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

[bitster]

My adds are not showing up on the map.

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[2weiX]

how about implementing SMS via http://www.txt4coins.net/, paid for by the 1% commission you guys take?

[spiccioli]

Hi kangasbros,

I'm located in Italy and I've sent it to +43 676 800505463.

Sending a message to that number costs me 0,30 € so, for small transactions, sending two or more SMSes can eat my already very small margin!

BTW, there are several numbers listed in every deal; which number points to the first backend and which one to the second?

How do I select which number to use to send SMS? Right now I'm using the one of the Nation nearer to me.

spiccioli

Unofrunately it seems our SMS provider doesn't have numbers from italy, otherwise we would just buy one from there. Meanwhile Austrian (+43676800505463), Swedish (+46769436195) and UK (+447937947654) numbers should work internationally.

Also with the SMS system, it should always return the message. So to test it, you can try sending some fake release SMS code, and it should return "Invalid code" response. If I would do it again, I wouldn't probably do the SMS system - it has turned out to be somewhat unreliable technology. Initially I thought that SMS messages are robust, but that was a mistake.

Hi kangasbros,

I've used the Austrian number since it has been available and it failed one time in six. Now I've made a couple more tests resending an already used REL code and it answered me both times.

So, for the time being I'll keep using it, we shall see how it goes.

spiccioli.

[Stephen Gornick]

Feature request:

Ability for me to cause a new deposit address to be generated for my account. 

Currently, the blockchain shows all my deposits to a single Bitcoin address for my wallet at LocalBitcoins.

The whole concept of there being a new Bitcoin address for each transaction is so that privacy is maximized.    If I am restricted to a single Bitcoin address, then someone might figure out from a deposit transaction to LocalBitcoins which transaction was mine and then see how many coins I've deposited since I first created my LocalBitcoins account.

[spiccioli]

Hi kangasbros,

I'm just back in my office after my lunch break and I've found out that during this time someone acquired some bitcoins from me and payed them, but now the escrow deal shows:

Escrow L1932B1HO advertisement #3674
Status: Payment not marked complete within the time window, purchase canceled automatically.

I don't know how long it waits, but maybe a longer time window would make things easier or even having the deal marked but not automatically cancelled.

Thanks.

spiccioli.

[molecular]

Feature request:

Ability for me to cause a new deposit address to be generated for my account. 

Currently, the blockchain shows all my deposits to a single Bitcoin address for my wallet at LocalBitcoins.

The whole concept of there being a new Bitcoin address for each transaction is so that privacy is maximized.    If I am restricted to a single Bitcoin address, then someone might figure out from a deposit transaction to LocalBitcoins which transaction was mine and then see how many coins I've deposited since I first created my LocalBitcoins account.

hm? if I click on "wallet" I can see a box to the right with my past Addresses (there is three of them currently plus the "active" one). I think a new one is generated when you send to the current one... but I'm not sure.

[spiccioli]

Another problem, this is bigger and could result in a kind of DOS attack to those offering the escrow service:

right now someone bought some coins from me and marked payment as done

Escrow L1995B1JF advertisement #3674

BUT payment has not been done AND I cannot cancel the trade!?!

What if I get 10 such trades? How can I cancel the trade if I don't receive payment?

spiccioli

[kangasbros]

Another problem, this is bigger and could result in a kind of DOS attack to those offering the escrow service:

right now someone bought some coins from me and marked payment as done

Escrow L1995B1JF advertisement #3674

BUT payment has not been done AND I cannot cancel the trade!?!

What if I get 10 such trades? How can I cancel the trade if I don't receive payment?

spiccioli

Hi, in these cases it goes through our dispute mediation. We handle these cases manually.

We are working on a feature which allows invidual sellers to set limits, such as how much a new user can buy. Also we might enforce some kind of limit for new accounts.

[spiccioli]

Another problem, this is bigger and could result in a kind of DOS attack to those offering the escrow service:

right now someone bought some coins from me and marked payment as done

Escrow L1995B1JF advertisement #3674

BUT payment has not been done AND I cannot cancel the trade!?!

What if I get 10 such trades? How can I cancel the trade if I don't receive payment?

spiccioli

Hi, in these cases it goes through our dispute mediation. We handle these cases manually.

We are working on a feature which allows invidual sellers to set limits, such as how much a new user can buy. Also we might enforce some kind of limit for new accounts.

Thanks kangasbros, I've written to support@... to handle this trade.

Best regards.

spiccioli

[jtibble]

Hi again everybody, and Kangasbros!

Another feature request: The ability to chose how long to lock-in a price for, as another parameter in the ad-creation process.

Like this: I create a "sell" add with my formula, and as part of that process I can specify how long after a buyer submits their request that I will honor the price decided upon.

For example, I want to limit my contacts to 2 days, max. Because the price is rising 5% per day (it seems), if somebody sends me a 'buy' request and it takes me four days to actually sell them the coins, I'm losing a lot of money, even if my margins are 9%!

