IDEA to buy stuff with bitcoins at street shops, and also bitcoins.

[mrvision]

The starting point

It's a fact that most of us want to see broken the frontier between the internet and street shops. I mean, most of us want to be able to buy stuff at street shops with our bitcoins, and maybe also buy bitcoins.

The problem about buying bitcoins in regular shops is that they dont actually have bitcoins, so it's impossible (or difficult) for them to sell bitcoins. But they have stuff, so they can acquire bitcoins by exchanging their stuff for them.

So i was thinking in an app for android that would decentralize the exchanges, and make all this possible.

The app

This applet would make possible to sell things using bitcoins, but for that, instead of working like the bitcoin client or bitcoin spinner or whatever, the merchant would put the price in his LOCAL currency (he is very used to this as he has been doing it with the visa machine all the time) so the applet would make the conversion and ask for the bitcoins required for the transaction.  The buyer pays, and they are done.

Now the merchant has bitcoins that can be sold.  So now the merchant can (later) ask for dollars or euros or whatever because that's what he wants (amazingly).

The app would record the price of bitcoin the day the merchant acquires them in exchange for his stuff, so appliying the FIFO (first in, first out) method, when someone comes to the shop and asks for bitcoins, the app would suggest the merchant the minimum amount of currency he needs to ask in order not to lose value (in local currency).

For example, if the merchant has 5 bitcoins, and the app has recorded that 2 of them were acquired when bitcoin was at 7$ and the rest was acquired when it was at 10$, if a buyer wants 3 bitcoins, then the system would tell the merchant that the minimum he should ask is 7+7+10= 24$ (of course he would be able to see the average price of the network)


The second app
There would be another app conected with the first one, that would put all the bitcoin enabled shops in a map.  If you configure the first one to broadcast your position, and your ad, and the price of your bitcoins, then a user for this second app would be able to put the amount of bitcoins he wants to buy and see a lot of places with diferent prices.

This will work as an incentive for the merchants (if they want to show their position and prices and amount of bitcoins they are willing to sell) to use the system, as this will lead in more traffic into their shops.


Well this was a quick description...  but if you like the idea i can draw how the apps would be...

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[Rob E]

I like your writing style and enthusiasm . . but i do not get  the concept .. the app idea is great . . the vision and look out is great . .i really like it . . KEP GOing!!!!!

[Blazr]

http://bit-pay.com already does this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ-pqo0cLcE

Difference here is they pay the USD/EUR equivalent into the merchants account at the end of the month (like the credit card processors). Merchant never needs to hold BTC.

And the map is here: http://www.bitcoinmap.com/

[casascius]

In my view, the easiest way for merchants to sell bitcoins without being exposed to them if they don't want to, is to sell dollar-denominated Bitcoin gift cards.

Essentially they'd be doing the same thing as selling "MtGox USD codes", but where the only thing you could do is buy bitcoins and send them somewhere.

[mrvision]

http://bit-pay.com already does this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ-pqo0cLcE

Difference here is they pay the USD/EUR equivalent into the merchants account at the end of the month (like the credit card processors). Merchant never needs to hold BTC.

And the map is here: http://www.bitcoinmap.com/

Yes, it would be similar to the bitpay services, but holding the bitcoins, as that allows us to buy bitcoins in the streets.

That's why i wanted to record the prices and treat the bitcoin as goods, or items in an inventory (like stuff they can sell) Of course this involves more risk than the bitpay solution, but also decentralizes the exchanges.

About the map, i knew that map, but the second app would auto generate it from the data of the first one, and the important point: it would have the exchange rates of all shops.

In my view, the easiest way for merchants to sell bitcoins without being exposed to them if they don't want to, is to sell dollar-denominated Bitcoin gift cards.

Essentially they'd be doing the same thing as selling "MtGox USD codes", but where the only thing you could do is buy bitcoins and send them somewhere.

Yes, that would be a good idea. But at some point they will have to accept bitcoins for their stuff, so i'm trying to mix both concepts.

I think i'll start developing it... and then opening the source code....
Maybe its because i live in spain and i see all the shops empty of people that i think merchants might be open to exchange their stuff for something more liquid.

[btcven]

Good idea, but you would need to "pisar fuerte" if you want it to success. Making all that yourself will lead you to fail (unless you're really good at everything: dev, design, marketing, businesses...) you'd need help.