Ripple me this...

[ericwt]

As in Riddle me this.

What newer alternative payment and currency company has got tons of Publicity but is clearly not ready for Prime time?

What alternative currency offers a trust based environment that would allow me to set up things effectively to offer a good means of payment support for my network?

What organization gets me excited when they offer free Ripples to bitcoin users only to dash my hopes with  time restrictions based on membership to a Bitcoin forum? Hey, I did all of you a favor by lurking for months here. It was only recently that I started asking stupid questions.

So my real actual Bitcoin use has no factor on your free offer? Thanks a lot.

What new currency has virtually no payment gateways?

What new currency has no simple way to log in and buy Ripples or even any links to people who sell Ripples?

What new currency gives you no way to test the system because you don't have assess to any Ripples?

What new currency offers almost no help or guidance getting started?

What new currency is virtually useless unless I can find an exchanger to get me Ripples to get started?
 

I am not sure of the answers to my questions. The Ripples are out there.

In closing I am including my Ripple address so the Ripple people can compensate me for all the valuable business advice I have included here.

rBY82V7hf9mkZ3vZGvB6LPzjsBE8zrvMTR

[bitaccumulation]

These are some legitimate gripes.

I was referred to a XRP vendor by one of the developers and they sent me to a place that sold them to me at 2.3 times the market rate (I'd still be happy if Open Coin would send me 130,000 ripples (XRP) to compensate for that blatant rip-off).

Another issue is that the interface records transactions incorrectly (they seem to be correct in the ledger, but incorrect on the interface screen).

All that aside, it looks like it could shape up in to an awesome system.

Do you need some ripples to get started?

[ericwt]

The system is almost what I need. I can see multiple uses for Ripple. The advanced trust mode has all kinds of possibilities.

Yes, I need Ripples. Do you know of any exchangers or sellers?

These are some legitimate gripes.

I was referred to a XRP vendor by one of the developers and they sent me to a place that sold them to me at 2.3 times the market rate (I'd still be happy if Open Coin would send me 130,000 ripples (XRP) to compensate for that blatant rip-off).

Another issue is that the interface records transactions incorrectly (they seem to be correct in the ledger, but incorrect on the interface screen).

All that aside, it looks like it could shape up in to an awesome system.

Do you need some ripples to get started?

[bitaccumulation]

I'll send you some to get you started and then you can buy them on the exchange there.   You can send me some back once you're up and running.  Deal?

[bitaccumulation]

Or I can sell you them at higher than market (since I want to hold XRP) - 30,000 xrp for .5 BTC  PM me if you want to go that route.  It would be better for you though if you borrowed a few xrp from me, made the transaction in Ripple and then sent me my xrp back.

But either way.

[ericwt]

Thanks for your offer.

But until I can find an exchange or a means of buying Ripples on my own, I would not feel right.

What I can't figure out is why Ripple is making this so complex. There should be a way to buy Ripples from Ripple. Where is this exchange?

I'll send you some to get you started and then you can buy them on the exchange there.   You can send me some back once you're up and running.  Deal?

[webr3]

Thanks for your offer.

But until I can find an exchange or a means of buying Ripples on my own, I would not feel right.

What I can't figure out is why Ripple is making this so complex. There should be a way to buy Ripples from Ripple. Where is this exchange?

I'll send you some to get you started and then you can buy them on the exchange there.   You can send me some back once you're up and running.  Deal?

I've sent you 1000 - no need to repay, pass it forward

[bitaccumulation]

What I can't figure out is why Ripple is making this so complex. There should be a way to buy Ripples from Ripple. Where is this exchange?

I agree - there should be an easier way.   The exchange is within Ripple, but you need xrp to participate in it.   One of the developers is saying that in the future, vendors (exchanges?) will most likely fund your Ripple account with the required xrp to get you started.

I wonder if a custom interface could be created for specific companies.

[ericwt]

Thanks. That was generous.

I will pass these along to others.

Thanks for your offer.

