difficulty in buying bitcoins online

[Kaiji]

Why is it so difficult to set up an online store that sells bitcoins for credit card holders? I understand that there is a risk of chargebacks and fraud but isn't there a way to confirm to credit card companies that bitcoins, which have been bought, actually have been sent so that a buyer can't scam their way out of paying.

[DannyHamilton]

Why is it so difficult to set up an online store that sells bitcoins for credit card holders?

The risk is too high.

I understand that there is a risk of chargebacks and fraud but isn't there a way to confirm to credit card companies that bitcoins, which have been bought, actually have been sent so that a buyer can't scam their way out of paying.

Not one that any credit card companies seem interested in accepting, and if they did, there is still no way to prove that the credit card wasn't stolen.

Bitcoin isn't alone regarding this problem.  Are there any sites that will sell you other currencies online for credit card payment?  Can you buy Dollars, or Euros, or Yen with a credit card online anywhere?

[wdaniels]

For small amounts you can buy Linden $ using credit card then change them for BTC at VirWoX or The Rock. That is how I got my first few BTC in the end.

[neversummer89]

Coinbase.com, while extremely limiting, is a pretty easy way to purchase them.

[jt7382]

Really too bad Bitfloor got shut down, I used them the other day and it only took a few minutes to go from cash to BTC. Hopefully something similar pops up soon.

[BitcoinLeader]

For small amounts you can buy Linden $ using credit card then change them for BTC at VirWoX or The Rock. That is how I got my first few BTC in the end.

This is indeed the way. However I would not recommend this for high volume because you end up with triple transaction fees.
- You pay 3% - 20% depending on deposit method.
- You pay transaction fees for exchanging USD/EUR to Linden $
- You pay transaction fees for exchanging Linden $ to BTC

Just my two mBtc

[wdaniels]

For small amounts you can buy Linden $ using credit card then change them for BTC at VirWoX or The Rock. That is how I got my first few BTC in the end.

This is indeed the way. However I would not recommend this for high volume because you end up with triple transaction fees.
- You pay 3% - 20% depending on deposit method.
- You pay transaction fees for exchanging USD/EUR to Linden $
- You pay transaction fees for exchanging Linden $ to BTC

I don't pay all that just buying L$ via the official SL Lindex, they just charge your card directly then I only pay 1% commission to The Rock for BTC.
It's OK now that they know me and I have a high deposit limit, but to start with I could only make very small linden deposits to The Rock each day.

I think you must be talking about going VirWoX first to buy the Lindens, which is crazy expensive. I only tried that once. I put funds on Neteller from my credit card, deposited that to VirWox and bought Lindens, which I moved then to The Rock. At the time Lindex wouldn't take my card, which turned out to be a problem with their gateway and I got 2000 L$ free as compensation for that. But the smile was soon wiped off my face when I got my credit card bill and saw that MBNA charged me an extortionate fee for Neteller as a 'cash' transaction.

Anyway, back on topic, the only way this can be done is to push the risk off onto another entity, in this case Lindex. The risk is partly shared in that SL sometimes confiscates L$ from The Rock if they are traced back to a source that since did a chargeback. Hence the cautious deposit limits initially.

It's all very frustrating but eventually you can always find ways that are not too expensive. Nowadays I buy enough BTC to use wire transfers but this method via L$ still comes in handy at times.

[drahgon]

You can also try to by bitcoin locally. Even though I have check the prices and they tend to charge 15-20$ premium per coin so it is a bit of a rip off but much less risk since you see the coin physically get transferred to your account.

[Bitmonedo]

This is a thing that holds back bitcoin Its hard to buy coins.

[charles11]

It seems like you could do it if you have the right software...why not. Or just add it to the site and process it manually.

[wdaniels]

This is a thing that holds back bitcoin Its hard to buy coins.

It's easier in some countries than others. I was expecting it to be quite easy from the UK, but actually quite hard because we don't have either Dwolla or cheap SEPA transfers, and all the exchanges that had domestic UK accounts had them closed (AFAIK). OKPay still has a UK account but they have £4 fixed fee and often takes them a while to process deposits.

I was quite excited when I found a place to buy bitcoins using via Barclay's PingIt smartphone service but even using all the tricks to "hide my root" on my android phone, I couldn't make it install

I think maybe in the UK we have a problem that the financial services industry is so powerful they see bitcoin as a threat.

[LiteBurner]

Skrill would work because there are no chargebacks on transfers--I don't know why no one is using them.

Also Ukash codes can be bought in 7-11 and online, but I couldn't find any place to buy btc with Ukash.

[appsilious]

Skrill and LR will work because you won't be able to do chargeback. However, it will come to the point that which party should deliver first. Scammer could easily pretend to sell btc and receive skrill or lr, then just disappear without delivering.

[vince1715]

 Bitcoin vendors have to be extra vigilant because bitcoin is unregulated and they don't want to get ripped off.

[LiteBurner]

Skrill and LR will work because you won't be able to do chargeback. However, it will come to the point that which party should deliver first. Scammer could easily pretend to sell btc and receive skrill or lr, then just disappear without delivering.

yeah, has to be a known seller with a reputation or someone who lives close enough that you can kick his ass if he doesn't deliver ;-)

[wdaniels]

However, it will come to the point that which party should deliver first.

For OTC trades, yes. But for a trusted exchange, hard to see why they don't accept deposits via Skrill if they don't allow chargebacks :S

[Scigie]

Coinbase.com, while extremely limiting, is a pretty easy way to purchase them.

I agree it takes a while but thats what I finally got to work.   Have not yet tried the withdrawal direction yet. Hope that's just as smooth.

[tigerbay]

Link your B. account with Coinbase, takes a while, but easy. then BTC-E is great to use in my opinion.

[ArbitrageX]

Is it best to store all your bitcoins in one wallet, or split them up between two or three?

[DannyHamilton]

Is it best to store all your bitcoins in one wallet, or split them up between two or three?

That depends on what your concerns are and what you are attempting to accomplish.