If I load 100 bitcoins into my account at mtgox, sold them all at $1.00, and went through all the steps to get cash dollars in my hand, how many dollars would I have?
After trading your 100 bitcoins at $1.00 (which, is about 60% below market value, by the way), the result would $99.35 added to your "USD" balance in your Mt. Gox account.
If you then wish to withdraw those USDs, there are a number of ways to do so.
Bitcoin is a global currency, however it is still a young project. Going the route using Liberty Reserve is for when it is not easy to convert bitcoins to a currency of your choice. For small amounts (such as this $99.35 amount) the fees in doing so are high. Consider Liberty Reserve as the "intermediary of last resort". There are alternatives to using Liberty Reserve that might be better.
The options are described in the wiki:
http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/MtGox#Withdrawing_FundsHere are options using your example of 100 BTC sold at $1.00:
Directly from Mt. Gox you have three options:
http://www.mtgox.com/users/withdraw1.) If you bank in the U.S., there is the ability to withdraw those funds as an ACH (without any fee even), however the minimum for that withdrawal is $800.
2.) If your bank is in the SEPA zone (Europe) then can withdraw your funds as EUR. Your $99.35 USD is converted to EUR less a 2% fee (minimum fee is 0.35€).
3.) Withdraw as Liberty Reserve. You will lose about 2% by the time the funds are in your Liberty Reserve account. From there, there are many many options. There are exchangers who will convert Liberty Reserve to almost any currency in the world. The fees are high, but it can be done. Here's are two such exchanges: Nanaimo Gold
http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Nanaimo_Gold (They'll even send Western Union and Moneygram funded using Bitcoins directly or using Liberty Reserve). A second example is AurumXchange
http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/AurumXchange_CompanyThere is another method however. Your funds in Mt. Gox are in demand by others.
On the #bitcoin-otc marketplace, there is no shortage of willing and able buyers who want your Mt. Gox funds (referred to as "MTGUSD", for Mt. Gox USD).
http://bitcoin-otc.com/vieworderbook.php?sortby=buysell&eitherthing=MTGUSD The fees vary per-offer, but using your $99.35 example, here's a typical trade for that:
A trader offers to buy using PayPal at 0.99 (meaning a 1% fee). So after transferring your Mt. Gox funds to that trader, you would receive in your PayPal account $98.35 USD.
Of course, because PayPal transactions can be reversed at a later time, you should only trade with parties you trust. To help determine which parties can be trusted, you might use the #bitcoin-OTC's web of trust system:
http://bitcoin-otc.com/trust.phpIncidentally, Dwolla is a "cash" transaction network (funds added and withdraw are ACH transactions) so as a result Dwolla has no exposure to credit card chargebacks.
Your example specifically addressed selling bitcoins on Mt. Gox and then withdrawing those funds. There are other alternatives as well.
You might find someone willing to trade with you, for cash, locally:
Bitcoin.local:
http://www.TradeBitcoin.com Look for a green dot (exchange) on The Bitcoin Map collaborative project:
http://www.BitcoinMap.com (or add a "Red" marker for yourself)
And, of course, perhaps your bitcoins would buy a product or service that you want:
http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Tradetl;dr: To sell
a small number of bitcoins, just use CoinCard:
http://coincard.ndrix.com You'ld get about $98.75 USD in your PayPal for those 100 BTC (if the market rate were still $1.00) and it takes just minutes.
