[Ann] Subcoin.com - place to sell Bitcoins

[Atruk]

Hi DiamondCardz,
Thank you for amazing review.
I have sent you 1 BTC (1Diaz9Nhs8d8GEXcwTJQKDkwzKj34UH2r4) as a reward for effort.

The home page ordering was kind of an afterthought.
Because initially I've created the order page and assumed that people would order from there.
That page, https://www.subcoin.com/my_new_order.php, has been tested in and out.
Later realized that I had to put something on the home page and decided the form to start the order.
When user is logged in - home page does nothing more than redirect to order page.
It would seems it's missing some needed variables when redirecting.
Thanks for finding this bug!

I have given away 3 BTC's so far.
1 to Moose (aka cptmooseinc); 1, pending for neurobox; 1 to DiamondCardz.

There are still 2 for grabs for Full+ members.
Would anybody else like to try service and receive the reward?

I can try it.

[DiamondCardz]

I've also cross-posted the review to your Litecointalk thread, I'm not a full member on there though   (I'm working on it, heh)

Thanks for the 1 BTC!

[Atruk]

Hi DiamondCardz,
Thank you for amazing review.
I have sent you 1 BTC (1Diaz9Nhs8d8GEXcwTJQKDkwzKj34UH2r4) as a reward for effort.

The home page ordering was kind of an afterthought.
Because initially I've created the order page and assumed that people would order from there.
That page, https://www.subcoin.com/my_new_order.php, has been tested in and out.
Later realized that I had to put something on the home page and decided the form to start the order.
When user is logged in - home page does nothing more than redirect to order page.
It would seems it's missing some needed variables when redirecting.
Thanks for finding this bug!

I have given away 3 BTC's so far.
1 to Moose (aka cptmooseinc); 1, pending for neurobox; 1 to DiamondCardz.

There are still 2 for grabs for Full+ members.
Would anybody else like to try service and receive the reward?

I can try it.

I got to this point. I was a very quick sign up. I think you could do a lot to clarify the order process and that this is an site buying bitcoins like Tangible Cryptography's old FastCash for bitcoins services. When I'm ready to cash in some coins (i.e. not on a down day like today) this seems like a quick site I'll consider putting a transaction through.

The diversified payment methods are definitely a plus. ACH deposits like you offer are always a plus.

Other than refining some of the site organization to streamline the process and explain it more, you might have a winner on your hands.

1FbvVr4ggMZ4yZ9kZDteiu5znNdUow6Py9

[subcoin]

Hi Atruk,
Thank you for checking out the website and letting me know your opinion.
I would be delighted to reward you 1 BTC, however, my objective in offering this reward was to test the actual processing of BTC/LTC transactions.
The processing engine is the complicated part - it has to automatically issue the deposit address then keep an eye on incoming transactions and confirmations. At the end it has to add to the user's balance and process the withdrawal. That's the process I hoped people would test.

That part was not completely clear in my original reward post - I have now clarified it now.
To be fair I could offer you 0.1 BTC for checking it - as is.
Or you may actually, process the transaction (min is 0.1 BTC or 10 LTC) and then receive 1BTC reward.

[Atruk]

Hi Atruk,
Thank you for checking out the website and letting me know your opinion.
I would be delighted to reward you 1 BTC, however, my objective in offering this reward was to test the actual processing of BTC/LTC transactions.
The processing engine is the complicated part - it has to automatically issue the deposit address then keep an eye on incoming transactions and confirmations. At the end it has to add to the user's balance and process the withdrawal. That's the process I hoped people would test.

That part was not completely clear in my original reward post - I have now clarified it now.
To be fair I could offer you 0.1 BTC for checking it - as is.
Or you may actually, process the transaction (min is 0.1 BTC or 10 LTC) and then receive 1BTC reward.

At present BTC prices I'd prefer to take the lower payment. I could then cycle it through a transaction on your site, and if you'd want to give some partial payment of the larger reward that would be fine. I'm just not thrilled at the prospect of selling at today's prices.

