Coinbase - Solid or not?

[BkkCoins]

How many people are successfully using Coinbase? I was thinking of giving them a try but when I read things like link below it just reminds me of MyBitcoin and I don't want a flaky entity having access to my bank.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=128335.0

If this has taken over a week and he's still had no response for support then I'll stay far away until things are much more proven than this. I've used FC4B many times and support is very fast and they have an ongoing thread on this forum for communication. Coinbase seems to offer a lower fee and so that's why I was considering it.

Is there a Coinbase thread here that is monitored continuously?

[1714164253]

1714164253

[1714164253]

1714164253

[1714164253]

1714164253

[Stephen Gornick]

when I read things like link below it just reminds me of MyBitcoin

Hm... let's compare:

Legal jurisdiction:
MyBitcoin: Nevis (supposedly -- no company information was ever revealed)
Coinbase: California Oregon  (development occurring in California)

Owners:
MyBitcoin: Tom Williams (whoever that is, but that's what he claims: http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=22221.0 )
Coinbase: Investors including Y! Combinator, a leading business incubator

Wallet Security:
MyBitcoin: Ooops, peoples wuz stealin from us and we had no idea until the coinz wuz gone!
Coinbase: 87% of coins stored offline, keys, encrypted, in bank vault: http://blog.coinbase.com/post/33197656699/coinbase-now-storing-87-of-customer-funds-offline

...

I'm not even going to go on, but you get the point.

Coinbase uses ACH bank transfers to move funds for your purchase of coins.   Coinbase gives you access to your coins after the ACH clears.   They are not generally sitting on your money for days without processing the coins.    ACH is slow.  It will be three or four business days.    Your only alternative in the U.S. to use ACH is Dwolla.   Guess what the biggest complaint there is too?   Getting cash moved from your bank account to Dwolla is slow ... it takes three to five business days.     Hey ... what a coincidence!   Maybe it isn't Coinbase or Dwolla that is the problem, but ACH instead?

[BkkCoins]

I have no idea. I just saw them today and haven't signed up yet.
I typically sell coins thru FC4B and was wondering about maybe selling thru Coinbase.
Then I saw some complaints and just thought I'd try to see if more people are using them successfully than just the complainers. No one else has responded.

I have no idea who these guys are any more than myBitcoin and that was the only thing I meant by that comment.

Do they require me to give withdraw access to my bank account?
Or can I just allow them deposit only?

[Stephen Gornick]

Do they require me to give withdraw access to my bank account?
Or can I just allow them deposit only?

To use Coinbase for buying or selling coins you would link a bank account, just like you would with PayPal or Dwolla.  That link allows Coinbase to push funds to you as well as pull from you.  They do not provide a method to link for only pushing funds to your account.

They are a startup that has a lot investment backing (as far as bitcoin startups go).

[Jessica]

It is a pretty good business for Bitcoin.
I'd say there's nothing wrong with it.

[darkmule]

How many people are successfully using Coinbase? I was thinking of giving them a try but when I read things like link below it just reminds me of MyBitcoin and I don't want a flaky entity having access to my bank.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=128335.0

If this has taken over a week and he's still had no response for support then I'll stay far away until things are much more proven than this.

So far, that looks like a guy who immediately overreacted the moment it was a few hours past due.  Three to five business days is at the very least a week, more if there's a Monday holiday.  So if he overreacted the moment the week was up, that is a bit quick.

It looks like many startups, it had some hiccups, and will probably have a few more, but I certainly didn't see anything in that thread that would justify calling it "shady."  That itself makes me think the poster unreliable.

I had an easy setup with two-factor authentication and while the message when I have sold Bitcoins has told me to expect the ACH to go through in five business days, it actually went through in two.  I haven't used it to buy BTC yet since I don't generally buy BTC.

[Stephen Gornick]

I had an easy setup with two-factor authentication and while the message when I have sold Bitcoins has told me to expect the ACH to go through in five business days, it actually went through in two.

I had cashed out through CoinBase as well and the funds for the 4:52 pm PST sale were in my bank account about 36 hours later.

[pbody]

DO NOT USE Coinbase!!!

