BitPlastic

[empoweoqwj]

I just got an affiliate person's ad for this in my email so came here to see what the buzz was.

My first thought was that it is very pricey, but I see how it might be a lot less hassle to use than jumping through hoops at the exchanges.

I like the feisty FAQ page: https://bitplastic.com/bitcoin-questions

You know, if it hadn't been for the BFL fiasco I might have been a lot more amenable to new ventures like this. BFL toughened us all up, for better or worse. We look under every rock now, perhaps too much so.

I'm not ready to buy one yet, mainly because I'm trying to accumulate BTC, not convert it to fiat. It's definitely worth watching though. Good luck with the venture.

Don't see any connection between this and BFL, sorry.

[aigeezer]

Don't see any connection between this and BFL, sorry.

There is none, at a literal level. My point was that if this had come our way in more innocent times, say 2011, we might have been more willing to give it a try - the era before BFL, Pirate, Snowden... you name it.

Community wariness has gone way up, understandably. We will miss some opportunities as a result. Perhaps this is one of them, perhaps not.

[empoweoqwj]

Don't see any connection between this and BFL, sorry.

There is none, at a literal level. My point was that if this had come our way in more innocent times, say 2011, we might have been more willing to give it a try - the era before BFL, Pirate, Snowden... you name it.

Community wariness has gone way up, understandably. We will miss some opportunities as a result. Perhaps this is one of them, perhaps not.

Yes, I understand now. We're all on 11 on the 1-10 paranoid scale, so will miss opportunities because of it. True enough. But I'd rather miss opportunities than fall for the dozens of scams seemingly running every week. I think I might be a 12 actually

[aigeezer]

Don't see any connection between this and BFL, sorry.

There is none, at a literal level. My point was that if this had come our way in more innocent times, say 2011, we might have been more willing to give it a try - the era before BFL, Pirate, Snowden... you name it.

Community wariness has gone way up, understandably. We will miss some opportunities as a result. Perhaps this is one of them, perhaps not.

Yes, I understand now. We're all on 11 on the 1-10 paranoid scale, so will miss opportunities because of it. True enough. But I'd rather miss opportunities than fall for the dozens of scams seemingly running every week. I think I might be a 12 actually

Yup. Balance is everything. I'm really glad I ignored the chatter in 2011 that said "BTC is no good. It's a scam. It's a Ponzi. Blah blah" and I'm really glad I paid attention to the chatter that said "Pirateat40 is no good. It's a scam. It's a Ponzi. Blah blah" and I wish I hadn't been so impressed with Gavin's off-the-cuff endorsement of BFL's then-new Jalapeno that I threw caution to the winds and placed a first-month BFL order.     

Of course I look for patterns in all this for "next time" - but I find none. Each time is unique. My gut says BitPlastic might be a good one, but my analytical side says it's not. Paralysis follows, for the moment.

[empoweoqwj]

Don't see any connection between this and BFL, sorry.

There is none, at a literal level. My point was that if this had come our way in more innocent times, say 2011, we might have been more willing to give it a try - the era before BFL, Pirate, Snowden... you name it.

Community wariness has gone way up, understandably. We will miss some opportunities as a result. Perhaps this is one of them, perhaps not.

Yes, I understand now. We're all on 11 on the 1-10 paranoid scale, so will miss opportunities because of it. True enough. But I'd rather miss opportunities than fall for the dozens of scams seemingly running every week. I think I might be a 12 actually

Yup. Balance is everything. I'm really glad I ignored the chatter in 2011 that said "BTC is no good. It's a scam. It's a Ponzi. Blah blah" and I'm really glad I paid attention to the chatter that said "Pirateat40 is no good. It's a scam. It's a Ponzi. Blah blah" and I wish I hadn't been so impressed with Gavin's off-the-cuff endorsement of BFL's then-new Jalapeno that I threw caution to the winds and placed a first-month BFL order.     

Of course I look for patterns in all this for "next time" - but I find none. Each time is unique. My gut says BitPlastic might be a good one, but my analytical side says it's not. Paralysis follows, for the moment.

Who was to know what BFL would be like? .... I've never seen a company operate like that. Even more remarkable, they are still here

BitPlastic does actually look quite good. Ticks most of the non-scam boxes but my issue to start was the thing was way too expensive, plus the $200 a day daily limit. You don't get a lot for $200 these days, the limit reduces the utility of the card. If they drop the prices and get that limit raised, certainly interested.

