J603, thanks for the info, it is much appreciated.  Converting USD to bitcoin is also a stumbling block for me... I think I have it more or less figured out... but I don't want to lose my shirt in fees!

I'm in the process of starting a company designing and manufacturing consumer goods.  ("Survivalists," people who generally do not trust government, are one of our main customers.)  Our corporate presence has been established and the products designed -- now sourcing vendors for the actual manufacturing and order fulfillment.

I took management of stakeholder expectations very seriously when writing the business plan.  And a lot of people I interviewed asked me, "Will you accept bitcoin?" 

To be honest, that was only the second time I heard of bitcoin.  The first time was in an article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

At first I viewed these people -- our potential investors and customers -- as sort of fringe types.  Weirdos.  But when I talked more about it with them, I learned a lot about their views on fiat currency, precious metals, and resource diversification for the non-wealthy.  Their viewpoints may not be mainstream, but they are very legitimate nonetheless.

So, eventually I did include bitcoin on the business plan with the blessing of our investors and my business partner.  It's a simple plan, as the caveat was that it couldn't add any workload that would extend the e-commerce and dealer sales past our self-imposed due date.

A question is, are there any reputable retailers that are accepting bitcoin as payment now?  I'm still new to bitcoin and haven't seen it used in commercial-level transactions.  Mostly P2P like-kind trades, and of course, Silk Road.

Our customer service policy trumps any credit card reverse-charging policy, so we would be able to offer equal or better protection to the customers who pay in bitcoin vs. customers who pay with credit card.  (We will not accept Paypal or Square.)