[ANN] LocalBitcoins.com - a location-based bitcoin to cash marketplace

[paraipan]

Another one on the "escrow" feature. So it's not really an escrow, but an easier way to make RL transactions without the need of a bitcoin wallet with internet connection, and you can withdraw the funds from that deposit at will. I suggest you guys rename it because is a little misleading, here is why...

As with traditional escrow, Internet escrow works by placing money in the control of an independent and licensed third party in order to protect both buyer and seller in a transaction. When both parties verify the transaction has been completed per terms set, the money is released. If at any point there is a dispute between the parties in the transaction, the process moves along to dispute resolution

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escrow

Yeah, you are right. This is not escrow by the traditional definition. We should invent some other name, or maybe there exists some...

How does "BitSMS" sound to you? Or SMSBit ...

Bitcoin-SMS, SBTM (Short Bitcoin Text Message), LB-SMS (Local Bitcoins SMS), will brainstorm more if needed 

[kangasbros]

Now you can help promote bitcoin local exchanges on your own web site! We implemented a simple iframe you can easily include to your web site.

Code:

<iframe src="https://localbitcoins.com/iframe"
frameborder="0" height="350px" 
width="220px" scrolling="no" style="/*optional style here, borders font color etc*/" ></iframe>

So it shows nearest exchangers close to the user, in a same way as those annoying "girls wanting sex near you" ads (while the girls are fake, but localbitcoins.com exchangers are not...)

[kangasbros]

Now you can advertise your cash exchange (and bitcoins) locally easily by printing a flyer, which is generated from your ad automatically.

To print the flyer go to your ad edit page -> marketing help -> Local bulletin boards

For example, flyer from my ad: https://localbitcoins.com/print_flyer/594 (sorry for the finnish...)

We are working on the desing current one is just a quick & dirty... You can also modify it yourself in inkscape, the output is svg format.

[2weiX]

question about escrow:

buyer contacts me
i fund the escrow
buyer never pays up


then what?
how do i get back my btc?

[bitcats]

Good question! I guess if the buyer has vanished (either died, in jail or just became insane) you may consider your money as a nice donation to the escrow service.

[2weiX]

Good question! I guess if the buyer has vanished (either died, in jail or just became insane) you may consider your money as a nice donation to the escrow service.

that would FUCKING suck.

[bitcats]

Thats why I NEVER use escrow 

[2weiX]

Thats why I NEVER use escrow 

well fuck me then.

[bitcats]

well fuck me then.

Danke für das Angebot, aber Berlin ist mir zu weit 

[kangasbros]

question about escrow:

buyer contacts me
i fund the escrow
buyer never pays up


then what?
how do i get back my btc?

We have marketed the escrow in a wrong way - both participants can cancel the "escrow" any time, and bitcoins will be returned to sellers in full - no fees.

So your worries are mistaken - there is no chance that the money will be given to us if the trade fails for any reason. And we will collect the fee only in the case that the trade succeeds. So our incentive is to generate successful trades, because we will only make money that way.

We will soon brand the "escrow" differently since it is not really an escrow. It is just a tool to make the transaction easier/hassle-free for both participants.

Meanwhile, we made a nice statistics page: https://localbitcoins.com/statistics - already cash exchangers in 62 countries!

[kangasbros]

Additionally it should be noted that the our "escrow" or SMS transaction service is really designed for on-the-spot cash transactions. With the SMS service, exchangin bitcoins is as easy as exchanging the cash - if not even easier.

However, for any other type of trade the service is pretty unsuitable. It doesn't offer much benefit when you want to do something like paypal trades or anything, because we don't offer dispute/resolution service. So it is not really an escrow service. Sorry for the hassle

[aq]

Meanwhile, we made a nice statistics page: https://localbitcoins.com/statistics - already cash exchangers in 62 countries!

Nice! However, can you explain by what criteria this is, hm, sorted? It seems in almost random order.

[OneEyed]

Meanwhile, we made a nice statistics page: https://localbitcoins.com/statistics - already cash exchangers in 62 countries!

