I want to purchase a list of items on amazon (7 items totaling a few hundred dollars). I need all of the items within a few weeks (all are prime eligible). I am trying to figure out the most reliable way to pay for this order using bitcoin. My priority is that I get the items in time, I'm not looking to save money. I see 3 options:

1. purse.io
Concerns - It looks as though the items can be purchased separately, and I don't want to fund the order, only to have the items not be ordered or shipped in time, as I will end up needing to order them separately myself.

2. gyft.com
Concerns - from the documentation on the site, it looks like you HAVE TO use the gyft app to use ths service. I don't have a smart phone, and thus cannot use an app. Is the app necessary here, or can they simply email me a gift/coupon code? They haven't responded to my inquiry.

3. localbitcoins.com
Concerns - This just seems like a huge pain. Meeting up with someone in the city to trade bitcoin for cash seems excessive for a simple amazon order.


What about simply adding an amazon gift card to a wishlist for purse.io? Has anyone done this? Any guidance or suggestions would be greatly appreciated here. Thanks in advance.


UPDATE: I ended up using (gyft.com). It worked perfectly, and was simple and quick. I was totally over-thinking it.

Two questions:

1. How long does it usually take for my wishlist to be purchased on amazon, are we talking hours or days?

2. If I am ordering many items totalling a few hundred dollars, is it better to simply get a gift card using purse.io, then place the complex order myself using the newly obtained gift card?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Guess I'm just dense, because I cannot find your affiliate link.

shorena, Just wanted to thank you again for your help. You explained it perfectly above. While I don't have a lot in BTC, it IS a lot to me, so this was very important to me. It made a big difference to have access to you and this forum.

My hard drive died. I had backed up my wallet.dat file. I installed Bitcoin core on a new computer (it will take forever to sync). I started Bitcoin core, then exited, then replaced the wallet.dat with my back up version. When I open Bitcoin Core again, the wallet is empty. It doesnt show any addresses either. Please tell me I havent lost my bitcoin.

UPDATE: I do see my deposits in the transaction history! Still shows zero balance though.

I have my wallet.dat file created with Bitcoin-qt, and I have my new Electrum install. I DO NOT have Bitcoin-qt anymore, and it'll take weeks to get a new install "in sync", as it'll have to download the entire blockchain. How do I move my old BTC to the new Electrum wallet?

It appears as though I need to "sweep" the BTC using the private keys located in my original qt wallet.dat file, sending everything to an address in my new Electrum wallet. But how do I get the private keys from the qt wallet.dat file? I don't know what to do. Any guidance here would be much appreciated. Please be as specific as possible - pretend you're responding to a 4 year old. Thanks in advance.

[SOLVED] Answer found here: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/7536/how-do-i-export-my-private-keys-from-my-bitcoin-qt-client

shorena,

Thank you for that fast response! I am looking at Electrum now. I really appreciate it.

I have been using a popular bitcoin client, with no problems. Recently my HD died. Obviously I had backed up my wallet, but upon reinstalling the client software, I soon realized that it's going to take a couple of weeks to download/update the blockchain. Can I send bitcoin from my wallet using a client with a grossly outdated blockchain? If not, is there a way to load my wallet into some app or service that doesn't require a local copy of the entire blockchain? Sorry if this is a stupid question. I've been researching, but nothing seems to address my situation. Thanks in advance.