Difficulty Entering Into Market

[factotumjack]

I'm interested in buying a small amount of BTC to get exposure to the currency, but if I were to go through Mt. Gox, it seems like I would need another e-wallet account to put money in a Mt. Gox account to finally buy BTC.  As a Canadian, it feels like my options for these e-wallets are quite limited.

For the small scale at which I'm looking to enter into the system, the accumulated fees and hassle of going through a secondary and then a tertiary money holding system isn't currently worth it.

Is there another exchange that I can trade either CAD or USD for BTC more directly?  It seems like it's a major limiter to casual interest the currency otherwise.

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[EhVedadoOAnonimato]

There are some cash in the mail exchanges, they're probably the best alternative if you don't want to be traced - MtGox will trace you, they are creating a database with the official IDs of all their users, that is, most bitcoin/USD traders.

Unfortunately there isn't yet enough demand for bitcoins to make buying it as easy as buying bread. And "convenient" electronic means of payment like paypal or credit cards are too dangerous to the btc seller due to reversible nature of these means of payment and irreversible nature of bticoin transactions.

So, for "small scales", either use cash in the mail, or use OTC trading and pay with paypal or bank transfers, but you'll have to deal with very small volumes until people start trusting you.

[Erratic]

There are some cash in the mail exchanges, they're probably the best alternative if you don't want to be traced - MtGox will trace you, they are creating a database with the official IDs of all their users, that is, most bitcoin/USD traders.

Unfortunately there isn't yet enough demand for bitcoins to make buying it as easy as buying bread. And "convenient" electronic means of payment like paypal or credit cards are too dangerous to the btc seller due to reversible nature of these means of payment and irreversible nature of bticoin transactions.

So, for "small scales", either use cash in the mail, or use OTC trading and pay with paypal or bank transfers, but you'll have to deal with very small volumes until people start trusting you.

Cash in mail exchanges already? That is quite surprising. I'm going to deposit to MtGox using Liberty Reserve and see how that pans out.

[EhVedadoOAnonimato]

Cash in mail exchanges already? That is quite surprising.

Well, they've been around since before MtGox if I'm not mistaken. Or about the same time at least.

I'm going to deposit to MtGox using Liberty Reserve and see how that pans out.

Just remember: you'll be traced.
Good luck.

[Automagic]

Question: Does Trade Hill trace users in the same way Mt. Gox does?

Also, as an alternative to Paypal, you can use Dwolla.  I'm not sure about their charge-back policies but I have heard less complaints about them than Paypal.  So one route would be: $$ from bank account --->  Dwolla --->  Trade Hill --->  Bitcoins.  I have used this and it works well.  The longest delay is between my bank account and Dwolla.  The other transactions clear within a day or so.

If you really wanted to keep your bitcoins at Mt. Gox you could then transfer bitcoins from Trade Hill to Mt. Gox and then you would avoid giving Mt. Gox your bank account information. 

[SgtSpike]

You could also consider selling goods for BTC.  Just find something around the house that you no longer want, and post it up for sale.  Offer to use an escrow service so that people don't have to trust someone brand new on the forum, and you're good to go.

[nmat]

Question: Does Trade Hill trace users in the same way Mt. Gox does?

I don't believe so. At least I haven't seen any reports yet.

[whothefuckareyou]

http://btcnearme.com/

[Automagic]

Question: Does Trade Hill trace users in the same way Mt. Gox does?

I don't believe so. At least I haven't seen any reports yet.

Thanks for the reply.  That's good to hear; I don't like the idea of lists of bitcoin users that can be stolen or confiscated.

http://btcnearme.com/

This is interesting.  Can you only see what traders are available if you register an account?

[RyNinDaCleM]

If you have Chase bank in Ca. you can deposit cash, and in a few days it'll be in your Gox account!

[factotumjack]

Thanks for all the replies.

BTCnearme sounds good. Still it depends there being someone nearby whom is interested, and the nearest seems to be 18km away and stale.

I'll keep trying. Selling goods is a good idea, as I have some textbooks that are still of marginal value that may be too obscure otherwise. I'm looking at BTC in general as a potential new market for statistical consulting, so I'd already considered something similar.

In short, I would be willing to pay a higher commission to the trading house if it were easier (for non US at least) to trade fiat currency for BTC.

