Buy Tea with Bitcoins

[nmteaco]

I have completed the process of setting up a form on my website to buy gift-cards with bitcoins. (I am still working on a direct checkout option)

You can find it here http://www.nmteaco.com/bitcoin.html

After the completed transaction, you can fill out a form with your name and e-mail for me to send the gift card. If you checkout with a mybitcoin account then it will give me your user name for tracking. If you use the bitcoin app, then the time stamp on the form will allow me to track down your payment. (I don't think ill be inundated with purchases, so it will be quite easy to verify your transaction.)

If you would like to get a gift card worth more then $10 you can send in multiple payments or use the address at the top of the page to send in any amount you want.

Please post if there are any issues or problems.

As for the "trust" issue, you can take a look at my companies
Google reviews:
http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ie=UTF8&q=new+mexico+tea+company&fb=1&gl=us&hq=tea+company&hnear=New+Mexico&cid=11386589574100643076&z=14

Yelp reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/new-mexico-tea-company-albuquerque

-David Edwards

[Garrett Burgwardt]

Once I've genned enough bitcoins, I'm all over this. Going to start off with some blueberry tea, I'm a big fan.

Maybe offer a slight discount for people who pay with bitcoins? I know some of my friends would love to get tea at a discount and use a currency like bitcoin, and I generate fast enough that I could keep them in stock hehe.

Oh, and might I recommend putting a bitcoin logo and/or announcement somewhere on your site? Similar to the RapidSSL logo down at the bottom of the screen. That'd generate some interest

Wish I lived near you to be able to stop in and pay in person

Link to the bitcoin logos and such - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1631.0

[nmteaco]

Thanks for your feedback thekid...

My thought was that the use of bitcoins "in and of itself" is like a discount. But I'm still just experimenting with the system. I have made 17 bitcoins so far!

I have not figured out how to think about this experiment. Do I try and actually make money on it or do I view it as just marketing, and hope that bitcoin clients will spend real money later.

My thought is that inorder for bitcoin to become more legitimate, one should be able to make money with it. If the whole point is just to get people to spend USD in the future it sort of marginalized bitcoins as a currency.

Also, selling retail is a much different business model then selling a service (which seems to be mostly what bitcoins are spent on) because there are real costs involved, not just time. I have to pay for shipping, the product being shipped, and the person to pack the order.

But I like being on the four front, and I maybe the only place in the whole world where you can exchange bitcoins for tea directly!

-Thanks
David Edwards

[Mahkul]

Thanks for your feedback thekid...

My thought was that the use of bitcoins "in and of itself" is like a discount. But I'm still just experimenting with the system. I have made 17 bitcoins so far!

I have not figured out how to think about this experiment. Do I try and actually make money on it or do I view it as just marketing, and hope that bitcoin clients will spend real money later.

I don't understand you - shouldn't you be hoping that clients will pay you in Bitcoins? You can always exchange them for "real money" or spend them on something.

My thought is that inorder for bitcoin to become more legitimate, one should be able to make money with it. If the whole point is just to get people to spend USD in the future it sort of marginalized bitcoins as a currency.

The whole point is to get people to stop using USD and start using Bitcoin. Then you won't need to worry about getting USD anymore since you will be able to pay for stuff with Bitcoins.

Also, selling retail is a much different business model then selling a service (which seems to be mostly what bitcoins are spent on) because there are real costs involved, not just time. I have to pay for shipping, the product being shipped, and the person to pack the order.

The way I am doing it to keep my "books" in order is - if someone buys something from my shop for Bitcoin - I then buy this item from my shop myself for the "real money" and send this item to the customer. I put this into my registry as a normal sale. The customer gets an invoice in "real currency" and I keep the Bitcoins.

[Local]

You should think of it like real money, not like a promotion. Of course you have dollar denominated costs, so you'll need to convert back to dollars for those or maybe find an expense that you can cover with coins directly, like hosting or design work. Not that you likely need either of those, the site looks great.

[nmteaco]

Mahkul-

My point was that he was suggesting I sell my products for cheaper because they are bit coins... This would only make since to do if i thought of the whole bitcoin thing as a promotion to drive traffic to my site. If I view bit coins as a real currency (Which I do) then it would not make since to give a further discount just because the person is paying with bitcoins.


