Review of my experience with Coinbase.com

[cbhelp]

Posting this in Newbies, to help anyone new to bitcoin, decide where to buy/sell bitcoins.

I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH COINBASE OR ANY OTHER EXCHANGE.  THIS IS JUST MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.


I was looking for a place to buy and sell small amounts of bitcoins, and I was recommended Localbitcoins.com.  I went there, and there are no sellers in my immediate area, and being a father of a few young children, plus employed full time, I do not have the time to drive 150 miles to make a trade in person.  So this caused me to start exploring alternative options.  I found coinbase, and gave it a shot.

I signed up on coinbase.com on August 9th.  Upon signing up, I received an email to verify my address.  I did so, and everything went very smoothly.  I proceeded to enter all of my personal information, including my banking info.  Coinbase advised me that they would be depositing 2 small amounts into my bank account, in a few business days, and that I was to return to the site at that time, and enter the amounts, to verify I was in control of the checking account.  It took about 2 business days for those to show in my account, and I was able to verify.

Upon verifying that part of my coinbase account, I was able to place an order.  I placed my order, and was told I would receive my bitcoins in 5 business days.  The reason for this, is so that they can pull the funds out of the account, and make sure that they are not immediately charged back, and to ensure that they receive their funds.  This is acceptable, especially since down the road, you will have the ability to buy instantly, with no hold time.  So, now, I wait.

On the 5th business day, I get a cancelled order notification.  My order was not cancelled due to high risk, as many have complained of.  My order was cancelled because I used my checking account I use through work (My work sets us up with a debit card, and deposits our check into it.  There is a routing and an account number linked to it, just as a checking account.) Apparently, this account is not set up to be able to handle ACH withdraws through it.  I confirmed this through the issuing bank, apologized to coinbase for the mistake, and attached my main checking account to my coinbase account.  I had to wait another few business days to verify, but that was my fault.

I was able to verify and place a new order, and this one went through fine.  I was very happy with their service.  I did have a few hiccups, and they are listed below:

Problems:

1: Verifying the identity by answering the personal questions can be tough.  They asked me for a phone number from like 10 years ago.  Also a few obscure questions from so long ago, I had to guess.  I failed the first time.  The second time (after a 24 wait period) was easier, and I was able to pass it.  Be prepared for some obscure, very old questions.  They asked me to name the street closest to an old address of mine, from like 2000.  I only lived there for like 3 months.  I had no idea.

2:  Support.  As widely reported, support can be slow to respond.  I sent 3 emails, PM'd Olaf here, and tried to call (voice mail full, no response).  I finally received a response, and all was fine.  Just a little slow.  They are actively hiring people though, and this will probably get better soon.  They are swamped, I can imagine.


Praise:

1. Fast:  Able to buy bitcoins quickly, once verified and through the waiting period.  Also, not a huge markup, and easy to sign up.  All you need is a checking account.  Most people have that already.  And, no need to worry about meeting a stranger, or being scammed.

2: Easy:  As above.


I think this is a great option for a new comer to bitcoins to use.  They are doing a great job.  I know there are a lot of hate threads out there, saying they cancelled orders, but this is because they need to be careful about making orders, as they could be opened up to people using stolen bank accounts, etc.  Or just buying and never paying.  I sincerely do not think they are cancelling orders as high risk, because of a price move.  They are backed by huge venture capitalist firms, I highly doubt that they are trying to gt one over.

Give it a shot.  If you have any questions, post here, and someone should help. 

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[btc4life]

I have found coinbase to be a great and easy way to buy BTC.    Its a lot easier than going down the high fee moneygram/zipzap route.

[Kuschelweich]

Just received my first small purchase from them last night, came through as expected in 5 business days. Need to purchase more so now I know what to expect. Kinda wish I had purchased more as the waiting period is a bit annoying.

My only question is how do I spend my balance? I figured I'd receive a new address with the balance in it, but the new address is empty. I'd like to send a payment, but how would I tell the recipient what the sent from address is to confirm? Would it be the new 0.00BTC balance address that was created?


Thanks for any help .

[cbhelp]

When you receive your order, you go into your account, click on TRANSACTIONS, then click on Send Money.  You can then send to any bitcoin address.  I sent to my personal address, then send from there to whoever I wanted to get the btc.