[epenue]

its 0.15 now, and with coupon should be 0.11, anybody tried coupon? does it works?

[empoweoqwj]

its 0.15 now, and with coupon should be 0.11, anybody tried coupon? does it works?

Nah the daily limit kills it for me, and the "if you want a higher daily limit, buy more cards" response.

[moriartybitcoin]

thanks JoeVentura these are some good suggestions:

1. Have a "Forgot your password" function on your website >> You can always email support@BitPlastic.com if you forgot your password.  Nobody gets locked out if they use a valid email

2. Have different tiers of service such as:          Cheap card with high service fee  and         High cost card with low service fee
>> Might be too complex for one site, but we are launching http://CoinChimp.com and we will try a different pricing structure; same debit card, but lower issuance fee and higher transaction fees

3. $200 a day limit is going to be a real limitation >> Sorry, but AML/KYC laws govern banks. You will not find another anonymous card with higher limit than $200.

4. Give away a few cards in exchange for honest reviews >> Not necessary, as we receive more than enough attention already

[moriartybitcoin]

We are launching an exchanger site at http://CoinChimp.com which will have a lower issuance fee ($50) but a higher transaction fee (10%).  We will see if that is more popular. If you're planning on moving large amounts of money, you're still better off paying the higher issuance fee on BitPlastic

[moriartybitcoin]

'My gut says BitPlastic might be a good one, but my analytical side says it's not. Paralysis follows, for the moment.'

We have 10,000+ users, most of which are happy.  The main complaint I hear is the fees.  Yes, the fees are on the high side, but unlike CoinBase, CaVirtex and probably MtGox we don't report your private financial information to the IRS or CRA.  We don't even know who you are.  So you'll get what you pay for.  With BitPlastic, you are paying for privacy and anonymity in conducting your bitcoin transactions.  With CoinBase, you never know when you'll get a knock on the door from the IRS. 

[empoweoqwj]

'My gut says BitPlastic might be a good one, but my analytical side says it's not. Paralysis follows, for the moment.'

We have 10,000+ users, most of which are happy.  The main complaint I hear is the fees.  Yes, the fees are on the high side, but unlike CoinBase, CaVirtex and probably MtGox we don't report your private financial information to the IRS or CRA.  We don't even know who you are.  So you'll get what you pay for.  With BitPlastic, you are paying for privacy and anonymity in conducting your bitcoin transactions.  With CoinBase, you never know when you'll get a knock on the door from the IRS. 

Lots of vendor offer services for high amounts and use "anonymity" as the reason for the high charges. Until the FEDs come knocking on your door, and you instantly give up all your records. Not saying you will do this, but its a common pattern, particularly in the "offshore company" and "offshore bank account" sectors.

How long have you been in business as BitPlastic?

[moriartybitcoin]

First of all, we don't have a door to knock on.  We are not incorporated anywhere nor do we have a real-world office that can be raided.  Also, because we keep withdrawals under $200 USD per day per card, we are not breaking any laws. These cards are issued by a European bank!

Second, even if our servers were compromised by law enforcement or (much more likely) by hackers, there would be no useful information on them.  No bitcoin is stored on our servers, and we don't request personal information from our clients. We don't know who our clients are.  We don't even require a real name to receive the debit card.  The only information we require is a shipping address and that gets deleted the moment the card is shipped out.  We store IPs to prevent hacking/fraud on your account but you can easily use TOR or some other anonymity service. 

Short answer is: the cops have no way to figure out who BitPlastic users are because even the owners of BitPlastic don't know.

Second, hackers cannot steal your personal information because we store no personal information.

The whole point of this service to enable people to convert bitcoin to cash securely, conveniently and anonymously. 

See: https://bitplastic.com/bitcoin-cold-storage

[moriartybitcoin]

You're right about one thing; you can not trust ANY service not to turn over records to the government.  Expect that everything you enter on a webpage is going to end up in the hands of law enforcement, hackers, or marketers - perhaps all three!

That's why we do not collect any personal information from our clients. We have no information to give up.

[empoweoqwj]

First of all, we don't have a door to knock on.  We are not incorporated anywhere nor do we have a real-world office that can be raided.  Also, because we keep withdrawals under $200 USD per day per card, we are not breaking any laws. These cards are issued by a European bank!

