I am a bitcoin merchant and my company just paid its first Bitcoin invoice

[Tealet]

I started accepting Bitcoin via Coinbase on my website in September 2013. Our monthly portion of revenue in Bitcoin has been anywhere between 40-80%. We recently launched our own Litecoin payment processor.
I began searching for solutions for international payments as my business works directly with independent farmers to market their products to consumers. My bank charges me $60 per wire and Paypal takes about 10% fees for foreign exchange/processing. This is 100's of thousands of dollars just going down the toilet every year.

In November 2013 I began educating the growers in our network about Bitcoin. The response has been great and many are ready to accept payment in Bitcoin as long as we help them get it exchanged to their local currency. I have found a service out of Denmark which I have not used yet called BIPS.ME which exchanges Bitcoin to a long list of currencies for a 0% fee and charges a flat $7.50 wire fee to move the funds to a bank account. This so far has presented itself as the most feasible solution for my company. I would appreciate some feedback from people that have used this service.

When we first started accepting Bitcoin as payment we converted 100% to USD. Now I maintain a minimum account of 2 BTC so I can use for payments to growers and for invoices from vendors. Today I paid my first invoice with BTC and I am so stoked. We are quickly getting on a path where our business can be predominately supported by Bitcoin and further strengthen the Bitcoin network.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to the Bitcoin community. There have been so many helpful individuals that have navigated this path. Also, we couldn't do it without the tea loving customers that have used their Bitcoin to support bringing transparency to the tea industry!

[1714162710]

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[cottoneyeJoe]

Love!

[_Miracle]

 


Some concerns when recommending companies is their legitimacy and then whatever laws govern those transactions (if you are not familiar with the country).

More of you....we need more of you :-)
Wishing you much prosperity.

[C10H15N]

Thank you!   

[NLNico]

Good to read

I do not know BIPS.me but I did a quick search through the forums.

Official topic here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252308.0
BIPS Wallet security breach (nov 13): https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=341682
Bitcoin Payment Processor BIPS Attacked, Over $1m Stolen: http://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-payment-processor-bips-attacked-1m-stolen/

After that theft 3 months ago, I think a lot of people didn't get paid yet. So be careful and read a bit more about them before doing business with them.

Good luck.

[V4Vendettas]

 

Well done!

[Vitamin]

Congrats!

[bitcoinnewshk]

good to hear!

[rmines]

Great story, it was nice to read that BTC has made a positive impact on your business.
Where are the farmers you work with located? I'm guessing somewhere in Asia?

[Tealet]

Great story, I was nice to read that BTC has made a positive impact on your business.
Where are the farmers you work with located? I'm guessing somewhere in Asia?

Our tea comes from 30 growers spanning over 12 countries, including the US. You can see our full list of growers here.

[Sniar]

What are you selling for Bitcoin ?

[Tealet]

What are you selling for Bitcoin ?

My company is an online farmers market for tea. We sell a farm-direct tea subscription and tea in bulk. Sorry, I didn't make that clear in the post

[Coins4life]

Wow congrats!!! I don't know much about that company but I hope it works out well for you!

[benjamindees]

Here are the locations from the site:

Ambadandegama, Sri Lanka
Anhui, China
Banten, Indonesia
Bihar, India
California, US
Darjeeling, India
Dibrugarh, India
Hangzhou, China
Hangzhou, China
Jushang Nantou, Taiwan
Kisumu, Kenya
Kohala, Big Island Hawaii
Kurtistown, HI
Kyoto, Japan
Kyoto, Japan
Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii
Nantou, Taiwan
Nilgiris, India
Northern Myanmar (Burma)
Onomea Bay, Big Island Hawaii
Panchthar, Nepal
Shizuoka, Japan
Southern Slope of Mauna Loa Volcano, Hawaii
Yiwu, Xishuangbanna Yunnan China

Maybe there's opportunity for a Bitcoin ATM in a couple of those.

I want to say I think this is the perfect kind of business for Bitcoin, and I wish you success.  I don't drink Asian teas, but bought some as holiday gifts.  Hearing that you paid an invoice in Bitcoin is just awesome.

[thddx]

Awesome.  Bookmarked.  My next tea purchase will most definitely be from you via BTC.

Also, congrats on your Peace Corps service.  I put in 3 years in Senegal during the same time period ('06-'10).  I'm glad to see that in your case, you've managed to leverage that experience to create something worthwhile.  Well done.

[dharmapuriharithaa]

Congrats. If more merchants accept bitcoin it will become more mainstream.

[MashRinx]

My wife and kids enjoy tea and after reading this post I walked down the hall and told my wife that I know where we will  be buying tea from next and we will be buying it in Bitcoin.  What you have accomplished is very admirable, and I wish you all the best!

[Tealet]

Awesome.  Bookmarked.  My next tea purchase will most definitely be from you via BTC.

Also, congrats on your Peace Corps service.  I put in 3 years in Senegal during the same time period ('06-'10).  I'm glad to see that in your case, you've managed to leverage that experience to create something worthwhile.  Well done.

Awesome, I never got to go to Senegal, but I did travel quite a bit through Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Burkina Faso. It was the greatest decision in my life!  Happy Peace Corps Week and thank you for your service!

[Tealet]

My wife and kids enjoy tea and after reading this post I walked down the hall and told my wife that I know where we will  be buying tea from next and we will be buying it in Bitcoin.  What you have accomplished is very admirable, and I wish you all the best!

Mahalo, I hope to share a cup of tea with your family if you ever come through Las Vegas where we are based. We will be opening up a tea show in October 2014.

[Platonicgap]

Congrats!