[Kuschelweich]

When you receive your order, you go into your account, click on TRANSACTIONS, then click on Send Money.  You can then send to any bitcoin address.  I sent to my personal address, then send from there to whoever I wanted to get the btc.

Thanks. Yes I thought about doing this, but was wondering what would happen if you sent straight from the Transactions -> Send Money tab to the address of the recipient you'd like to pay. Would there be no way to confirm with them that it was sent by you? I'm not sure why a new address is even created for your purchase if it's empty.

[cbhelp]

If you send directly from your coinbase to another person, they would know it is from you.  Go to blockchain.info, enter the persons address after you send, and it will show your transaction, and you can see what address it was sent from.  Coinbase creates a new address for every transaction you make.  That address is also permanently yours, so if anyone ever sends anything to it, it goes into your coinbase account. 

[monbux]

It's not easy for most people...  I think they only sell bitcoins to the US, other people in other countries don't get the benefit :/

[ajw7989]

I am form the USA and can say so far my experience has been good. I purchased it a few days ago and it is still pending but I have seen the USD withdrawn from my bank account. It feels much safer than going with an overseas company since many more problems could occur. Will update if any problems occur but so far I will be using them for all my USD --> BTC transactions and vice versa

[Dot99lr]

I just signed up. I verified my bank but I couldn't verify my id, they had questions from a while ago. I'll try again tomorrow.

[Olaf (Coinbase)]

Hey, this is Olaf from Coinbase.

If you have any questions about our service you can post here or PM me. Thanks for your interest!

[kowski]

And as some of you first-timer (like me) had experienced, you bought your first coins, waited five days, and tada--your first coins. You leveled up, bought another batch, and dang--you were flagged as high risk with your transaction revoked!

I emailed Coinbase about this, and I was pleasantly surprised Olaf manually reviewed my account and whitelisted it so that I would not have future problems. My second transaction was also being processed at the price of my original order.

So great experience after that short ordeal!

The sad story is that Bitcoin price is now lower than that purchase price--urgh...

[cbhelp]

Yea I bought at a high point also. Not coinbases fault though

[kowski]

Yes of course not!

Yea I bought at a high point also. Not coinbases fault though

[kendog77]

Hey, this is Olaf from Coinbase.

If you have any questions about our service you can post here or PM me. Thanks for your interest!

Why are my transactions now cancelled because they are high risk? This is really annoying. I am a level 2 customer who made successful bitcoin purchases via Coinbase in May, June, and July, and now all the sudden I am high risk.

I sent an email to customer support two days ago and haven't heard back yet.

[Olaf (Coinbase)]

Hey, this is Olaf from Coinbase.

If you have any questions about our service you can post here or PM me. Thanks for your interest!

Why are my transactions now cancelled because they are high risk? This is really annoying. I am a level 2 customer who made successful bitcoin purchases via Coinbase in May, June, and July, and now all the sudden I am high risk.

I sent an email to customer support two days ago and haven't heard back yet.

Sorry about that! Just reviewed your transaction - you are now whitelisted. Apologies for the false positive!

[xzzxpimpxzzx]

they are good i used them before +1

[Bitmin1991]

I love Coinbase! I love that you can verify your ID and purchase instantly.

@Olaf: Thanks for the wonderful service CB provides, along with the API's.

[kendog77]

Hey, this is Olaf from Coinbase.

If you have any questions about our service you can post here or PM me. Thanks for your interest!

Why are my transactions now cancelled because they are high risk? This is really annoying. I am a level 2 customer who made successful bitcoin purchases via Coinbase in May, June, and July, and now all the sudden I am high risk.

I sent an email to customer support two days ago and haven't heard back yet.

Sorry about that! Just reviewed your transaction - you are now whitelisted. Apologies for the false positive!

Thanks Olaf. I can confirm that Olaf took care of the issue ~2 hours after receiving a PM from me.

[japerry]

Hey, this is Olaf from Coinbase.

If you have any questions about our service you can post here or PM me. Thanks for your interest!

Nice to meet you Olaf! I'm a happy Coinbase user. My initial application went though without any issues.

[cbhelp]

Olaf is very good at getting problems solved, just remeber that they are understaffed, and are hiring people to help get support times up.  But if you contact them, they will definitely get your issues solved.  Great company