I have solved the problem of accounting by setting up a new account in quickbooks called bitcoin (it uses the Bangladesh Taka as its currency). When I have a sale I will set the price of the items to their current value in bitcoins, then accept the payment as a check of bitcoins into that account. This nice thing is that it lets you put in an exchange rate, so when i'm ready to "cash out" I can put in the exchange rate from the company that im getting the cash from, and then transfer this into my USD accounts.

[theymos]

My point was that he was suggesting I sell my products for cheaper because they are bit coins... This would only make since to do if i thought of the whole bitcoin thing as a promotion to drive traffic to my site. If I view bit coins as a real currency (Which I do) then it would not make since to give a further discount just because the person is paying with bitcoins.

You might give a discount because Bitcoin has no fees, while credit cards and Paypal do. For the same reason, some people give a discount for payments with cash.

[nmteaco]

My point was that he was suggesting I sell my products for cheaper because they are bit coins... This would only make since to do if i thought of the whole bitcoin thing as a promotion to drive traffic to my site. If I view bit coins as a real currency (Which I do) then it would not make since to give a further discount just because the person is paying with bitcoins.

You might give a discount because Bitcoin has no fees, while credit cards and Paypal do. For the same reason, some people give a discount for payments with cash.

That is a good point... though there are fees involved with exchanging bitcoins for USD, and raw bitcoins are harder to spend then USD... It would be like accepting Chinese Yuan (Cash) in my store... sure there are no fees for it, but I cant do anything with it unless i go to china, or pay to have it exchanged into USD here in the US.

One could argue as well that I should charge more, since people can "mine" for bitcoins and don't need to purchase them, therefore its free money to them. (But then consumers would have an argument against that like having to buy equipment to be a successful minor )

The whole thing is very interesting! I'm happy to be having this discussion.

[bitjet]

NICE!!! I will be buying some oolong!! Whats good?

[breandan81]

Transferring bitcoins involves no fees, but depending on how much business you do, the fees associated with exchanging them for FRN could actually be higher than the fees involved in paypal and such.  If you have 800 dollars worth though, my understanding is mtgox will do a bank transfer, then the fees are pretty small.  The problem is mostly bitcoin-LR-USD is a hassle.  There is bitcoin2cc, but that involves fees, and you can only spend money on virtual credit cards online (though walmart has site to store shipping and sam's club has in store pickup as a shipping option, so for a lot of stuff that's a non issue).  Bitcoins have been volatile, going up for now, but I suppose there is some risk that something catastrophic and unforeseen may happen.  Honestly though, paypal involves at least as much risk, although in a different way.  I've read lots and lots of horror stories about paypal freezing accounts without notice, explanation, or apparent reason, and it can take months of fighting with them to get your money out.  On my sites I intend to treat bitcoin like any other payment processor, then attempt to spend what I make in bitcoins without exchanging it back to FRN as much as possible.  For the stuff I can buy with bitcoin (looking at getting some VOIP for a business line for example) I avoid exchange rates and reduce the trade deficit between the bitcoin community and the fiat community that way.

[nmteaco]

NICE!!! I will be buying some oolong!! Whats good?

The Tiguanyin is my fav!

breandan81 - The nice thing about having it in its own account in quickbooks is that I can have it just sitting there... and then spend to that account when either I exchange them for USD or buy a good or service in bitcoins. (I suppose bitcoins would be a way to get away from paying income tax) however since I treat the collection of bit-coins like any other form of currency it would be accounted for for tax purposes.

Also, if this currancy truly is deflationary (meaning going up in value over time) then the mear fact of holding onto the money for awhile will out wight any costs of future exchange.

[Vasiliev]

Why is a credit card required to check out even if my giftcard value exceeds my total price?

[Cryptoman]

I can confirm that nmteaco is an honest merchant.  I ordered some gyokuro from them, and it was delivered in a timely manner, well packaged in a sealed, opaque bag (prevents photo-oxidation).

[nmteaco]

Why is a credit card required to check out even if my giftcard value exceeds my total price?

Thats a good question Vasiliev! I dont know. I can assure you that you wouldent be charged anything, but if you give me some time Ill figure it out with 3dcart (shopping cart host)

I will send you an e-mail.

-David