New Bitcoin gift card & wallet service released - BitcoinGiftCard.org

[newguy211]

Hi everyone, please check out our new Bitcoin gift cards, which are on sale today.
These cards come in $5, $20, $50, $100, and $500 amounts.  
Here are some photos of the physical cards:
http://bitcoingiftcard.org/images/box_of_bitcoins.jpghttp://bitcoingiftcard.org/images/card_upright.jpg

These cards are integrated with BuyBitcoins.com through our new wallet service, which is a very simple and secure
way to hold your Bitcoins.  After scratching off your gift card and redeeming it through our website, you can create
a new "gift card account" where your Bitcoins will be stored securely, protected by a password that you set,
and using the gift card itself as a physical factor of security.  Our gift card accounts are completely anonymous.

Of course, you don't have to choose to use our wallet service.  Alternatively when redeeming a gift card,
you can simply enter a Bitcoin address and bitcoins will be instantaneously be sent to that address.

Here's a screenshot of our gift card wallet service:
http://bitcoingiftcard.org/images/wallet_screenshot.png

To purchase gift cards, please visit:

http://www.bitcoingiftcard.org

Our fees start at 9.00% if you buy a small amount and pay with Paypal, but drop to as low as 2.50% if you
buy in bulk and pay with Bitcoin.

These cards make it very simple for anyone to get, hold and send Bitcoin.  
They also make great gifts and are a great way to give someone their first Bitcoins!  
Please order one our cards if you are interested, thank you!

After purchasing online, you'll receive your cards through the mail in about 3 to 5 business days.

[Ron~Popeil]

Good luck with your business. You might consider posting this in the service announcement section.

[kittucrypt]

Why do you label the cards with a $ value? With the exchange price of Bitcoins changing, it would be better for the cards to have a BTC face value. Right now $100 might be equivalent to less than 0.2 BTC. But when the price changes, the same $100 card can actually be more or less worth than $100 because the BTC in the card will remain fixed. 

[newguy211]

@kittucrypt - These cards are designed with the goal that they could be sold at 7-Eleven or other physical stores. 

These sellers would need to price the cards in dollars or other fiat currencies so that they could easily sell the cards in exchange for cash or credit card payments.

Our gift cards have dollar values until they are redeemed through our website.  The exchange rate that you get for your giftcard is locked in when you redeem the gift card through our website, not when you purchase the card.  We use CampBX exchange rates.

[kittucrypt]

@kittucrypt - These cards are designed with the goal that they could be sold at 7-Eleven or other physical stores. 

These sellers would need to price the cards in dollars or other fiat currencies so that they could easily sell the cards in exchange for cash or credit card payments.

Our gift cards have dollar values until they are redeemed through our website.  The exchange rate that you get for your giftcard is locked in when you redeem the gift card through our website, not when you purchase the card.  We use CampBX exchange rates.

So in a way they don't store any bitcoins. They just store $100.  Then the user goes and buys bitcoins from your website.

Can these cards be used as a standalone store of value? Say to pay for gas?

If this is true, then what is the benefit of using such a card? As a user, it limits my options to using this only at your website.

[newguy211]

Yeah that's basically correct. You would use our website to exchange the gift card dollars for Bitcoins, but then you would be free to send those Bitcoins anywhere instantaneously by withdrawing to any Bitcoin address.

So the value add is that this is a very simple way to purchase Bitcoins.  Some one who has never used Bitcoin before could purchase one of these gift cards with cash at a convenience store, then take it home and send Bitcoins to an online merchant immediately, and without any knowledge of Bitcoin on the customer's part (other than the merchant's BTC address).  This would be a completely anonymous transaction. 

Unfortunately, we're not in 7-Eleven just yet so the only way you can get these cards right now is by going through our checkout process online which is not anonymous, because we need to ship the cards to a physical location and because we are trying to accept payments by Paypal/CC

[kittucrypt]

Yeah that's basically correct. You would use our website to exchange the gift card dollars for Bitcoins, but then you would be free to send those Bitcoins anywhere instantaneously by withdrawing to any Bitcoin address.