But until I can find an exchange or a means of buying Ripples on my own, I would not feel right.

What I can't figure out is why Ripple is making this so complex. There should be a way to buy Ripples from Ripple. Where is this exchange?

I'll send you some to get you started and then you can buy them on the exchange there.   You can send me some back once you're up and running.  Deal?

I've sent you 1000 - no need to repay, pass it forward

[ericwt]

I have some xrp to play with now.

I am logged on to Ripple, where is the exchange?

I see so many possibilities but I am afraid I am going to have to outsource to some coding gods, to get where I want with this.

Also they need a directory of Merchants who take Ripple. Unless that is hidden like the exchange.

What I can't figure out is why Ripple is making this so complex. There should be a way to buy Ripples from Ripple. Where is this exchange?

I agree - there should be an easier way.   The exchange is within Ripple, but you need xrp to participate in it.   One of the developers is saying that in the future, vendors (exchanges?) will most likely fund your Ripple account with the required xrp to get you started.

I wonder if a custom interface could be created for specific companies.

[ericwt]

I found the exchange.

Thanks for all the information.

[webr3]

FWIW I'm strongly considering creating an API based gateway and ripple exchange if there's a demand for it

[tomwoods]

I could use some testing Ripples too! 

I live in a country with strict currency exchange laws. Right now, the only way to obtain bitcoins is mining or if you have a bank account with foreign currency outside the country. Hardly the grounds for any kind of popular adoption. Potentially this could happen in any country, a couple of laws here and there and you are cut off from Bitcoin economy.

Im seeing that this might be the same case for Ripple. If there would be a way to generate value for the Ripple network in exchange for Ripples regardless of the country and its local laws and the technical know how of the users, it would be great!

[bitaccumulation]

FWIW I'm strongly considering creating an API based gateway and ripple exchange if there's a demand for it

I was thinking the same thing and possibly another exchange to turn BTC into notes in gateway (no USD or currency just virtual coins to avoid issues).   If you're interested in collaborating, PM me.

[ericwt]

Okay a quick question.

What is the Minimum amount of Ripples I can send someone? I tried 3 times and it told me the amount is to small.

So what is the minimum? Somehow although I did not successfully send the 3 payments, Ripple subtracted one ripple.

A link that helped me understand funding and gateways.

https://ripple.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=1065&start=20

Copied from a post in the link.

solca    
 Post subject: Re: I'm newbie,How can I start to use ripple?
PostPosted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 3:25 pm

In order to hold any currency other than XRP in your Ripple account, you need to trust somebody, and this will typically be a gateway. Currently WeExchange and Bitstamp are the two gateways, and Bitstamp is the more popular one. So that means you need to:

1. Sign up for an account at bitstamp.net
2. Deposit some money into the Bitstamp account – BTC is the quickest, easiest and cheapest to deposit. Now the money is in your Bitstamp account.
3. Use the "Ripple" withdraw option on bitstamp.net to withdraw the money to your Ripple account. To do this, you first need to extend some amount of trust to Bitstamp's Ripple address (rvYAfWj5gh67oV6fW32ZzP3Aw4Eubs59B) – the amount of trust will be the most your account can hold, so make sure it's at least as much as what you want to deposit.

At this point your Ripple account should have some amount of Bitstamp-issued BTC IOU's. To trade that for XRP:

1. Go to "Advanced" and "Trade". If it's not already selected, choose "BTC/XRP" from the dropdown. Click "change issuer" next to BTC, and enter Bitstamp's Ripple address. You should be able to see an order book listing all open offers for buying and selling Bitstamp BTC for XRP.
2. If you want to buy XRP, you can click the "Sell BTC" tab. Enter the price you're willing to sell at and the amount you want to sell (or the amount of XRP you want to buy) and click "Place Order".
3. If your price is less than highest bid, the trade will happen immediately. If your price is higher than the highest bid, Ripple will add your order to the ask side of the order book, where it will wait until somebody decides to take it.

Hope that helps!