Has anyone else tried Coinbase lately?

[MSwiza2]

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.

[thinkmac]

You waited for 5 days for a bitcoin purchase? Well, I just started bitcoin recently, so I am not too familiar with coinbase. However, I find localbitcoin.com is fairly nice. I went to bank of America, deposited money at this person's account, and within a minute, escrow released coins into my wallet. Seems straight forward enough.

[MSwiza2]

Yeah, it seems a little weird that it takes so long on your first deposit. They say it is to verify your information and reduce fraud, and you'll receive instant deposits after that. No clue if that is true or not, or if they just steal your money for a couple of days to buy and sell more bitcoins. Thanks for the information on Local Bitcoins. I will check it out. 

[Olaf (Coinbase)]

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.

[thr33]

I think coinbase works well. In addition, they are a YCombinator company. Good luck!

[MSwiza2]

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.

Thanks. I actually emailed that 5 days ago and finally got a response last night saying "... we have received your request and are working on responding to you as soon as possible ...." I like what you guys are building and hope to use your merchant tools, but I'm wondering if you are also going to hire more customer support soon? I'm trying to be as patient as possible, and I'm sure you're receiving 100's of emails, but the slow response time is definitely frustrating.

[MSwiza2]

It should also be noted to anyone reading this that they did refund my canceled order extremely quickly. Coinbase is one of the better options out there IMO and are backed by major investors and experienced/respected people, but they just need to improve their verification process and customer support.

[HighCommander]

Coinbase is a legit service. Still needs a little improvement here and there (mentioned above already) but overall a great service.

[anvilc]

I used Coinbase once back in early July. As mentioned above, it took a few days to process, but they indicated that would be the case before I purchased my BTC. So, I did not have any issues otherwise.

[bitcoins4sale]

i think bitbargain is one of the best out there, check my profile out bitbargain.co.uk/profile/keptitlow

[geofflosophy]

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.

Coinbase is GREAT once you have a Tier II account that does instant transactions. Don't have to worry about wire transfer fees or Dwolla delays or BitInstant being offline, etc.

The cancelled thing never happened to me but did happen to someone I know and it really sucked because the price of BTC was 15% higher 5 days later than when he bought. Once you get to Tier II that shouldn't happen though, and if it does you'll know instantly.

[acis4283]

I've used Coinbase since I started... but last friday I've had my transaction cancelled because I was high risk.  I've emailed their support but haven't gotten an answer yet.  I think they do what everyone else says... when the price increases they just cancel your transaction, refund what you paid so now you have to pay more for the same bitcoin. I have four more transactions pending right now and they're due to finalize in the next few days.  I don't have long until I'm fully verified either, so the "High risk transaction" I really don't believe as it happened right when the transaction was supposed to finalize and haven't heard back from their support.  I've  also searched the forum for other posts regarding this issue and I've seen many others in the same situation.  I've tried localbitcoins.com and had my bitcoins in record time, although at a higher price.  In the end, I don't think coinbase isn't very trustworthy for newbies, probably better to make a purchase, wait until fully verified and just use another exchanger until the 30 days lapse.  If it takes 30 days for them to trust you, why shouldn't it take the same for you?

[geofflosophy]

I've used Coinbase since I started... but last friday I've had my transaction cancelled because I was high risk.  I've emailed their support but haven't gotten an answer yet.  I think they do what everyone else says... when the price increases they just cancel your transaction, refund what you paid so now you have to pay more for the same bitcoin. I have four more transactions pending right now and they're due to finalize in the next few days.  I don't have long until I'm fully verified either, so the "High risk transaction" I really don't believe as it happened right when the transaction was supposed to finalize and haven't heard back from their support.  I've  also searched the forum for other posts regarding this issue and I've seen many others in the same situation.  I've tried localbitcoins.com and had my bitcoins in record time, although at a higher price.  In the end, I don't think coinbase isn't very trustworthy for newbies, probably better to make a purchase, wait until fully verified and just use another exchanger until the 30 days lapse.  If it takes 30 days for them to trust you, why shouldn't it take the same for you?

I think that they buy your coins for you immediately upon request, but just don't put them into your wallet until the ACH transfer has fully cleared. When I made my first payment for coins as a Tier 1 user, I bought 5 coins for $450 on a Friday evening. When I got them the next Friday, they were worth substantially more, maybe $95-$97 each. This transaction did not get cancelled. So while I don't know what factors go into the transaction cancellations, I don't think that price increase is a factor, or at least it's not the only factor.