You should special case three cities in France: "75xxx" postcodes all mean "Paris" (more exactly, "75001" to "75020" plus "75116", but no other "75xxx" postcode exist for physical addresses), "13001" to "13016" are "Marseille", and "69001" to "69009" mean "Lyon" (other "13xxx" and "69xxx" exist for other cities). Those are the three largest cities in France and are split into neighbourhood with their own postcodes, but it makes little sense to list them separately.

[bitcats]

We have marketed the escrow in a wrong way - both participants can cancel the "escrow" any time, and bitcoins will be returned to sellers in full - no fees.

What happens to my bitcoins (in escrow) if the buyer states that he payed me but he didn't. There is no way to proove that I didn't get the money (cash) and he may claim the bitcoins. Will these bitcoins be gone forever in the escrow piggy bank?

[OneEyed]

We have marketed the escrow in a wrong way - both participants can cancel the "escrow" any time, and bitcoins will be returned to sellers in full - no fees.

What happens to my bitcoins (in escrow) if the buyer states that he payed me but he didn't. There is no way to proove that I didn't get the money (cash) and he may claim the bitcoins. Will these bitcoins be gone forever in the escrow piggy bank?

This is not the way it works: the escrow system is only a trusted party that will notify you instantly when the bitcoins have been sent to your address, and when it does, the seller can no longer take them back. The buyer does not claim the bitcoins from the escrow, the seller releases them instead.

The advantage is that if you trust localbitcoins.com, you know that when you get the notification the money is on the way to your wallet. That allows for quick transactions where you do not need to wait for confirmations.

[bitcats]

This is not the way it works: the escrow system is only a trusted party that will notify you instantly when the bitcoins have been sent to your address, and when it does, the seller can no longer take them back. The buyer does not claim the bitcoins from the escrow, the seller releases them instead.

And what if I payed the seller and he decides to not release the bitcoins?

[OneEyed]

This is not the way it works: the escrow system is only a trusted party that will notify you instantly when the bitcoins have been sent to your address, and when it does, the seller can no longer take them back. The buyer does not claim the bitcoins from the escrow, the seller releases them instead.

And what if I payed the seller and he decides to not release the bitcoins?

You're supposed to do that at the same time, he releases the coin at the time you give him the money. You realize that localbitcoins is made for person to person exchanges where the seller and the buyer meet physically, right? This is the same problem as if the seller sells you a book, but doesn't give it to you when you give him the money, or if you get the book and runs away without giving him the money.

The way it happened when I bought bitcoins this way is that I showed the money to the seller, he released the escrow, I received a text message, and I gave him the bills. All that in around one minute.

[2weiX]

This is not the way it works: the escrow system is only a trusted party that will notify you instantly when the bitcoins have been sent to your address, and when it does, the seller can no longer take them back. The buyer does not claim the bitcoins from the escrow, the seller releases them instead.

And what if I payed the seller and he decides to not release the bitcoins?

You're supposed to do that at the same time, he releases the coin at the time you give him the money. You realize that localbitcoins is made for person to person exchanges where the seller and the buyer meet physically, right? This is the same problem as if the seller sells you a book, but doesn't give it to you when you give him the money, or if you get the book and runs away without giving him the money.

The way it happened when I bought bitcoins this way is that I showed the money to the seller, he released the escrow, I received a text message, and I gave him the bills. All that in around one minute.

when one meets in person, theres no need for escrow imho.
only if i sell per cash in the mail / SEPA i truly have a need for escrow (as a buyer).

so i'd like to permanently disable escrow and have buyers get a message "seller doesnt offer escrow", instead of forcing me to use it even if i myself have disabled it.



if you postulate a need for escrow even in face2face situation, surely you must need escrow when dealing with mail/SEPA type transactions.

[OneEyed]

when one meets in person, theres no need for escrow imho.

I don't understand. How do you conclude the transaction? Let's assume you are the seller. The buyer gives you the cash hand to hand, how does he know you sent the bitcoins and didn't double spend them? What do you give him? Do you both wait together until there are, for example, 2 confirmations? That can take a few minutes as well as an hour.

Don't forget that most of the time you do not know the sender, and you do not have any reason to take his word for it.

[OneEyed]

if you postulate a need for escrow even in face2face situation, surely you must need escrow when dealing with mail/SEPA type transactions.

Indeed, for most transactions I use bitmarket.eu which has an escrow system for bitcoins.