Bitcoin and actually selling/buying with it

[meebs]

I just stumbled upon a post where a guy is selling an android tablet for X amount of BTC and thought "ya... thats some risky stuff right there" and realized actual reasonable usage of BTC isn't so far away.

Think about all of the devices coming out with NFC capability. Combine this with a quality, proven app on say android/iOS and you have a good replacement for cash/paypal for in-person transactions. There is no specific worries about trust, as it is just as risky as a cash/goods handover in person and what address someone is using is not an issue either, as the apps would store all that information automatically and transfer over the appropriate info when the 'bump' is made.

What do you guys think? To me, this sounds pretty sweet and something that could reasonably become a possibility.

[edd]

I've conducted transactions in person with bitcoins very easily already.

Customer: "How much for this?"

Me: "2 BTC. Here's a QR code of the address to send funds to."

Customer: "Let me pull up my barcode scanner app and then access my online wallet. Okay, sending the bitcoins now."

Me: "Checking blockchain.info... yeah, I see them. Thanks and here's your purchase!"

Entire transaction - about 90 seconds.

[Technomage]

Bitcoin is great for buying stuff but as a tip for merchants I really don't recommend pricing items in BTC. The BTC price can be there as well to help certain buyers, but the primary, fixed product price should be USD or EUR or whatever the big currency happens to be. Bitcoin is still way too small and way too volatile to use as a pricing currency. Much less headache comes from an approach where Bitcoin is simply thought of as a payment method when used to buy products.

We're launching a commerce section to our site soon and we have the fixed EUR price visible for all products which is the base price and then we also show the current BTC price. If the buyer pays with bitcoins (we allow sepa and bitcoins as payment) the final BTC price will be shown during the checkout process. We use Bitpay to handle that.

[deepceleron]

Bitcoin is great for buying stuff but as a tip for merchants I really don't recommend pricing items in BTC.

More price stability will come when 1 BTC will always buy you a pair of socks...

Selling or buying items priced in Bitcoins can also be beneficial whether you are optimistic or pessimistic about future values. If you wish to obtain Bitcoins because you think they will hold their value well, then selling merchandise is a great way to do so. As a long term investor, you have a price you are willing to pay for Bitcoins too, and selling one widget = one Bitcoin is better for you then selling for the current price on a volatile exchange. Likewise, if you are pessimistic about Bitcoin, you may find it better to buy the merchandise you want than to go through the time consuming fee-laden process of converting to and withdrawing a government-controlled currency, or may be more likely to buy if an exchange says you are getting a good deal.

[biskitop]

it would be an interesting thing, when stuff can be bought with bitcoin. very easy and practical, also very fast. even that is more effective than paying by bank account.

[sneeze11]

I just stumbled upon a post where a guy is selling an android tablet for X amount of BTC and thought "ya... thats some risky stuff right there" and realized actual reasonable usage of BTC isn't so far away.

Think about all of the devices coming out with NFC capability. Combine this with a quality, proven app on say android/iOS and you have a good replacement for cash/paypal for in-person transactions. There is no specific worries about trust, as it is just as risky as a cash/goods handover in person and what address someone is using is not an issue either, as the apps would store all that information automatically and transfer over the appropriate info when the 'bump' is made.

What do you guys think? To me, this sounds pretty sweet and something that could reasonably become a possibility.

I think if bitcoin use to buy and sell something it will be a good news to us because for me that will be the start of bitcoin accepting as a payment. There are so many worker that wanted to happen that because it is easy and fast.

[bitcoindusts]

A lot of people are already into this type of purchase/transaction. In fact, you will see a lot of classified ads that sells stuff for so and so bitcoins.

Though i somehow feel more comfortable seeing prices in USD as a peg instead of BTC. It feels that we, as a consumer, is on the losing end when buying items priced in bitcoin since the price can fall or peak at any point of time. So a little conversion here and there would not hurt i guess. Let prices be in SD then simply calculate the corresponding bitcoin amount according to the current price market.

[davis196]

I just stumbled upon a post where a guy is selling an android tablet for X amount of BTC and thought "ya... thats some risky stuff right there" and realized actual reasonable usage of BTC isn't so far away.

Think about all of the devices coming out with NFC capability. Combine this with a quality, proven app on say android/iOS and you have a good replacement for cash/paypal for in-person transactions. There is no specific worries about trust, as it is just as risky as a cash/goods handover in person and what address someone is using is not an issue either, as the apps would store all that information automatically and transfer over the appropriate info when the 'bump' is made.

What do you guys think? To me, this sounds pretty sweet and something that could reasonably become a possibility.

The most important question is:"How we will stop all the scammers,who will try to abuse the system?"
I would say that the merchants(or the trading platform) will have to offer:
1.Refund option.
2.Buyer/sellers review/ratings system.
3.Dispute/arbitrage option.
Well,services like Openbazaar offer those features,but Openbazaar isn't that popular(probably because it's a software,not a website or an Android/iPhone app).

[7jaka7]

I just stumbled upon a post where a guy is selling an android tablet for X amount of BTC and thought "ya... thats some risky stuff right there" and realized actual reasonable usage of BTC isn't so far away.

Think about all of the devices coming out with NFC capability. Combine this with a quality, proven app on say android/iOS and you have a good replacement for cash/paypal for in-person transactions. There is no specific worries about trust, as it is just as risky as a cash/goods handover in person and what address someone is using is not an issue either, as the apps would store all that information automatically and transfer over the appropriate info when the 'bump' is made.

What do you guys think? To me, this sounds pretty sweet and something that could reasonably become a possibility.

The most important question is:"How we will stop all the scammers,who will try to abuse the system?"
I would say that the merchants(or the trading platform) will have to offer:
1.Refund option.
2.Buyer/sellers review/ratings system.
3.Dispute/arbitrage option.
Well,services like Openbazaar offer those features,but Openbazaar isn't that popular(probably because it's a software,not a website or an Android/iPhone app).

You have same problems when using FIAT. This is not currency problem. But scamming people.
This might be solved even better using smart contracts, since you don't have to trust any 3rd party in the process.

To OP.
Of course it is very good alternative to FIAT money and all the processors which you have to use in order to make online purchases. But right now there are still few problems for this - relatively high fees, big volatility and user experience (simplicity). I believe once trust in FIAT will fall people will start using BTC/crypto more as a currency - for real purchases.