Second, even if our servers were compromised by law enforcement or (much more likely) by hackers, there would be no useful information on them.  No bitcoin is stored on our servers, and we don't request personal information from our clients. We don't know who our clients are.  We don't even require a real name to receive the debit card.  The only information we require is a shipping address and that gets deleted the moment the card is shipped out.  We store IPs to prevent hacking/fraud on your account but you can easily use TOR or some other anonymity service. 

Short answer is: the cops have no way to figure out who BitPlastic users are because even the owners of BitPlastic don't know.

Second, hackers cannot steal your personal information because we store no personal information.

The whole point of this service to enable people to convert bitcoin to cash securely, conveniently and anonymously. 

See: https://bitplastic.com/bitcoin-cold-storage

Everything leaves a trail, or is intercepted. You are being naive if you think "the cops have no way to figure out who BitPlastic users are". Silk Road buyers thought the same. The fact you aren't a company at all makes it very convenient for you just to disappear at any time with people's money.

You store customers IP addresses? Seriously? Any service claiming to be anonymous would delete all server records daily. bitplastic.com home page currrently says "It works!" by the way. Very professional.

[minimalB]

What is the daily limit at Point-of-Sale? Still $200 only? Why is this info not in the FAQ?

[gvroom]

Just a note on security... this service appears to give you the ability to remain anonymous if you know how to.  You can use Tor, use an anonymous email, receive a card to your name of choice at an address of your choice, ignore that card for months, send BTC to the card from an anonymous wallet, and spend from it without showing ID.

I can understand being paranoid but when I get to the point that I don't mind risking a couple hundred dollars I'll have to find a reason not to do so.  $200 a day is not a fortune but neither is it insignificant.  Sigh, if only I had looked a bit closer the first time I looked into Bitcoin.

[moriartybitcoin]

POS limit is $500, you're right I should update the FAQ with this information and I will.  Most people just want to withdraw cash though

[moriartybitcoin]

BitPlastic enables you to remain anonymous. Here are some tips if you are really paranoid.  These will protect you even if the actual server gets seized by authorities (not very likely):

1. use TOR or NordVPN's new Double VPN service (make sure to type https://BitPlastic.com when using TOR or you could fall victim to an SSL man in the middle attack!)

2. create an anonymous email on safe-mail.net (using TOR or VPN) and sign up with that. 

3. if ordering a debit card, have it shipped to a friend's house.  We delete your shipping address immediately when we ship your card, so there's not much risk here.

4. Don't withdraw bitcoin to an exchanger (like Coinbase or CAVirtex) under your real name, or the transaction can be traced to you through the blockchain.

Hope these tips help.  Good luck and stay safe.

[moriartybitcoin]

'You store customers IP addresses? Seriously? Any service claiming to be anonymous would delete all server records daily. bitplastic.com home page currrently says "It works!" by the way. Very professional.'

I don't know what homepage you're viewing, but it's not https://BitPlastic.com

And yes, we store client IPs to help prevent hacking.  Every web service stores IPs, it's a major security precaution to prevent your account from being compromised. It is easy to change your IP if want to (TOR, VPN, etc..)

[ct1aic]

Check out https://bitplastic.com/ it's a newer debit loader card for loading your bitcoins onto and using it to buy stuff in fiat cash.

Because the person wanted to keep it anonymous the card is limited to $200 USD a day, but you can own multiple cards. There is also a one time fee to get the card, 0.25BTC, there are no hidden fees or monthly fees. There is a interact fee of about $1.50, if you live in Canada their will be a bank machine fee likely associate to it as banks have gotten more clever at stealing our money that they now charge a machine fee to withdraw money from them if you are not a member of their bank. So when I use TD or CIBC with my Scotia Bank card I am dinged $2.00 as a machine fee, and then my bank dings me another $1.50 for an interact fee.

I don't know anything about it and nor am I related to it. I am just sharing what I know, so don't shoot the messenger!

BitPlastic is, in my humble opinion, something like a SCAM! The card they send is not like the Mastercard seen at their site and @ Facebook, it's not new, but is instead a regular debit VISA Electron card from the Polish Bank Zachodni WBK, that anyone can buy at eBay at a very lower price. I had bought one with same Eiffel Tower image, starting with same 4830 4712 card number and from same Polish bank, at the beginning of last year.