[acis4283]

It's a lot of fun when the price rises and in the exact second you're supposed to receive the bitcoins your transaction gets cancelled.  It's just like going back on your deal.  If I make a deal with someone, for example I promise to give them some cake next friday and take some money in return.  I take the money, and when friday rolls around I give him back his money because I think he's a high risk customer, although the price of cake has risen in the meantime.  The guy I made my deal with has a house full of guests that will not get cake that day.  I also offer a help-line for him to call but there's no one to answer until some unspecified time in the future.

If Coinbase were honest, they wouldn't cancel transactions in the last moment and refund the money.  The last ebayer that did this because I order from him from a "high-risk" country got a NEGATIVE feedback from me.  If a transaction is high-risk DON'T ACCEPT IT TO BEGIN WITH!  That would at least be honest!

[tclo]

Yes they canceled one of my transactions a couple of days ago right after BTC spiked upwards.  They said that it was a "suspicious" transaction but was exactly how I had done the others for the last two months.  And they accepted one right before that and then canceled the 2nd.

And in the email they send out it says, "Try again in a few weeks".   They are just playing games and it is not appreciated.

[acis4283]

Exactly what happend to me.  Another transaction I made in exactly the same conditions went through right before.

[HighCommander]

Yes they canceled one of my transactions a couple of days ago right after BTC spiked upwards.  They said that it was a "suspicious" transaction but was exactly how I had done the others for the last two months.  And they accepted one right before that and then canceled the 2nd.

And in the email they send out it says, "Try again in a few weeks".   They are just playing games and it is not appreciated.

Huh, well that's just ridiculous. I would never think they could do that. And seems like you are not the only one this has happened to. Now I wonder what is their reason for doing it..  Indeed, playing such games is unacceptable. Other users need to be aware of that.

[Olaf (Coinbase)]

It's a lot of fun when the price rises and in the exact second you're supposed to receive the bitcoins your transaction gets cancelled.  It's just like going back on your deal.  If I make a deal with someone, for example I promise to give them some cake next friday and take some money in return.  I take the money, and when friday rolls around I give him back his money because I think he's a high risk customer, although the price of cake has risen in the meantime.  The guy I made my deal with has a house full of guests that will not get cake that day.  I also offer a help-line for him to call but there's no one to answer until some unspecified time in the future.

If Coinbase were honest, they wouldn't cancel transactions in the last moment and refund the money.  The last ebayer that did this because I order from him from a "high-risk" country got a NEGATIVE feedback from me.  If a transaction is high-risk DON'T ACCEPT IT TO BEGIN WITH!  That would at least be honest!

Olaf from Coinbase here

I'm sorry for the trouble with this cancelled transaction! We're actively hiring additional support staff so we can respond more quickly to these types of situations:

http://blog.coinbase.com/post/58733449732/we-are-looking-to-grow-our-customer-support-team

The price is not a factor whatsoever when determining high risk status. We use machine learning algorithms - the process is fully automated and no human has a say. Fraud is a huge problem when selling bitcoin so we have to be careful - unfortunately some legitimate users get falsely flagged. If you email support I will review your account and upon your request can push through the cancelled transaction at the purchase price. Again, apologies for the trouble with this!

[likeBTC]

yes

[lucullus]

I've used Coinbase since I started... but last friday I've had my transaction cancelled because I was high risk.  I've emailed their support but haven't gotten an answer yet.  I think they do what everyone else says... when the price increases they just cancel your transaction, refund what you paid so now you have to pay more for the same bitcoin. I have four more transactions pending right now and they're due to finalize in the next few days.  I don't have long until I'm fully verified either, so the "High risk transaction" I really don't believe as it happened right when the transaction was supposed to finalize and haven't heard back from their support.  I've  also searched the forum for other posts regarding this issue and I've seen many others in the same situation.  I've tried localbitcoins.com and had my bitcoins in record time, although at a higher price.  In the end, I don't think coinbase isn't very trustworthy for newbies, probably better to make a purchase, wait until fully verified and just use another exchanger until the 30 days lapse.  If it takes 30 days for them to trust you, why shouldn't it take the same for you?

I had this exact same thing happen to me after waiting a week (second purchase) today for a bitcoin. Cancelled twenty minutes before my bitcoin was to be delivered. I am heavily mad and have wrote them a nasty email. **** coinbase