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

[Yurock]

Where can I find a complete list and explanations of the parameters that I can put into my pricing formulas?

https://localbitcoins.com/cash_exchange_howto

what does "USD_24h" mean?

I guess, it's an average price of all BTC/USD trades on many exchanges in last 24 hours weighted by the trade sizes. You can see the current value at http://www.bitcoinwatch.com

[justusranvier]

I got a few (still unconfirmed) positive feedback from trade partners and the support tells me that they are not able to confirm it and that I should wait for better times coming 

You can fix that in the future by restricting your ads to people with verified SMS numbers.

[bitcats]

I got a few (still unconfirmed) positive feedback from trade partners and the support tells me that they are not able to confirm it and that I should wait for better times coming 

You can fix that in the future by restricting your ads to people with verified SMS numbers.

There's no point in that. Why should a trader restrict his ads to people with verified SMS numbers?

[julz]

I got a few (still unconfirmed) positive feedback from trade partners and the support tells me that they are not able to confirm it and that I should wait for better times coming 

You can fix that in the future by restricting your ads to people with verified SMS numbers.

There's no point in that. Why should a trader restrict his ads to people with verified SMS numbers?

I did it to weed out some of the no-shows.

[justusranvier]

Why should a trader restrict his ads to people with verified SMS numbers?

Because it drastically reduces the number of spam attempts and otherwise non-serious contacts you receive.

[herzmeister]

If you're on localbitcoins, place an ad for your local airport

[xmrk2]

So, I met another 2 scammers on localbitcoins.com (total is 3, and 1 candidate). The scammer starts Tor client, buys bitcoins on localbitcoins.com, pays by SEPA from Deutche Postbank (yes, all 3, albeit different names, cities, IBAN; unfortunately I cannot verify the fourth), receives BTC and then tries SEPA chargeback. This happened for all my 3 bank accounts. I even waited 1 day, releasing BTC 1 day after receiving euros, and still this happened. Another interesting thing is that all those 3 scam payments took unusually long - 4 or 5 business days. The payments probably seemed suspicious for banks also.

Any idea what is going on? Some security problem at Deutche Postbank, and scammers got unauthorized access to random bank accounts? Or is Postbank attacking localbitcoins this way? But they wouldn't need Tor I guess.

Anyway, thank you, kangasbros, for this feauture that warns when other user is using Tor. Now I only have to start using this information.

[2weiX]

Do not use SEPA. Repeat, do NOT USE SEPA.

I've had five criminal cases opened against me due to "fraud" and "forgery" of signatures when accepting SEPA.
Never again.

Any idea what is going on? Some security problem at Deutche Postbank, and scammers got unauthorized access to random bank accounts? Or is Postbank attacking localbitcoins this way? But they wouldn't need Tor I guess.

You can gain knowledge of someones bank details and fill out a transfer slip, throw it in the banks mailbox.
All banks send those to Frankfurt, where they are processed. Processed as in simply executed.
The owner of the account notices money missing, gets reimbursed by the bank (that's the law!) and the bank sues (or threatens to) the money's recipient. This NEVER works. NEVER. There's a dozen court decisions how only the bank itself is culpably when negligent.

caveat: this is german law, dunno about y'all.


TOR on the other hand - use it, by all means. No need for anyone to be spying on my BTC dealings.

[xmrk2]

thanks for reply.
But do you have some alternative for SEPA? Paypal? OKPay?

BTW, one scammer is really funny. I asked him for his name and account number, and he gave me my name and his account number. + Postbank + uses Tor - seems legit

[TheButterZone]

Take a page from http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams and get back to basics.

What is the domain name? LOCALbitcoins. That means you meet people locally, i.e., in person, and exchange physical fiat (counterfeit check it) for bitcoin. If in public (or private), you should either be armed, or be within a few feet of uniformed others who are armed (and preferably past 100% controlled access with metal detectors and x-rays for bags). Don't get robbed.

When will it get through everyone's thick skulls that bitcoin (and the follow-on cryptos) is the ONLY safe electronic payment method, and to stop fucking using the rest (of the electronic payment methods)? The stolen money and time has to number in the millions of euros/**Dollars/pounds by this point.

[spiccioli]

I met a scammer at the end of june after nearly a year of successful trades...

He did try to scam me through a SEPA transfer, so I went looking for info and, be aware, SEPA tranfsers can be reversed up to 13 months after they have been executed !

So I've disabled my bank offer and I've activated the option that only users with a verified cell number are able to contact me.

Let's hope this helps.

spiccioli

ps. I'd add, never do an online transaction with someone from a different country, it makes a lot of thing more difficult to assess.

[tolan77]

Hey guys, I've loved using localbitcoins and have done many successful trades with a ton of very polite and awesome people. However today I had my first screwy situation. The guy had to go to the atm before paying me and went to a wells fargo atm to withdraw the cash. Afterwards we concluded the trade and I went on my way. However shortly thereafter I noticed 2 of the bills were fake! Now since I didn't check during the transaction I can't prove whether or not the buyer was complicit and had any knowledge of these fake bills but I have learned my lesson and will be investigating bills more closely. They arn't too shabby I definitely could pass them off if I wanted to (though I won't cause I don't wanna screw someone else over) but a simple 30 second investigation would've aroused my suspicions as they both have the same serial and feel slightly different.
DON't MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID CHECK THE BILLS BEFORE RELEASING ESCROW.

[TheButterZone]

If only you could go to the Wells Fargo (if bank attached to ATM) and say "hey, the person who gave me this counterfeit bill said he got it from this ATM"...

[giszmo]

If only you could go to the Wells Fargo (if bank attached to ATM) and say "hey, the person who gave me this counterfeit bill said he got it from this ATM"...