[subcoin]

At present BTC prices I'd prefer to take the lower payment. I could then cycle it through a transaction on your site, and if you'd want to give some partial payment of the larger reward that would be fine. I'm just not thrilled at the prospect of selling at today's prices.

Alright, I've sent 0.1BTC to 1FbvVr4ggMZ4yZ9kZDteiu5znNdUow6Py9
If you process a valid transaction, I shell reward another 0.5BTC.
But, please post here, how did it go: how long it took, what payout method you've used, etc.
I want readers to get the feedback about the site.

Thank you.

[Atruk]

At present BTC prices I'd prefer to take the lower payment. I could then cycle it through a transaction on your site, and if you'd want to give some partial payment of the larger reward that would be fine. I'm just not thrilled at the prospect of selling at today's prices.

Alright, I've sent 0.1BTC to 1FbvVr4ggMZ4yZ9kZDteiu5znNdUow6Py9
If you process a valid transaction, I shell reward another 0.5BTC.
But, please post here, how did it go: how long it took, what payout method you've used, etc.
I want readers to get the feedback about the site.

Thank you.

Well I've immediately identified an issue, your account number field for setting up ACH is too short. In my case by three digits.

[subcoin]

your account number field for setting up ACH is too short. In my case by three digits.

Good job! I've upped it up to 20 char max.
Though, I thought 10 char would've been enough... I guess, not.

[Boelens]

So, this review will actually be my 1000th post! Interesting.

Now, the signup was very easy, the design is simplistic which makes it easily navigatiable for less advanced users like me. I also like the pin as it added extra security and also has keylogger prevention, however I think many users would appreciate the option of 2 factor authentication.

After the signup was done I got to the home page, as I said, simplistic, four points explaining exactly what each page is for and what the features on it do. However it'd be nice to have them link to the actual page of the feature.
Reference to what I'm talking about :


Also, I found the flashy red envelope on the site a bit obnoxious, I think a simple 'messages(1)' would have been enough.

Once this was done I went on to deposit. I have no bitcoin to sell currently so I took a litecoin out of my litecoin investment and deposited it through BTC-e. I was a bit confused at first as I thought I'd just get an address to deposit too and then later have the ability to sell, but I first have to make a quote. Alright, so I made a quote for 1 LTC, and deposited through the address. Soon the order popped up in my transactions list and just after that it was confirming, great! It's working, all is still easily navigatible and I'm seeing exactly what I'm doing. Also, the order form is very easy to navigate, i can see the info I want to know of my transaction easily in one place.

And shortly after, the transaction was confirming!


Everything in the confirming process went surprisingly quickly, now this has to do with the LTC miners lucky, but in general everything was processed very quickly, it's a faster experience as of right now then with BTC-e, which is good!

Before I knew it, my transaction was confirmed and boom, the funds were there!


And boom, the funds are in my account. As of now I sadly cannot test withdrawals. (It'd be expensive to the Netherlands, I only withdraw if I have a bigger sale, but if you keep this site up I will do that in the future! )

My pro's of the site :

• Simplistic design, and done so that it is easy to navigate.
• Very easy to place orders, and deposit. It also went fast!
• Explains features well on main page immediately, easy signup process and secure.

I haven't found any real cons too be honest, except for the messages tab which could be a little less obnoxious.

Overall rating would be 8/10 if we're rating it. It was easy to use but at times it was a bit buggy, in example if I refreshed my transaction it would sometimes say the transaction didn't exist, and I'd have to reclick it. (The url stayed the same, I can't seem to identify a pattern that causes it to happen). Once I have some BTC for sale which soon will be, I will probably use this site! It's been quicker then the other services I've used so that's a pro.

I hope this helps and you can do something with this feedback! If you feel like this feedback helped you / gives you a good review, feel free to leave a bitcoin at : 1BoeLensDrVHLjYW4pPab5UENKBuDupfKt as you said in a post. If you need any further testing / another feature reviewed tell me and I'll do it. I can also later on possibly post about a withdrawal, if I sell some bitcoin in the future. For right now I'll juts keep those 2.70$ in my account =).

