I have been reading alot of thread about people who buy something in bitcoins and then when they want a refund get shorted bitcoins. I understand that this is because the price rose or lowered or w.e. but if you ever expect bitcoin to become the currency used you have to stop treating bitcoin as gold and its value is stuck to fait currency. As long as this is done bitcoin can and will never gain use as a normal currency simply as a middleman or currency exchaning currency, sorta like gold.
Not viable for anything with volatile value. Bitcoin will always have a volatile value because of the supply characteristics, which is fine, but you have to treat it appropriately. If contracts need to have stable value -- and refund offers do -- then they will need to be priced in something less risky. This might be a commodity index on top of Bitcoin, or it might be a fiat currency with a history of low enough inflation for it to make sense. Otherwise the customer with the refund option is effectively getting a free call option on coins, and the retailer is issuing free call options. If people don't accept that contracts where stable value is important can't be made directly in Bitcoins, this is going to prevent its acceptance as payment where there is any possibility of refund.
