bitcoin world. That is much better with multiple shirts.

Testing the water: http://www.codeshirts.com/bitcoin_discounts/ there are 2 items that can be bought using bitcoin, the same deal as before, after confirmation the bitcoin address works as a discount code but this time it will cover the entire cost of the item (including shipping). It currently only works with those 2 items but I may expand it at a later date depending on demand.