EDIT: If anyone with a Dwolla account wants to help fill this review by confirming withdrawals work and wants a free $2.70, feel free to hit me up a PM.

[Atruk]

your account number field for setting up ACH is too short. In my case by three digits.

Good job! I've upped it up to 20 char max.
Though, I thought 10 char would've been enough... I guess, not.

Well I sent coin anyway and it is in the process of being confirmed. So far other than that field hiccup things are smooth.

Edit: as of now confirmations displayed on your site seem to be lagging 2 behind the blockchain.

[subcoin]

Hi Boelens,
Good job! Thank you for your honest review.
1 BTC reward has been sent: 1BoeLensDrVHLjYW4pPab5UENKBuDupfKt

Yes, with this website I was shooting for "simplistic".
The whole idea is NOT to have a single useless thing anywhere.

I agree, about the new message notification, I'll change it be less obnoxious. 

....
Still, the last 1 BTC reward remains! Any takers?

[Boelens]

Hi Boelens,
Good job! Thank you for your honest review.
1 BTC reward has been sent: 1BoeLensDrVHLjYW4pPab5UENKBuDupfKt

Yes, with this website I was shooting for "simplistic".
The whole idea is NOT to have a single useless thing anywhere.

I agree, about the new message notification, I'll change it be less obnoxious. 

....
Still, the last 1 BTC reward remains! Any takers?

Awesome, thanks!

[Atruk]

The account setup process was easy. Sending bitcoin to the address provided upon order creation was easy. I do like the two separate boxes to eather place an order by dollar value or by amount of bitcoin to sell.

Once the order was created and the bitcoins sent, a lot of waiting happened. Sure blocks were taking longer than normal, but the site demands you wait out all of the traditional six confirmations even though many sites find two or three confirmations offer sufficient protection against double spending for all but extremely valuable transactions. Six confirmations is mostly a traditional thing when sites require that many anymore and as the March blockchain for taught us that when the system breaks it tends to do so in a way that even six confirmations won't guarantee anything.

While I waited I managed to add a withdrawal option on the new improved ACH withdrawal option page. It was an incredibly smooth experience.

Other than the aeathetics which might be a bit garish when it comes to things like the message box or the orange and green logo, the site could use a bit more documentation about transaction limits and withdrawal limits. Minimum withdrawal amounts (my transaction was just under the $10 minimum for ACH withdrawal) and maximum sales amounts for the different withdrawal methods could be clarified. Does a yellow light for Serve mean I could sell 10 BTC today if I wasn't a new customer? The stoplights are cool, but not very informative.

This site definitely fills a need that has been missing for quite sometime, ever since Tangible Cryptography and BTCPak left this space.

Most problems just seem to be ones of refinement that can be worked out in time, things like text field size as identified earlier. This isn't a bad implementation, and I hope it works out in the long run.

[subcoin]

Atruk, thanks for the review!
As agreed, I've sent 0.5 BTC to 1FbvVr4ggMZ4yZ9kZDteiu5znNdUow6Py9

traditional six confirmations

Yes, you are correct, I will probably change that to 3 confirmations.
Also, I'm not sure why my blockchain seems to be behind by at least 2 confirmations all the time.
I will have to troubleshoot this.

transaction limits and withdrawal limits

I will put those at the bottom of order page.
They are specified on the FAQ's, but come on, who actually looks there 

aeathetics

Let's just say, I am working on it...

Does a yellow light for Serve mean I could sell 10 BTC today if I wasn't a new customer?

By reviewing the complaints customers had about other similar sites, I've noticed that many times users where not sure if payout funds were available or not. I came up with constant indication of funds availability - stop lights on the top of the website (you may click "?" next to it to get explanation). Using these indicators customers may instantly know if any particular payout source is funded or not. Red = no funds available, Yellow = less then $1k available, Green = more then $10k available. So, to answer your question, the yellow light next to "Serve" means that there are less then $1k available for payout as of right now.