Trust me on this. It will work fine for you and if you have any sort of issue you will be completely ignored. I am still waiting going on two weeks now to received a response from them about a coin I purchased. They completely the credit from my bank account and labeled the transaction as complete. Yet I never received my coin.

In the history it says it is pending into my coinbase account, yet the overall transaction has been switched to completed. There is a gliche in the system and they are ignoring people.

No one responds to any of my emails. There is no way to get in touch with anyone there. I am in the process of taking them to small claims court since the office is down the street from me.

Note that there is no CB job opportunity for tech support so this sort of thing will persist. Its not a small issue. All will be fine until something goes wrong, which it will eventually.

[richiela]

DO NOT USE Coinbase!!!

Trust me on this. It will work fine for you and if you have any sort of issue you will be completely ignored. I am still waiting going on two weeks now to received a response from them about a coin I purchased. They completely the credit from my bank account and labeled the transaction as complete. Yet I never received my coin.

In the history it says it is pending into my coinbase account, yet the overall transaction has been switched to completed. There is a gliche in the system and they are ignoring people.

No one responds to any of my emails. There is no way to get in touch with anyone there. I am in the process of taking them to small claims court since the office is down the street from me.

Note that there is no CB job opportunity for tech support so this sort of thing will persist. Its not a small issue. All will be fine until something goes wrong, which it will eventually.

+1 ... We have used the system for a few months now, and when they are working its great.  But their QA and Customer support is unacceptable.  They once made changes to their API that cause their "sell" api to "buy".  we ended up with 500+ buy transactions that we were forced to take (we were gladly willing in this case because prices moved in 10% in our favor, but you get the point).  Just recently we've had 4-5 unknown transactions to our account, a bunch of sells that wasn't authorized (or confirmed) and we have not had anyone respond to us for 3 days now.

If you are filing a claim, please let me know the details.  I'd love to pile on.

Thanks
Richie

[zhinkk]

Coinbase is pretty fair. Their support isn't the BEST, but they do solve your issues in a decently-timed manner. One of the better options if you just need to buy bitcoins in the US.

[btcton]

They have worked really well for me so far.

[darkmule]

They have worked really well for me so far.

Yep, for me too, although I have largely only sold there.  I recently did buy (just .3 BTC though) and it worked fine.  But I have heard a number of anecdotes about purchasing BTC not going excellently there.

[specgamer]

My friend got 2 "high risk transactions" when he purchased then the price went up from $500 to $900, I wouldn't recommend coinbase.  I really like localbitcoins or buy/selling directly on this forum.

[pbody]

Coinbase is pretty fair. Their support isn't the BEST, but they do solve your issues in a decently-timed manner. One of the better options if you just need to buy bitcoins in the US.

No they dont. I am going on two weeks since my purchase. I have been trying to sell since Sat and now Im just watching my investment diminish. Because of their crappy service, I will continue to lose money.

Cryptsy, which is somewhat shady service, responded to my email in less than 4 hours, and then did a follow up.

I posted here saying Coinbase has been good for me last week. They are fine until you have an issue. I REALLY want to use them since they are within blocks of my house. I am now using exchanges in shady countries because they are more responsive and I know they will at least try to help if something goes wrong. There is nothing worse than ZERO communication.

I'm done bitching. Good luck out there.

[gamybtc]

There are good and bad things of each company. I heard coinbase is good for usa people.

So if you want to use them, just read their legal terms and everything.

[darkmule]

No one responds to any of my emails. There is no way to get in touch with anyone there. I am in the process of taking them to small claims court since the office is down the street from me.

Incidentally, while I have no opinion about this particular dispute, small claims is an excellent way to resolve a conflict with a corporation that does business in your state.  Just remember to follow all deadlines, and if you get a judgment, domesticate it in a state where the corporation has assets, and they generally cough it the fuck up.

Not legal advice, just a personal opinion.

ETA:  Oh, and just to avoid seeming like I'm insulting this service, every transaction I have personally had with Coinbase has been excellent, either exactly on time or even days earlier.

[IamRichard]

Great for low BTC transaction. If you do 10+ you run into issues