Very slow coinabul finally refunded me.

[Virtuall]

UPDATE: May 29, 2013, 02:26:20 PM

Today I got refunded!!!

I got 1.78BTC back.

End update

I was ordered a 5gr bar from them 3 days ago, but after I placed my order I came here to check the opinions about Coinabul.

Then I changed my mind and claimed a refund.

I wish I was doing it inversely. Tried to contact them numerous times. I sent them messages through their contact page, I emailed them to Jon@coinabul.com and to contact@coinabul.com then I messaged to user Coinabul here.

I didn't get any answer yet.

[nomabitva]

That sucks. Let us know if they make things right.

[Doomsby]

How long has it been? It is kind of rough to start calling scammer if you have not waited a few days for a response, many emails =/= faster response. 

[Doomsby]

My point is just try not to jump to conclusions.

You may very well be right, refunds are really just based on rep. with bitcoins, once you send em that decision is final.

[geeknik]

Isn't 3 days a little quick to be calling someone a scammer? Maybe there are extenuating circumstances and hopefully this all gets sorted and everyone is happy. =)

[Doomsby]

Not yet 

[deepceleron]

It seems reasonable for him to protect himself from people who would get the gold if gold price goes up, or ask for a refund if BTC price goes up.

[JaneY]

Bitcoins are designed so people can't do chargebacks. It's in the vendors favor, so you must be sure before you order. You can't really just change your mind and request a refund.
Some vendors have kind of taken advantage of refunds when it comes to bitcoins, if the value of bitcoins has gone down they will refund the bitcoins paid, if the value of of bitcoins has gone up they will refund
the usd amount paid in bitcoins. They means when it comes to refunds, heads vendor wins, tails vendor wins. But as mentioned if their explanation is correct then they are just protecting themselves.

[abigfish]

I cant see how you decided to spend 3.3 btc without checking for references first...anyways please be more careful. I am sorry to hear this happened to you ...

Coinabul seems to have been scammed a lot of people from what i read all around.
I have no personal insight on this matter except for what I've read...and imo he was once an honest and big trader and than boof ...decided to scam close his shop by taking lots of orders and not honoring none...unless im mistaking

[johnniewalker]

Everyone...I doubt OP would be calling Coinabul scammers after 3 days if it was the first incident of them acting shady. If you ask me, not hearing anything for 3 days alone would be a red flag. All the stuff I've read about them on here makes that x 10. And Coinabul was one of the foremost companies accepting bitcoins before they turned scammers, so I have pity on you OP. I hope you get it figured out. Nearly ALL my dealings in precious metals w/bitcoins I do with amagimetals.com. Yet to be disappointed.

[abigfish]

IMO this is a HUGE BITCOIN risk ... really well established sellers abuse the fact that Bitcoin is anonymous and hard to track/regain back ...and after a time of legit biz they seem to turn darkside and boom ...take all of a sudden 20-30 big orders and than poof vanish into thin air....

most likely they will also open up a new exact same biz and repeat this again after being established....
same happens with some sellers on silk etc etc..

huge bitcoin issue... its protection and anonymity motivates some established sellers to close shop with a big scam after a while ...

[slacker]

Today I got this message from contact@coinabul.com:

I understand your frustration, but since I'd have to issue your refund at current market rates I figured an equivalent value of gold would be more ideal. Since you currently own metal as opposed to BTC, I would have to purchase your metal value back from you at the current market rate and send this value to you, as well as the cost of shipping that you paid, via purchasing BTC at current market rates. Let me know which is preferred.

I think that this is fair (except that long response period -  the reputable merchant should give you answer within 24 hours).

Still nothing...

Did you answered to the message from coinabul? And what you choose - gold or bitcoins?

If this is a small business (one man show) it is normal to wait for several days for response. Especially if this merchant is very popular and have many customers.

[slacker]

Of course! I answered their message in three hours and I choosed bitcoins - what I didn't received yet.

Maybe the owner of this website is very busy (many Bitcoin based businesses don't have employees beside the owner).

[TheSwede75]

It seems a lot of the 'We accept bitcoins' sites that deal in precious metals etc have a bad habit of 'holding BTC hostage' when value increases or decreases quickly. I guess it's a form of 'douchebag arbitrage' where they hope to make money on the diff if you want refund etc.

I would vet seller VERY carefully before shopping with BTC, especially in valuable goods.

[elebit]

Then I changed my mind and claimed a refund.

You changed your mind. How is that grounds for labeling someone a scammer?

The way I read it, they are way too kind even offering to buy your metals back. The reason bitcoins are cheaper for merchants is because transactions are final.

Volatility would make refunds especially tricky. You could just order and then change your mind every time bitcoins got more valuable, and let the transaction proceed every time bitcoins got less valuable. That way the merchant would only be on the losing side of the forex risk every time, and it would be a sure way to scam them of their money.

[drakahn]

Always do your research first
Your poor research into what you were getting into is not grounds for calling anyone a scammer

[elebit]

They want to buy my metal back at current market rates, which means that I lost arond BTC1.2...

Oh noes!! They offer to buy back at MARKET RATE! That is clearly the mark of a scammer!

It's nice of them to let you change your mind, but you also want them to buy back over market rate? Please.

[C4th]

this thread is kind of an example why btc is not great as currency

[drakahn]

this thread is kind of an example why btc is not great as currency

what? lol

[wtzr]

hmm , just wanted to buy something there...