Why is it so hard to buy bitcoin?

[thesouljourner]

It seems unreasonably hard to actually *get* bitcoin, especially so if you're from the US. All the exchanges appear to be outside the US and do not accept any normal form of payment (i.e. credit card or paypal).  Now, I understand about paypal, given their propensity to allow chargebacks for basically no reason.  However, credit card chargebacks are pretty uncommon. Compound that with the fact that most of these places are asking for scanned forms of ID, which is a little skeevy to be giving out to random websites, and then if you're lucky, you can also give them your bank account account number so they can withdraw funds in 4 business days.  If you're unlucky, you have to do an international wire transfer, and most Americans have no clue how to do that (even people who are relatively technically savvy)... and again, sloooooow.

This has got to be a huge barrier to adoption of bitcoin and altcoins.  If the bitcoin market spikes, it's not like Average Joe can just go to Amazon (or whatever) and buy him some bitcoin.

I am in this position right now.  I have an account on Mt.Gox and working on making one on bitstamp.... but I can't actually buy anything until some human actually looks at the images I scanned and.... I guess determines I'm OK to give them money.  This seems old, slow, and barbaric for something as progressive as bitcoin.

It seems like the single best thing that could be done to both drive adoption of bitcoin and drive the price up (due to increased demand) is to make it EASY to get bitcoins. 

If some site came up with a credit card form and gave me a way to buy bitcoin RIGHT NOW... I'd happily pay a reasonable fee.  Why hasn't this happened? Traffic would be through the roof. Slap a 10% fee over market price for bitcoins to cover credit card fees and rake in the dough.

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[TerenC]

I completely agree! if you find a solution, please let me know!

[DrG]

It seems unreasonably hard to actually *get* bitcoin, especially so if you're from the US. All the exchanges appear to be outside the US and do not accept any normal form of payment (i.e. credit card or paypal).  Now, I understand about paypal, given their propensity to allow chargebacks for basically no reason.  However, credit card chargebacks are pretty uncommon. Compound that with the fact that most of these places are asking for scanned forms of ID, which is a little skeevy to be giving out to random websites, and then if you're lucky, you can also give them your bank account account number so they can withdraw funds in 4 business days.  If you're unlucky, you have to do an international wire transfer, and most Americans have no clue how to do that (even people who are relatively technically savvy)... and again, sloooooow.

This has got to be a huge barrier to adoption of bitcoin and altcoins.  If the bitcoin market spikes, it's not like Average Joe can just go to Amazon (or whatever) and buy him some bitcoin.

I am in this position right now.  I have an account on Mt.Gox and working on making one on bitstamp.... but I can't actually buy anything until some human actually looks at the images I scanned and.... I guess determines I'm OK to give them money.  This seems old, slow, and barbaric for something as progressive as bitcoin.

It seems like the single best thing that could be done to both drive adoption of bitcoin and drive the price up (due to increased demand) is to make it EASY to get bitcoins. 

If some site came up with a credit card form and gave me a way to buy bitcoin RIGHT NOW... I'd happily pay a reasonable fee.  Why hasn't this happened? Traffic would be through the roof. Slap a 10% fee over market price for bitcoins to cover credit card fees and rake in the dough.

Do you go to Amazon and buy Pesos or Yen?

There are plenty of phone apps for wallet use.  All you need to do is sell something locally like you would on craigslist and just accept BTC instead of cash.  It might take a while waiting for a few confirms to go through.

Sell your trade/services and you'll get BTC for them.

[galbros]

It is hard to buy bitcoin because bitcoin transactions are irreversible while most other payment forms are not.  Therefore, the party selling the bitcoins is open to exploitation.

Yes, this is a problem for adoption.

The best solution is to find someone to sell you BTC locally.  However, this is problematic.  In the United States the leading solution seems to be Coinbase.  Yes you have to give them your bank info but at least they have a physical presence.   Based on many threads here they are not trouble free, especially if the price action is moving against them, e.g. if you buy at 750 per coin and the price goes to 800 per coin over the next couple of days, but seem to be the best online US solution.  They charge 1% plus a spread.

Welcome to bitcoin!

[cr1776]

Much of this is the result of regulation which slows the process.

I do agree that coinbase can be a good solution for now since it is quite fast in most cases. They are not perfect though by any stretch of the imagination.

[DrG]

Coinbase is probably the easiest way to buy BTC in the US.  They're based in San Francisco and have an actual office unlike many other exchanges.  You can usually get your account confirmed in under and hour if you're willing to share your bank account info.

If you would like to remain relatively anonymous localbitcoins is probably your best bet for easy acquisition (but at a higher spot cost).

[coqui33]

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FAQs: http://backintyme.com/deposfaq.php

[Gabi]

However, credit card chargebacks are pretty uncommon

Ahahahahaha nice joke 

Because it is a joke, am i right? You cannot be serious 

[thesouljourner]

However, credit card chargebacks are pretty uncommon

Ahahahahaha nice joke 

Because it is a joke, am i right? You cannot be serious 

Uhh, no, actually.  My wife runs an online store, she's done thousands of transactions and has had less than 5 chargebacks. 

It's not like it's any different than selling something physical... if someone buys an $800 stereo and claims it never arrived, what recourse do you have?  Bitcoin is actually the *best* possible thing to sell via credit card, because you can prove you sent it, so you should be able to trivially win any disputes about whether or not you delivered the goods that were purchased.

