Stay away from Coinbase

[infinitybo]

@M1sty Yes you can invest in BTC therefore you'll exchange them for example with a seller.

[pharaoh171]

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus about Coinbase difficulties.
I went through the full verification, linked bank account, etc. and was
told I was all set to begin purchasing. I tried on 4 separate occasions
and every one was shot down as "high risk", even once when the price
of bitcoin went down over $150 while I was waiting for my order to be filled.
It looks to me like Coinbase just doesn't have enough bitcoins to sell.
This, coupled with the fact that localbitcoins is essentially useless in my area
is causing me to become very disillusioned with bitcoins in general. How are
they ever going to become the currency of the future if you can't even buy any?

[nahtnam]

Just wanted to add my voice to the chorus about Coinbase difficulties.
I went through the full verification, linked bank account, etc. and was
told I was all set to begin purchasing. I tried on 4 separate occasions
and every one was shot down as "high risk", even once when the price
of bitcoin went down over $150 while I was waiting for my order to be filled.
It looks to me like Coinbase just doesn't have enough bitcoins to sell.
This, coupled with the fact that localbitcoins is essentially useless in my area
is causing me to become very disillusioned with bitcoins in general. How are
they ever going to become the currency of the future if you can't even buy any?

If you find a way to contact support, they would gladly give you a btc at the price that you failed to get.

[lyth0s]

I've never had any issues with coinbase at all and I use them daily most purchases/sells that I've been conducting are around 0.1-1 BTC each

[good_shepherd]

i havent had any issues with coin base..

and its a usa company so i feel more comfortable with them.

[skivrmt]

i havent had any issues with coin base..

and its a usa company so i feel more comfortable with them.

I second this.  I do use foreign exchanges simple for diversification I prefer Coinbase over them.  Its linked to my bank account for instant buys and very simple to use. 

I also like its a US company with big backers.  Who knows if it's "safer" than Bitstamp or Gox, but I trust it a bit more to get my money out, fast, if ever needed!

[CrimsonPermanentAssurance]

Honestly, after emailing after a failed transaction, I got an email two weeks later telling me they were approving the transaction AND crediting me .96 btw EXTRA because of what I could have done with the BTC had I had it. I was astounded. Stick with them. It might take a while to get answers, but once you get them, you might also get BTC you didn't realize you had. It was like a Christmas present! This was for a $1300 original transaction, so instead of getting 1.5 btc for that, I ended up getting 2.5 btc.

[CrimsonPermanentAssurance]

And just so everyone knows, this happened on December 27!

[caleb5705]

There is nothing wrong with coinbase.  You just have to go through their entire one month verification process.

[reav]

Brian Armstrong (the CEO of coinbase) participated in an interesting panel during the 2013 bitcoin conference.  It's worth a watch if you want to get an idea of why they have to resort to such an extreme verification process. 

vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Dl7vIGnU0

[hank99]

coinbase can be extremely aggravating. lack of explanation for their actions is what really gets me. some people say they have good customer service but theyve never replied to me.

[skivrmt]

Brian Armstrong (the CEO of coinbase) participated in an interesting panel during the 2013 bitcoin conference.  It's worth a watch if you want to get an idea of why they have to resort to such an extreme verification process. 

vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Dl7vIGnU0

This.  They are a US company under US laws.  I like them taking forever to verify people and going through the process.  The more regulation you have the better the lawmakers will look at BItcoin and the companies supporting them that they are for legit reason and not all for money laundering and drug buying.

[monsterkill]

 

[MrMirkin]

Just want to note that I have used coinbase twice to sell BTC.  Fiat showed up promptly w/o any issue.  I have yet to purchase BTC with it, but works great for selling

[vtrac]

When I first created my account, I had Coinbase cancel 2-3 deposits due to "suspicious" activities. However, after email them I haven't had any issues ever since. They're certainly the easiest to use, and I feel the most confident about them over other sites (like mtgox, btc-e, etc).

[MNDan]

Yeah - but do you all trust Coinbase enough to keep your bitcoin out on the site? I'm working on getting my cold storage process down, but in the mean time I've got some bitcoin just sitting out there. Hopefully it's safe - the 2-step authentication seems pretty solid, but I know it's never safe unless you have them in possession.

[organizer]

Just to pipe in, using Coinbase for a month with no issues. Been able to sell and withdraw without issue. Have not done the purchasing process though, so don't know if that's a more complicated process.

[nahtnam]

Brian Armstrong (the CEO of coinbase) participated in an interesting panel during the 2013 bitcoin conference.  It's worth a watch if you want to get an idea of why they have to resort to such an extreme verification process. 

vid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7Dl7vIGnU0

This.  They are a US company under US laws.  I like them taking forever to verify people and going through the process.  The more regulation you have the better the lawmakers will look at BItcoin and the companies supporting them that they are for legit reason and not all for money laundering and drug buying.

This brings up a good point. Many Americans view bitcoins as a criminals currency and so they dont use it. If we can prove that its safe then more and more people will start to buy.

[JuAnAuJ69]

All your stories are quite scary... But I have never had any problems with CoinBase, to be honest. In fact I'm Tier III already.

[belmonty]

Honestly, after emailing after a failed transaction, I got an email two weeks later telling me they were approving the transaction AND crediting me .96 btw EXTRA because of what I could have done with the BTC had I had it. I was astounded. Stick with them. It might take a while to get answers, but once you get them, you might also get BTC you didn't realize you had. It was like a Christmas present! This was for a $1300 original transaction, so instead of getting 1.5 btc for that, I ended up getting 2.5 btc.

It sounds like it was worth the long wait then.

What do they do with the current situation of bitcoin prices jumping up and down? Do they charge you the higher price if the transaction is not immediate and the price drops while you are waiting?