[Atruk]

transaction limits and withdrawal limits

I will put those at the bottom of order page.
They are specified on the FAQ's, but come on, who actually looks there 

Well that's something I kind of glanced for, but couldn't spot. I appreciate the payment for the review.

Like I said some tweaking and refining might improve usability, but overall you are placing yourself well in a much needed niche.

[neurobox]

Design

A remarkably simple and responsive interface, I can't stress enough how much I appreciate that it doesn't choke under it's own weight like some 2.0 sites do, and doesn't insult my intelligence. It could maybe be more intuitive in layout, but it walks you through pretty well already.

Everything else in the design is a matter of taste. It vaguely reminds me of the local cheque-cashing stores, which might be fitting. You could stylize the input forms with some css 3.0 without having to go full on jquery-ui.


Sign Up

Registration went so quick I don't remember doing it. I register in too many places I think. May be too easy, I might suggest a confirmation email. At least that helps old people like me remember the names of sites like this.

Login Settings page lets you update all account info including login name, primary/secondary email, password, etc. The option to not send any emails is pretty slick, though I haven't seen any yet.

There is a complete social profile system, which is completely voluntary. That's appreciated.


Deposit

Rates low, sent meager 0.15 to given deposit address to test the "Unexpected Deposit Order" approach, which proved to have a bug, but Subcoin resolved it quickly, hopefully fixing the issue.

Deposit with order worked flawlessly, it used the same deposit address that I had in my address book already, and began showing confirmation status immediately. I look forward to seeing this working automatically.




Add Method

When you go to make a withdrawal, it kindly suggests that you need to add a way to make a withdrawal. Suddenly it clicks, just how easy it will to be to make repeated withdrawals in the future! That's quite a feature, in fact.

Some suggestions:
 - Perhaps mention that multiple methods can be added for each network. This becomes obvious only after you've added one.
 - Clarify that "Your PIN" is your Subcoin PIN, not a Dwolla PIN.
 - As discussed, clarify that Dwolla ID (###-###-####) is needed, not account email.




Withdrawal

Easily created two withdraw orders, both for randomly solicited Dwolla accounts (can't get one outside of US). It might be good to mention the minimum withdrawal of $10, as I had thought I could send less.




Dwolla Received

Independant confirmation:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=258690.msg2758515#msg2758515


This experiment has been a success! I look forward to eventually being among the first to try the Western Union option.

At this point I'm confident enough to advocate for the site. In fact, I've already added a link in my sig.

Thanks for the hard work you've put into filling this need, and for your generosity and responsiveness with the community.

[subcoin]

Hi Neurobox,
Thank you for completing the review and processing 2 complete deposits/withdrawals via Dwolla.
I have sent you the remaining 0.5 TBC of your reward.

Now, let me address the points:

The option to not send any emails is pretty slick, though I haven't seen any yet.

This is strange. You should have received the welcome email with your username.
Possibly, my emails are being blocked or black-listed.
I suggest adding cs @ subcoin.com to safe list.

"Unexpected Deposit Order" approach, which proved to have a bug, but Subcoin resolved it quickly

Yes, this options allows you to just send the money to your deposit address without creating an order.
It will be converted at BTC/LTC at the current rate and deposit USD into the account.
There was, indeed, a problem with automatically detecting those transactions.
But I have resolved it. Check out the exact issue here, in case you are interested.

Dwolla ID (###-###-####) is needed

Yes, I will put a clarification notice. BTW, I doesn't seem like it's possible to pay to Dwolla email.
On my account I only see pay to phone number or pay to Dwolla ID. Anybody know why?

Thank you for your review Neurobox!

There is still 1, last reward left 1BTC!
Anybody else wish to try?

[Atruk]

My ACH deposit did post as schedule.