BTW, I have purchased bitcoins via Coinbase, since as you said, they are the fastest... though there's a 4 day waiting period between purchase and receiving the bitcoins (which I understand, they're waiting for the transfer to clear), and at least that way you can instantly get bitcoins at about the market rate.  The bad press they have gotten on here and elsewhere is a little disturbing. I don't really believe they're intentionally screwing people, since that's a surefire way to lose any credibility... but it's still not good seeing occasional bad reviews.

[Gabi]

Bitcoin is actually the *best* possible thing to sell via credit card, because you can prove you sent it, so you should be able to trivially win any disputes about whether or not you delivered the goods that were purchased.

Then go ahead, try sell bitcoins for credit card payments. Then tell us how it is going. What? The chargeback fest killed your business? That is the reason why no one sells bitcoin via credit cards

[Flashman]

Yer problem there is that paypal or CC companies don't seem to accept a transaction confirmed, recorded and forwarded by upwards of 300 independent industry participants as "proof".

[grantorino70]

Bitcoin is actually the *best* possible thing to sell via credit card, because you can prove you sent it, so you should be able to trivially win any disputes about whether or not you delivered the goods that were purchased.

Yes you can prove the transactions but Paypal doesn't want to be a money exchange, even if they saw the blockchain it doesn't matter to them because they consider it an intangible item. This is part of the reason that the BTC markup on ebay is 50-150% - because in the ebay system it is easy for scammers to take advantage of the sellers of BTC. They'll pay way too much for the value of a bitcoin, then dispute the sale months later. In the end they get their money back and keep the irreversible BTC transaction.

[thesouljourner]

Then go ahead, try sell bitcoins for credit card payments. Then tell us how it is going. What? The chargeback fest killed your business? That is the reason why no one sells bitcoin via credit cards

I don't really see why it's different for bitcoins versus stereos or other physical goods.  Is it just that there's a lot more scammers attracted to the get-rich-quick aura of bitcoins? Is it the fact that they're buying "money" which is more liquid than a stereo that you have to lug to a pawn shop to get 25% of its value?

Actually, my wife just gave me a good answer to this: the "Someone stole my credit card" excuse.  I can prove I delivered to a wallet, but I can't prove you own that wallet, so you just have to say "that's not my wallet, I didn't buy the bitcoin" and then there's no recourse.

I still think that under normal circumstances, that would be really rare, but as above, bitcoin (right now) tends to attract more than its share of scammers. 

[Sitarow]

Then go ahead, try sell bitcoins for credit card payments. Then tell us how it is going. What? The chargeback fest killed your business? That is the reason why no one sells bitcoin via credit cards

I don't really see why it's different for bitcoins versus stereos or other physical goods.  Is it just that there's a lot more scammers attracted to the get-rich-quick aura of bitcoins? Is it the fact that they're buying "money" which is more liquid than a stereo that you have to lug to a pawn shop to get 25% of its value?

Actually, my wife just gave me a good answer to this: the "Someone stole my credit card" excuse.  I can prove I delivered to a wallet, but I can't prove you own that wallet, so you just have to say "that's not my wallet, I didn't buy the bitcoin" and then there's no recourse.

I still think that under normal circumstances, that would be really rare, but as above, bitcoin (right now) tends to attract more than its share of scammers. 

If you are in Canada you can sign up for cavirtex.com exchange or use the atm in Vancouver.

Coinbase is another option.

[troy112]

There are many ways to by bitcoins. Some are easy for some and difficult for others.
there was someone in trading thread here selling bitcoins with paypal. I thing its the best and easiest!!

[WayTooGosu]

Currency exchanging is available on many forums. You can even  do it here on BitcoinTalk.

[Hondarydr]

I've used BTC-e to buy my bitcoins here in the U.S. I find it pretty simple to use. I do completely agree though that it's annoying when the sites ask for different forms of ID but I'm sure it's just for the protection of you and themselves too.

[Kiki112]

Currency exchanging is available on many forums. You can even  do it here on BitcoinTalk.

exactly,you can also try localbitcoins.com as a hand-to-hand exchange might be the best option

[fadu4u]

meet in-person, make payment and get your bit coin, in order to get bit coin as quickly as possible at the end of trading day so you can settle on fix price.

as long as selling is concerned, either post an ad and or sell it on exchange
bitstamp
coinbase
cavirtex
mtgox

yea getting verified is pain in the butt, im still pending for all exchanges... but we have to get thru that and have some patience.

[gripflierGO]

I don't really see why it's different for bitcoins versus stereos or other physical goods.  Is it just that there's a lot more scammers attracted to the get-rich-quick aura of bitcoins? Is it the fact that they're buying "money" which is more liquid than a stereo that you have to lug to a pawn shop to get 25% of its value?

Actually, my wife just gave me a good answer to this: the "Someone stole my credit card" excuse.  I can prove I delivered to a wallet, but I can't prove you own that wallet, so you just have to say "that's not my wallet, I didn't buy the bitcoin" and then there's no recourse.

I still think that under normal circumstances, that would be really rare, but as above, bitcoin (right now) tends to attract more than its share of scammers. 

If you stole CC, getting Bitcoin is best as it is untracable if done right. Other methods to clean stolen CC are riskier.