However, if I can specify how long the price is locked-in for, it lets me cancel the transaction and still save face if the wait is too long. I have my 'seller message' saying that I only honor prices for two days, but it seems like a good idea to allow people to search or sort by this sort of option.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
jtibble

P.S. What's to stop me exploiting this with other sellers, submitting a 'buy' order, then waiting several days to complete it, and getting the coins at an extreme discount vs the current market spot price? My morals and scruples say 'no, don't do that', but it would be good (I think) if your service codified it.

[chrisrico]

P.S. What's to stop me exploiting this with other sellers, submitting a 'buy' order, then waiting several days to complete it, and getting the coins at an extreme discount vs the current market spot price? My morals and scruples say 'no, don't do that', but it would be good (I think) if your service codified it.

A contact is not a contract to buy at a set price. The seller is free to cancel the deal and make you create a new one.

[molecular]

P.S. What's to stop me exploiting this with other sellers, submitting a 'buy' order, then waiting several days to complete it, and getting the coins at an extreme discount vs the current market spot price? My morals and scruples say 'no, don't do that', but it would be good (I think) if your service codified it.

A contact is not a contract to buy at a set price. The seller is free to cancel the deal and make you create a new one.

the whole idea of locking in a price doesn't make sense as long as the deal is not binding, which it isn't (anyone can run at any time).

I would love a way to advertise the fact that I make the price on the spot right before the cash is exchanged. The price of a "locked-in" deal could be constantly recalculated using the formula (buyer would have to be able to enter amount in EUR or BTC). I would even use the site (sms) to make the transactions and pay the fee if that was implemented since it would spare me from having to look up mtgox price, convert to EUR, add my margin all while explaining the process to the customer.

Wouldn't this be the solution? Kangasbros could have his fee and the traders would have a fair deal with no doubts.

[chrisrico]

the whole idea of locking in a price doesn't make sense as long as the deal is not binding, which it isn't (anyone can run at any time).

I suggested that the equation to determine the price should be locked in at the time of contact, but the price should fluctuate following that equation until such a time as the buyer and seller both agree on it.

[molecular]

the whole idea of locking in a price doesn't make sense as long as the deal is not binding, which it isn't (anyone can run at any time).

I suggested that the equation to determine the price should be locked in at the time of contact, but the price should fluctuate following that equation until such a time as the buyer and seller both agree on it.

I like that suggestion.

[slothbag]

Been watching the progress of Localbitcoins for a while and decided it was time to dive in and give it a go.

Using the site is super easy, and I had queued up a purchase via bank transfer from a reputable seller in no time.

Total time to get the bitcoins in my local wallet was less than 2 hours which is amazing.. 3-5 days has been the norm for my previous purchases so this is unreal.

It looks like a lot of sellers are really benefiting from the new "Purchase online" option, although they are spamming with sell posts to try and get in more geographic areas.

I wouldn't be surprised if this huge leap forward in ease of purchasing bitcoins has contributed to the lastest btc price rally.  Anyway we can get a chart showing transaction volume on the site over the last few months?

Anyway, great job.  Hope the site is profitable for you and we keep this great service.

[Stephen Gornick]

Feature request:

Ability for me to cause a new deposit address to be generated for my account.  

hm? if I click on "wallet" I can see a box to the right with my past Addresses (there is three of them currently plus the "active" one). I think a new one is generated when you send to the current one... but I'm not sure.

Wow, either that's new or I'm blind.  On my wallet page I see a link that reads:
 "Request new address"

Along with the description:
"It is recommended to request new address now and then for privacy reasons."
 
 - https://localbitcoins.com/accounts/wallet/

So, awesome, problem solved!

[chrisrico]

One suggestion and one "bug" report.

Suggestion... sign up for an issue tracking system and link it from the bottom of the page, instead of your support email. This way people reporting bugs or requesting features can see if that bug or feature has already been reported/requested.

Bug... after using the map picker, it changes my city to the name of the area I picked on the map (in this case, Tower Grove East). I see no way to change that back to the more generic St. Louis. It's just a little annoying.

[slothbag]

There is a seller "r3365" with like 500+ transactions.. contracts posted in every country, registered with OTC but no ratings on it..

Is this legit or has someone building a fake rep?

[Progresso]

There is a seller "r3365" with like 500+ transactions.. contracts posted in every country, registered with OTC but no ratings on it..

Is this legit or has someone building a fake rep?

Looks OK. The guy is using Paypal. What I understand from his ad is that he sends you an invoice first, then you pay and he releases the escrow. That might be the reason his average and medium release times are very fast.

I also advertise in various cities, however I am only accepting bank transfers. Through the Brazilian customer it will take me in average an hour to release the escrow as the banking systems are almost real time. For the Swiss customers it once took me three days to release the escrow because these efficient Swiss banks needed a bank holiday and a weekend to transfer a few bucks from one Swiss account to another Swiss Account. The same with the SEPA system in Europe. Some banks even "holds" the money for a day before transfering it.

[TheButterZone]

https://localbitcoins.com/ad/4454/buy-bitcoins-with-cash-91914-glendale-united-states

91914 is Chula Vista. Not sure why it says Glendale.