What is a good way to buy bitcoins in the UK?

[ghelyar]

I want to start accepting bitcoins as a payment method.

As part of this, I need to know how easy it is for customers to get started with bitcoin.


I've just been trying to buy a small amount of bitcoins and struggling with it.


What is a good way to buy £10 or so of bitcoins in the UK?


My bank account only makes international payments by SWIFT, with a £25 fee, so that's out.

I also don't want to send photocopies of secure documents to companies that I don't completely trust, often overseas and with long processing times.

Is there anywhere that will accept debit cards (I assume nowhere accepts credit cards or paypal due to reversals) or UK bank transfers? this blog suggests that blockchain.info does, but it's a dead link.

I have tried several exchanges including mt. gox, kraken and vela with no success.

[ghelyar]

Thanks for the info!

I got some with BitBargain

[MoltoGenerico]

I personally use bitbargain.co.uk, transaction completes in a matter of hours (normally minutes) because all users have a UK bank account.

BitBargain has a transaction system in place that guides seller/buyer in every step of a transaction and it shields you from shady sellers in several ways, not least by freezing the seller's bitcoins before you send a bank transfer to him.

You'll struggle to find website that accepts credit cards for bitcoins. The reason is that bitcoin transfers are irreversible, hence sellers only accept payments that are irreversible (e.g. bank transfer).

In your post, you also said you'd also like to start accepting bitcoins as payment method. Shopify.co.uk lets you create an online shop and accept bitcoins.

[BlackShadowX1]

Another one here for Bitbargain.. That's where i bought mine from.

[Dragonkiller]

Localbitcoins isn't bad either

[laotzu]

I have bought on bitbargains a couple of times now.  You can just make a bank transfer and get your coins pretty quickly without endless paperwork and verification.
The prices are higher than on say mtgox but after you factor in the cost of transferring money to mtgox it is not that different.

[monkeynutts]

Localbitcoins isn't bad either

+1 used this today to sell some coins, took all of 30 mins. Am yet to try buying but I see no reason why it would work as well.

[uk1]

Bitbargain

[Edoxal]

I use bitbargain at the moment. Look out for https://coinfloor.co.uk/. They're still rolling out, but once they fully do, it should be worth the wait. Worth getting your name on the list!