So the value add is that this is a very simple way to purchase Bitcoins.  Some one who has never used Bitcoin before could purchase one of these gift cards with cash at a convenience store, then take it home and send Bitcoins to an online merchant immediately, and without any knowledge of Bitcoin on the customer's part (other than the merchant's BTC address).  This would be a completely anonymous transaction. 

Unfortunately, we're not in 7-Eleven just yet so the only way you can get these cards right now is by going through our checkout process online which is not anonymous, because we need to ship the cards to a physical location and because we are trying to accept payments by Paypal/CC

I think you can make your project more appealing to the users if you can provide cheap and easy access to these cards. For a lot of people who wish to buy Bitcoins using Cash, there is no easy way to do so. You have to find a counterparty and then deposit cash into their accounts and what not. so for such users, the ease of using a gift card in exchange of cash and then to use that gift card to get BTC might be useful.

But like I said, the challenge for you will be to provide easy and cheap access to these cards.

Where are you guys based? In US?

[kittucrypt]

Yeah that's basically correct. You would use our website to exchange the gift card dollars for Bitcoins, but then you would be free to send those Bitcoins anywhere instantaneously by withdrawing to any Bitcoin address.

So the value add is that this is a very simple way to purchase Bitcoins.  Some one who has never used Bitcoin before could purchase one of these gift cards with cash at a convenience store, then take it home and send Bitcoins to an online merchant immediately, and without any knowledge of Bitcoin on the customer's part (other than the merchant's BTC address).  This would be a completely anonymous transaction. 

Unfortunately, we're not in 7-Eleven just yet so the only way you can get these cards right now is by going through our checkout process online which is not anonymous, because we need to ship the cards to a physical location and because we are trying to accept payments by Paypal/CC

I think you can make your project more appealing to the users if you can provide cheap and easy access to these cards. For a lot of people who wish to buy Bitcoins using Cash, there is no easy way to do so. You have to find a counterparty and then deposit cash into their accounts and what not. so for such users, the ease of using a gift card in exchange of cash and then to use that gift card to get BTC might be useful.

But like I said, the challenge for you will be to provide easy and cheap access to these cards.

Where are you guys based? In US?

Also..are these cards reloadable?

[newguy211]

Yeah since this is a physical product, we may need to get it into actual stores before it can truly be a convenient solution for buying bitcoins.

We are based in Chicago.  I have walked into a few convenience stores / head shops to see if they would carry the card but haven't gotten any bites so far.

I've tried to keep our service low priced and to be transparent about our fees, since other products like giftcoins.me have gotten so much blowback from their 20% - 30+% fees that they hide by behind their inflated exchange rate.  

These are cheap, scratch-off cards printed on paper, so I think it makes sense for customers to buy many cards rather than making each one reloadable. 
By paying with Bitcoin and ordering in bulk, our fee comes down to 2.50%, which I think is quite cheap considering that you'll get the CampBX exchange rate when converting the card into Bitcoins, which is one of the lowest exchange rates offered by any BTC exchange.  However, I will definitely look into ways to reduce the cut that we take on each card, since low fees are very important in this business.

[elianite]

Here is my review:
I was the first to order these cards, so I did not know exactly what to expect. In the ordering process, I encountered a VERY user-friendly interface through which I was able to choose my gift cards, denominations, and more; complete freedom. I paid using my Visa credit card through Paypal.
Shipping took a bit longer then it should have, but the cards arrived today in a normal envelope. The back of the cards gave clear instructions how to redeem them (my 15 year old sister who has no clue about bitcoin was able to follow them and redeem the BTC), and it was easy to send the bitcoins directly to an address of my choosing, instantly. There was also the option to store btc on the site, or use the card itself as a wallet. Bitcoins stored on the site can be sent out any time, BUT it can take up to 24h to be processed.

There are still some kinks and things you can smooth out, but this is a clearly legitimate service with great value and potential. The fee is very fair.
Highly recommended!

[jjdub7]

I can at least attest to the technical experience of the creators - went to college with one of the founders.

[KarmaShark]

Thinking of using this for a few friends down the road. The site still looks operational, can anyone confirm the site is still running smoothly? Would like to hear some reviews before using the service.




Thanks