why is it so hard to buy bitcoins?

[idividebyzero]

Coinbase almost never sells and they put up a bizarre message about giving you market price 6 days later which with its current growth is completely nuts. Bitinstant doesnt seem to work anymore as everyone is saying they havent received their money in days. I cant use Bitfloor because they use Bank of America and there arent any BOA's here anymore since they went through massive downsizing. Mt Gox has an insane verification wait time. A lot of other exchange sites that people used to recommend dont even exist anymore.

So please, how are you buying bitcoins? The price is going up so people must be buying, but how? Why must it be so ridiculously difficult to buy these things?

[tutkarz]

Bitcoin you can get from one exchange and in max 2 hours you can have it in another. Try doing the same with money. Thats why bitcoin is superior to regular fiat money.
But to answer you question, maybe you should try at ebay or local exchange with real people?

[additionalpylons]

If you're willing to stomach a higher fee, it's easy to use a local payment processor to put funds into a MtGox account or Bitcoin address. You just run over to a CVS or some other store with a red Moneygram phone, and phone in a payment to MtGox or Bitinstant. It's quick and only slightly sketchy looking.

[chrisclayton]

I posted an ad in a local classified ads site (craigslist would probably do), looking to purchase bitcoins and got a reply, met up with the 'seller' and exchanged the dollars (cash in hand) and coins (transferred via smartphone apps).

Worked out well and didn't have to worry about big-bank like entities.

EDIT: This post explains the 'why' perfectly - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=164254.0 I've included the relevant sections from deepceleron below.

[...]
Why is it difficult to purchase Bitcoins with your old-fashioned money?

If this is the fault of Bitcoin, it is because Bitcoin is too good. If you receive a payment with Bitcoin, you can be 100% sure that the money is yours and it can't be disputed or taken back out of your wallet. PayPal, Credit cards, ACH checking transfer and money wires, Chase Quickpay, Dwolla, and most any other banking payments, however, can be reversed - they are less trustworthy than the Bitcoins you are trying to buy.

This is why even Bitcoin exchanges have rigorous verification procedures - they need to verify your identity thoroughly, not because of Bitcoin, but because they are taking your government currency, transferred through banks and payment processors, which is fundamentally problematic. Exchanges that only deal with Bitcoin-based virtual currencies (such as Bitcoin to Namecoin) have no such identity requirements.

[...]

So how can you obtain bitcoins, if nobody on the Internet can tell the difference between you and a foreign crime syndicate? If you don't wish to go through the lengthy verification procedures on exchanges, I recommend you first investigate local traders who are willing to exchange bitcoins in person. Sites such as https://localbitcoins.com/ or http://www.tradebitcoin.com/ may help you find local Bitcoin users. Also, Bitcoin is for commerce - sell something and accept Bitcoin!

[ikuzo1]

I also have seen people saying they aren't getting transfers through Bitinstant today, but I did one this morning with moneygram to mtgox, so it may depend on your transfer destination (whether u were depositing to mtgox or btc address)