Has anyone else tried Coinbase lately?

[lucullus]

Do not use coin base unless you want the same thing that happened in the above post to happen to you.BTC

[millsdmb]

I'm interested to get people's opinions on Coinbase.com. I've seen varying reviews regarding Coinbase, but thought I would give it a try because of its "simplicity" and options for merchants. After waiting 5 days for my order to be processed, I got an email saying that my order had been canceled, which is apparently an old problem that hasn't been fixed. Other old problems seem to be not responding to emails or refunding canceled orders in a timely manner, but I cannot confirm or deny that since my order was only canceled this morning. They say they've raised over $6 million from investors, but apparently they haven't spent any of that on order processing or customer service.

Place order again. My second one got cancelled. I think it was just working out glitch with availability of BTC, and them calling it a security issue. In the meantime while you await thirty day verification, make a few smaller orders assuming one might not go through. That's basically how I handled it.

I just hit 30 day verification and the instant BTC is really instant. its really effing great actually.

[HGT24]

I've been using them for quite a while. Nothing but good things to say. I think their customer service is pretty good too.

Have they solved the problem since you've posted this?

[loumatrix]

Hi. I use coinbase. I haven't had any issues with them. Their support is amazing. Although due to high influx of support emails it can take a while to receive a response but they are generally good. Its great to see them expanding.

[acejudas]

I for one think that Coinbase is gonna be going places and doing a lot of good things for merchants. I definitely have an account and certainly enjoy having instant access to btc. It took 5 days to get my first 0.2468 bitcoin, but the recent rise in price has been sweet. Looking forward to the coming months and watching the difficulty explosion. First post here, btw. Hello community!

[btc4ever]

This is a very paypal-esque statement quoted below.  If coinbase is subject to that kind of deposit risk ( ACH chargebacks? ), then I question the business model and funding process.  I, for one, choose not to do business with companies that treat their customers as guilty until proven innocent.

Perhaps instead of relying on, and being corrupted by the old banking system's stifling practices, coinbase and others in the space should be actively encouraging, organizing, promoting, funding, and marketing a worldwide person2person exchange model based on the buttonwood, where buyers and sellers meet up physically once a week to exchange in person and in safety.

This is a model that can be scaled globally to every city, town, village, campus and 100% routes around the legacy banking system.  We will not break free of it until we no longer depend on it.

Olaf from Coinbase here.

Sorry for the trouble with the cancelled transaction! We use machine learning algorithms to determine risk, and sometimes normal users are falsely flagged. Email support [at] coinbase.com and I'll review your account.

[acis4283]

Again, apologies for the trouble with this!

Olaf, I understand you're not personally at fault for this, but Coinbase's policy is really hard on new customers from this point of view.  I don't know if the algorithms used by the automated process are a very good way to handle this, seeing as so many people have this problem.  I think there should be at least one human person making the decision.  As of this moment I'm still waiting for a reply in my email....  

Also in the meantime, could you please propose a change to the wording in the email Coinbase sends to people who receive this email, specifically "You may have more luck trying again in a few weeks. Best of luck and thank you for trying Coinbase."  because it feels like a slap in the face when you read it (in that specific moment), and I'm not sure that's the message Coinbase is trying to send.

[acis4283]

And more fun! Another order cancelled!

Unfortunately, we have decided to cancel this order because it appears to be high risk. We do not send out any bitcoins on high risk transactions, and your bank account will not be charged.

[WishIStartedSooner]

I've been buying and selling alot there lately without a hitch.

but I'm poor and only deal in really small amounts. 20 or 30 bucks at a time usually. sometimes if I feel like attempting to save, Ill convert a hundred into a bitcoin, and try to cash out as little at possible. so up to a bitcoin, for as tiny as that is, works just fine.

[acis4283]

I have no ideea what I do to be high risk... maybe it's the way I click!

[acis4283]

And another transaction went through!! Same conditions and same amount!! Horrible algorithms Coinbase!

[MSwiza2]

I've been using them for quite a while. Nothing but good things to say. I think their customer service is pretty good too.

Have they solved the problem since you've posted this?

No, I'm still waiting to hear back from them. I just received a generic automated response saying "Thank you for submitting your request. We have received your request and are working on responding to you as soon as possible. If you have any additional information to add to this case, please reply to this email."

I emailed them on the 22nd, so they are at least a week behind in responding to customer complaints.

[Olaf (Coinbase)]

Again, apologies for the trouble with this!

Olaf, I understand you're not personally at fault for this, but Coinbase's policy is really hard on new customers from this point of view.  I don't know if the algorithms used by the automated process are a very good way to handle this, seeing as so many people have this problem.  I think there should be at least one human person making the decision.  As of this moment I'm still waiting for a reply in my email....  

Also in the meantime, could you please propose a change to the wording in the email Coinbase sends to people who receive this email, specifically "You may have more luck trying again in a few weeks. Best of luck and thank you for trying Coinbase."  because it feels like a slap in the face when you read it (in that specific moment), and I'm not sure that's the message Coinbase is trying to send.

Thanks for the feedback with this. I agree that it's a horrible first user experience to have an order cancelled. The difficulty is that without these flagging algorithms we would be completely inundated with fraud. We try to be vigilant about manually checking accounts and pushing through cancelled transactions if it turns out to be a legitimate user. If you want PM me your email and I'll check your account.

[MSwiza2]

Thanks to Olaf, my order was processed tonight at my original purchase price of $100.28/BTC. I think they are an honest company and are trying to correct their errors, it's just currently taking longer than most of us would like. Improving customer service and response times seem to be a priority though, so I think they're a good wallet option and seem to have quality merchant options.

[halfawake]

I haven't had an order cancelled with Coinbase, but then I only made one, so it's not a very large sample size.  I'm not all that impressed with their new site design, however, it seems like things are harder to find than they used to be.

[acis4283]

Ok, Olaf has taken care of my problem as well.  I hope other people won't have this problem and once enough support staff are hired problems such as these will be forgotten.  It's good to know that even with that Coinbase still looks after its customers!

[Galahad]

I tried Coinbase yesterday and I broke it 

I used a complicated password to ensure security and it just broke. Sorry... it was me!

[LoudPacKK]

The wait is painstaking! I like to get my BTC when I buy them. That's why I'm here now.

[Franktank]

The wait is painstaking! I like to get my BTC when I buy them. That's why I'm here now.

Give it 30 days and get to Verified, Level 2. The convenience of ACH and Instant BTC (after verification) makes Coinbase the most appealing service to U.S. users who don't want to deal with exchanges/OTC.

[ronimacarroni]

I use it and I'm a happy camper.
I even gave them my password and user for my bank account for fast verification.
Sure It takes a long time to buy them, but im in no hurry.
Now if you would, please click on the link so I can earn some free bitcoins for referral *ehem* 
https://coinbase.com/?r=520a6c920801f4a35d000057