[torment]

Virtex is pretty good.

https://www.cavirtex.com

They take cash deposits into accounts at a few canadian banks, and there are no fees associated with the deposits (at the bank or on their end). The downside is that you dont have the volume that Mt.Gox trades so you end up with a lot of people holding their BTC, waiting for its value to go back up, so you'll likely have to pay quite a bit more than value for your few BTC.

[Dan The Man]

Virtex is pretty good.

https://www.cavirtex.com

They take cash deposits into accounts at a few canadian banks, and there are no fees associated with the deposits (at the bank or on their end). The downside is that you dont have the volume that Mt.Gox trades so you end up with a lot of people holding their BTC, waiting for its value to go back up, so you'll likely have to pay quite a bit more than value for your few BTC.

Easy, just move your money from Virtex into BTC. Withdraw your BTC straight into a Mt.Gox deposit address. Trade it as you like, then send it back to Virtex when you want to cash out.

[factotumjack]

Virtex sounds pretty good. Looking at the list of trades, the spread is notable, but definitely worth the extra convenience, especially since I'm not looking to buy in volume. Many thanks.

[freshzive]

There are some cash in the mail exchanges, they're probably the best alternative if you don't want to be traced - MtGox will trace you, they are creating a database with the official IDs of all their users, that is, most bitcoin/USD traders.

Unfortunately there isn't yet enough demand for bitcoins to make buying it as easy as buying bread. And "convenient" electronic means of payment like paypal or credit cards are too dangerous to the btc seller due to reversible nature of these means of payment and irreversible nature of bticoin transactions.

So, for "small scales", either use cash in the mail, or use OTC trading and pay with paypal or bank transfers, but you'll have to deal with very small volumes until people start trusting you.

When you say that they will "trace" you by creating a database with the "official IDs" of their users, what exactly does this mean? What sort of information are the keeping? It doesn't seem like they have much to begin with...

[SgtSpike]

There are some cash in the mail exchanges, they're probably the best alternative if you don't want to be traced - MtGox will trace you, they are creating a database with the official IDs of all their users, that is, most bitcoin/USD traders.

Unfortunately there isn't yet enough demand for bitcoins to make buying it as easy as buying bread. And "convenient" electronic means of payment like paypal or credit cards are too dangerous to the btc seller due to reversible nature of these means of payment and irreversible nature of bticoin transactions.

So, for "small scales", either use cash in the mail, or use OTC trading and pay with paypal or bank transfers, but you'll have to deal with very small volumes until people start trusting you.

When you say that they will "trace" you by creating a database with the "official IDs" of their users, what exactly does this mean? What sort of information are the keeping? It doesn't seem like they have much to begin with...

If you want to trade above a certain volume, you have to provide them with ID in order to comply with MSB and money-laundering laws.

[EhVedadoOAnonimato]

When you say that they will "trace" you by creating a database with the "official IDs" of their users, what exactly does this mean? What sort of information are the keeping? It doesn't seem like they have much to begin with...

If you want to trade above a certain volume, you have to provide them with ID in order to comply with MSB and money-laundering laws.

"Certain volume" is unknown and arbitrary. It really seems they're randomly blocking accounts and requiring IDs to release the money.

[repentance]

Question: Does Trade Hill trace users in the same way Mt. Gox does?

Also, as an alternative to Paypal, you can use Dwolla.  I'm not sure about their charge-back policies but I have heard less complaints about them than Paypal.  So one route would be: $$ from bank account --->  Dwolla --->  Trade Hill --->  Bitcoins.  I have used this and it works well.  The longest delay is between my bank account and Dwolla.  The other transactions clear within a day or so.

If you really wanted to keep your bitcoins at Mt. Gox you could then transfer bitcoins from Trade Hill to Mt. Gox and then you would avoid giving Mt. Gox your bank account information. 

TradeHill hasn't accepted Dwolla since they had problems with chargebacks a few months ago.

They support CAD if you're willing to use Paxum.

https://www.tradehill.com/DepositOverview/CAD/

The other options are wire transfer and Liberty Reserve.

https://www.tradehill.com/Support/Deposits/

[nmat]

If you are looking for an US exchange that supports Dwolla you can try Camp BX.