Best way to buy bitcoin

[WizKid89]

I'm new to BitCoin and interested in buying BTC as a long term investment, and was wondering the best way and place to buy BTC. I see on some trading sites they use bank account details as a payment method, is this safe? Im also interested in people predictions, will BTC ever be valued at over 5 figures?
Any help is much obliged

[BitCoinDream]

These questions are supposed to be asked at newbie forum. How come some can make his first post here ? At least, when I joined, there was some restriction. Is it all gone now ?

p.s. Sorry for the OP. It is NOT your fault and as a newbie you have 100% right to ask any question. It is fault of the system.

[WizKid89]

My apologies, as I say i'm a newbie, I guess I need to get use to this forum.

[DannyHamilton]

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was wondering the best way and place to buy BTC.
- snip -

I prefer localbitcoins.

Some people seem to prefer CoinBase, BitStamp, or BTC-E.  You'll have to make your own decisions about that.

I see on some trading sites they use bank account details as a payment method, is this safe?

I'm not comfortable with it.  That's why I prefer localbitcoins.

Im also interested in people predictions, will BTC ever be valued at over 5 figures?

Ever?  Like ever, ever?

Sure.  Why not?  I suppose it could be valued at over 5 figures as expressed in U.S. dollars sometime before the heat death of the universe.  That's an awful long time though.

I suppose when you said "ever" what you really meant was "before I reach a reasonable retirement age"?

In that case, it really depends on how old you are now, and what age you consider to be a "reasonable retirement age".

There is a small possibility that it could reach a value of 5 figures as expressed in U.S. dollars before the end of 2014.

There is a reasonable possibility that it could reach a value of 5 figures as expressed in U.S. dollars within 2 to 10 years depending on if it catches on with the general public.  Of course there is also a reasonable possibility that the entire experiment could collapse and bitcoin could become literally worthless.

[BTCisthefuture]

I'm new to BitCoin and interested in buying BTC as a long term investment, and was wondering the best way and place to buy BTC. I see on some trading sites they use bank account details as a payment method, is this safe? Im also interested in people predictions, will BTC ever be valued at over 5 figures?
Any help is much obliged

If you live in America I suggest Coinbase  ,  https://coinbase.com/?r=526fd45f189d21efb1000138&utm_campaign=user-referral&src=referral-link

They seem to be the most legitimate and well ran company right now in regards to buying bitcoins. They only offer services to Americans though due to various regulations.

Yes, I believe some day bitcoin will be over 5 figures.  As it's deflationary by nature,  so long as bitcoin sticks around and reaches it's full potential that is.

[Tzakato]

I recommend localbitcoins.com.
It's easy, you don't have to trust a centralized institution to store your coins securely (as Mt.Gox showed, that might backfire) and you don't have to provide them with your ID/proof of residence. They offer an escrow and rating service, so as long as you use it careful, it's safe. Also they work with both € and $, and offer a huge load of payment methods, just choose the one you like most (but not PayPal. It's easily reversible. Many Sellers lost their money by using PayPal). Read the guides on their site for further information.

[stompix]

I recommend localbitcoins.com.
It's easy, you don't have to trust a centralized institution to store your coins securely (as Mt.Gox showed, that might backfire) and you don't have to provide them with your ID/proof of residence. They offer an escrow and rating service, so as long as you use it careful, it's safe. Also they work with both € and $, and offer a huge load of payment methods, just choose the one you like most (but not PayPal. It's easily reversible. Many Sellers lost their money by using PayPal). Read the guides on their site for further information.

In my case localbitcoins only offers coins at 20% rate on bitstamp if I search for a seller from my country. And taking into account the 300km drive to get a better deal in cash,  localbitcoins is a no no.

[Tzakato]

[...]In my case localbitcoins only offers coins at 20% rate on bitstamp if I search for a seller from my country. And taking into account the 300km drive to get a better deal in cash,  localbitcoins is a no no.

Well, I didn't know that. For me the cheapest offers are 493.37€ for OKPay and 505.85€ for a SEPA bank transfer. As the current market price according to BitcoinAverage is 495€, these are quite fair prices. And don't forget, if you had some succesful trades and good ratings before, you can start an offer by yourself. This often results in better prices.

It seems like we have some wuite different price situations here. Well, I'm satisfied with LocalBitcoins, so I will keep using it.

[bluemist]

Another vote for localbitcoins - have used them several times with no problems

[DannyHamilton]

In my case localbitcoins only offers coins at 20% rate on bitstamp if I search for a seller from my country. And taking into account the 300km drive to get a better deal in cash,  localbitcoins is a no no.

You should seriously consider creating an ad of your own that sells bitcoins at a 15% markup!  You'd be the cheapest in your area by 5% and you'd still be making a huge profit!

[stompix]

In my case localbitcoins only offers coins at 20% rate on bitstamp if I search for a seller from my country. And taking into account the 300km drive to get a better deal in cash,  localbitcoins is a no no.

You should seriously consider creating an ad of your own that sells bitcoins at a 15% markup!  You'd be the cheapest in your area by 5% and you'd still be making a huge profit!

I considered it a few times but getting the bitcoins and managing to sell them without a crash happening between the two seems to be a gamble for the last two months.

[stompix]

[...]In my case localbitcoins only offers coins at 20% rate on bitstamp if I search for a seller from my country. And taking into account the 300km drive to get a better deal in cash,  localbitcoins is a no no.

Well, I didn't know that. For me the cheapest offers are 493.37€ for OKPay and 505.85€ for a SEPA bank transfer. As the current market price according to BitcoinAverage is 495€, these are quite fair prices. And don't forget, if you had some succesful trades and good ratings before, you can start an offer by yourself. This often results in better prices.

It seems like we have some wuite different price situations here. Well, I'm satisfied with LocalBitcoins, so I will keep using it.

The best offer is around 541 Euros for cash and 603€ for national bank transfer in this side of the EU.
I know some people get better deals but not me here .

I'm better buying at stamp.