Absolute Newbie

[AnonBitCoiner]

I'm completely new to the concept of cryptocurrencies and BitCoins are, in a word, cool. I've experimented with several faucets, but in the end it really is better for the experience rather than the payout, because as someone put it, it's a sea of decimals. I don't know much about mining, but I know the basic premise of it after doing some research, and I don't think my current laptop can handle too much processing, since it's a Dell Latitude that's a couple years old that needs a replacement battery. I'm a current college student that's willing to experiment, but I don't know where to start, and I don't have lotsa money to spend (wouldn't even know how to invest it). I've looked at some other threads and people are saying stuff like "start out by buying and selling bitcoins", but would that just involve purchasing it at the cheapest price from an exchange site and then selling it for profit on another site where it's worth more/waiting till the exchange rate goes up? I've also noticed that people highly recommend the sig campaigns, but I don't have enough posts to qualify and it'd probably take awhile since even when I'm an active forumer I don't tend to post much.

 tl;dr Do you veteran bitcoiners have some favorite tips for a newbie? How'd you first start? Much appreciated!

[Vod]

Take as much cash as you can spare right now and buy bitcoin.  Then just sit on it and wait for the price to go up. 

[anivia]

Take as much cash as you can spare right now and buy bitcoin.  Then just sit on it and wait for the price to go up. 

This is prob the only legit brutally honest answer, everyone else other things are full of crap.

[AnonBitCoiner]

Where would you recommend buying them from? Haha. There's actually a bitcoin ATM on campus where I go to school, which is funny because it asks for ID

EDIT: Why is there a time limit between posts? Does that get removed the more I post? It says "as my account becomes more established" or something like that.

[bitnanigans]

Welcome,

Buy high, sell low! Just kidding, but yeah, you can purchase Bitcoins at a price you think is best and make use of them, or keep them till later if you believe in the potential. The basic rule of thumb, as with any other investment, is to only invest what you can afford to lose.

[yakuza699]

Where would you recommend buying them from? Haha. There's actually a bitcoin ATM on campus where I go to school, which is funny because it asks for ID

I recommend exchanges like https://www.bitstamp.net/ or btc-e.com as you can purchase BTC very quickly but in limited amount of currencies or you can try https://localbitcoins.com/ and search for the deals in your country with your local money.

EDIT: Why is there a time limit between posts? Does that get removed the more I post? It says "as my account becomes more established" or something like that.

As you just registered you must wait 360 seconds before posting again after you get bigger rank the wait time will decrease.

Edit:Just noticed that you studied in campus so I assume you live in USA well in that case I prefer exchanges and not localbitcoins.

[PangPang]

I'm completely new to the concept of cryptocurrencies and BitCoins are, in a word, cool. I've experimented with several faucets, but in the end it really is better for the experience rather than the payout, because as someone put it, it's a sea of decimals. I don't know much about mining, but I know the basic premise of it after doing some research, and I don't think my current laptop can handle too much processing, since it's a Dell Latitude that's a couple years old that needs a replacement battery. I'm a current college student that's willing to experiment, but I don't know where to start, and I don't have lotsa money to spend (wouldn't even know how to invest it). I've looked at some other threads and people are saying stuff like "start out by buying and selling bitcoins", but would that just involve purchasing it at the cheapest price from an exchange site and then selling it for profit on another site where it's worth more/waiting till the exchange rate goes up? I've also noticed that people highly recommend the sig campaigns, but I don't have enough posts to qualify and it'd probably take awhile since even when I'm an active forumer I don't tend to post much.

 tl;dr Do you veteran bitcoiners have some favorite tips for a newbie? How'd you first start? Much appreciated!

Mining bitcoin with your laptop or PC doesn't work, even if you have a high-end new model. For learning and experiencing bitcoin mining, you may buy a USB ASIC miner. It won't make you any profit, but you should be able to have some fun with the cheap toy.

Most of us here (incl. me) expect bitcoin price to go up in long terms, so I believe you will see a lot of people suggesting you to buy bitcoin.

For sig campaigns, you can refer to https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=615953.0. You can join a campaign at a lower member rank, but you will have less campaigns to choose from and the rate will be a lot lower.

[PangPang]

Where would you recommend buying them from? Haha. There's actually a bitcoin ATM on campus where I go to school, which is funny because it asks for ID

EDIT: Why is there a time limit between posts? Does that get removed the more I post? It says "as my account becomes more established" or something like that.

That depends on a few things, such as where are you located, do you mind verifying your identity, how do you want to pay for your bitcoin, etc.
For example, if you are in the US and don't mind ID verification, Coinbase will be the best option IMO.
If you want to pay with Paypal and don't mind a high fee and lower purchase limit, Virwox will be the best option, etc.

The time limit will be lowered when you get a higher activity level.
You can find the time limit formula and activity formula in https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=178608.0
For example, the time limit will be 75s and 30s respectively when you have 15 and 60 activity.

[AnonBitCoiner]

Thanks PangPang! I could pay with cash, since I hear that's a lot cheaper. I'll look into coinbox, since I've heard that name tossed around repeatedly. I thought that sig campaigns were only for members with a higher post count; I didn't look at it closely enough the first time. I'll try to enroll in one of the signature campaigns. Thanks for re-linking me! Regarding the time limit, that makes sense. Glad to hear it'll reduce quickly as I continue posting.

On a separate note, does this situation seem legit to y'all: a company buys and sells bitcoins, but has another individual manage a paypal account for payment processing; there's a commission fee for paying via paypal, and the payment processor gets to keep the commission after making a cash deposit into another designated bank account.

[Mr Crabs]

Don't waste your time with faucets or mining.

Take as much cash as you can spare right now and buy bitcoin.  Then just sit on it and wait for the price to go up. 

Good advice. If you don't want to spend any money try sell some stuff for bitcoins or offer some services on the marketplace here.

[AnonBitCoiner]

Don't waste your time with faucets or mining.

Take as much cash as you can spare right now and buy bitcoin.  Then just sit on it and wait for the price to go up. 

Good advice. If you don't want to spend any money try sell some stuff for bitcoins or offer some services on the marketplace here.

Alright. I'll look into the marketplace and see if I can provide services and/or sell stuff. Thanks! Once I make enough, I'll make a first purchase!

[themys]

If you want to get fast money you have to invest little of your money in btc, if you don t have money you can get free btc by the way of faucet ! but its take time to get rich because you win very low btc