Using ShapeShift - first make sure destination wallet supports target altcoin?

[siaeae]

Hello,
From ShapeShift's FAQ page: https://shapeshift.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001620310-How-to-exchange-coins-on-ShapeShift

"...Next you will get a screen with the fields to enter where you would like your funds to be sent to and a field to input your refund address for the coin you deposited - in the event the exchange failed."

MY QUESTION: Shouldn't user FIRST make sure destination wallet / address supports desired altcoin?
Because if it does not, transaction will not go through?

Correct?

[Zocadas]

Hello,
From ShapeShift's FAQ page: https://shapeshift.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/115001620310-How-to-exchange-coins-on-ShapeShift

"...Next you will get a screen with the fields to enter where you would like your funds to be sent to and a field to input your refund address for the coin you deposited - in the event the exchange failed."

MY QUESTION: Shouldn't user FIRST make sure destination wallet / address supports desired altcoin?
Because if it does not, transaction will not go through?

Correct?

.
Yes, you must make sure, that your altcoin is supported by shapeshift and make sure, how much you get for your coins. For my experience there are times, they take horrible high fees/bad exchange rates. Not always but often. So look first on coinmarketcap for actual prices.

[siaeae]

Hello,
Thanks for your reply, but I wasn't asking about exchange rates.

Should user FIRST make sure destination wallet / address supports desired altcoin?

For example: converting BTC to Ripple and entering a Blockchain.info destination address will probably result in a failed transaction.
But BTC to Ripple and entering Jaxx wallet address should go through?

Correct?

[TryNinja]

Of course you should. Bitcoin Address =/= Ethereum Address =/= Litecoin Address.

Every altcoin has a supported address and most of them have a different format. You can't receive Ripple in your Bitcoin address, for example. If you have a Ripple wallet, you should know what is a Ripple address and what is a Bitcoin address. You will need to send X Bitcoins to the ShapeShift deposit address and input your Ripple address so they can send you your XRP coins. That's how this works.

[exstasie]

Hello,
Thanks for your reply, but I wasn't asking about exchange rates.

Should user FIRST make sure destination wallet / address supports desired altcoin?

For example: converting BTC to Ripple and entering a Blockchain.info destination address will probably result in a failed transaction.
But BTC to Ripple and entering Jaxx wallet address should go through?

Correct?

It doesn't matter whether you are using a multi-currency wallet or not. You should always make sure that you are using a BTC address when receiving BTC, a Ripple address when receiving XRP, etc.

Most exchanges have a policy now to simply not recover currencies sent to the wrong address type, or to recover them only under certain circumstances (high value transactions, etc).

It's really important to double/triple check addresses for that reason. Don't only check that the address was copy/pasted correctly; also confirm that it's an address generated for the currency you will be receiving. This can be confusing with sites like Poloniex and Shapeshift, and this is why they have such warnings.