I doubt he was careless enough to even walk in front of that camera. If he was, you would get his identity this way. Fingerprints on the bill? Not sure if police would check for fingerprints but in a criminal case, he would have bad luck after actually using the ATM.

[molecular]

If only you could go to the Wells Fargo (if bank attached to ATM) and say "hey, the person who gave me this counterfeit bill said he got it from this ATM"...

I doubt he was careless enough to even walk in front of that camera. If he was, you would get his identity this way. Fingerprints on the bill? Not sure if police would check for fingerprints but in a criminal case, he would have bad luck after actually using the ATM.

Do you think he got the fake bills from the machine? I doubt that. He probably only got part of the cash from the machine to make the seller think all bills were from the machine, decreasing the likelyhood he would check them thoroughly.

[giszmo]

If only you could go to the Wells Fargo (if bank attached to ATM) and say "hey, the person who gave me this counterfeit bill said he got it from this ATM"...

I doubt he was careless enough to even walk in front of that camera. If he was, you would get his identity this way. Fingerprints on the bill? Not sure if police would check for fingerprints but in a criminal case, he would have bad luck after actually using the ATM.

Do you think he got the fake bills from the machine? I doubt that. He probably only got part of the cash from the machine to make the seller think all bills were from the machine, decreasing the likelyhood he would check them thoroughly.

well, if he got it from an ATM, chances are 100% his identity can be pinned to one of 3 persons with only the timestamp of the bitcoin transaction and some thinking of when and how things happened. Sure, the ATM was a cover up to hide the fake bills but if I were him I wouldn't have gone near the ATM as banks and ATMs are full of cameras and with your card in the machine, your ID should be checked.

[cardcomm]

Hello,

I've just started looking at LocalBitcoins.com for an online buy funded from within the US. I'm having a little trouble sorting through and understanding all the available funding options, and their costs. I see many funding options listed - including OKPay, MoneyGram, Western Union, bank transfers from specific banks, etc.

Is there somewhere I can easily find out more about the cost and restrictions of each funding option, without researching each one individually? I'm a little overwhelmed by the funding options. I've tried doing the research myself, but some of the funding options (like MoneyGram) offer different services at different fees. I'm not sure even which service is correct.

Sorry for the noob question, and thanks in advance for any helpful response

[giszmo]

Hello,

I've just started looking at LocalBitcoins.com for an online buy funded from within the US. I'm having a little trouble sorting through and understanding all the available funding options, and their costs. I see many funding options listed - including OKPay, MoneyGram, Western Union, bank transfers from specific banks, etc.

Is there somewhere I can easily find out more about the cost and restrictions of each funding option, without researching each one individually? I'm a little overwhelmed by the funding options. I've tried doing the research myself, but some of the funding options (like MoneyGram) offer different services at different fees. I'm not sure even which service is correct.

Sorry for the noob question, and thanks in advance for any helpful response

Hi Cardcomm

yeah, a noob question it is but those are the most valuable for the devs as most noobs don't dare to ask and so the service ends up only being used by the experience users that flood the devs with more expert features making the noob experience even worse although more and more features get accomplished, so thanks again. We were all noobs at some point.

(terms made up by me. people please correct me if there are better names for these types of exchanges)
There are floating exchanges (the exchange allows you to make arbitrary buy and sell offers and the exchange matches them, having all the coins and $$ under their control. MtGox is one of them), market maker exchanges (the exchange is basically just one big market maker that offers a buy and a sell price that it adjusts much slower than some floating exchange, so you can buy and sell at a price at display) and there are "social" exchanges that facilitate the process of other people willing to exchange, but that don't actually hold your money. Most prominent example historically would be the OTC IRC where the first "exchange" established. These exchanges keep track of the reputation of traders and help you find out who you can trade with based on the payment methods available to you. Localbitcoins opted to target more for the in person exchange where you deal with cash but due to demand, now all the classical methods that you mentioned are offered by its users as well. Localbitcoins is agnostic to the payment option though. It only distinguishes between cash and electronic in that cash is advertised to your proximity and electronic to all within your currency independent of distance. Therefore Localbitcoins has no core interest in providing fee infos as neither can it know all the details of MPesa, Chinese wire transfer, Australian food tokens or whatnot people decide to use, nor the fees the advertiser is willing to cover. Therefore you have to read the single advertisements and judge for yourself if that trader is trustworthy and if you like the payment method. It is much more heterogeneous than MtGox for example but therefore also has a strength.

[molecular]

Hello,

I've just started looking at LocalBitcoins.com for an online buy funded from within the US. I'm having a little trouble sorting through and understanding all the available funding options, and their costs. I see many funding options listed - including OKPay, MoneyGram, Western Union, bank transfers from specific banks, etc.

Is there somewhere I can easily find out more about the cost and restrictions of each funding option, without researching each one individually? I'm a little overwhelmed by the funding options. I've tried doing the research myself, but some of the funding options (like MoneyGram) offer different services at different fees. I'm not sure even which service is correct.

Sorry for the noob question, and thanks in advance for any helpful response

Here's a suggestion: Try to find someone local on localbitcoins.com and meet him. Most traders doing local trades are friendly guys who are also happy to explain stuff to you. They want to spread the bitcoin love.

You pay him cash and he'll give you bitcoin (you don't have to use localbitcoins.com wallet or escrow). If you have a smartphone or laptop, you can have a wallet on that und receive the money directly... a lot less complicated. (Don't give him the cash before your wallet says: "1 confirmation" as a precaution).

[giszmo]

Hello,

I've just started looking at LocalBitcoins.com for an online buy funded from within the US. I'm having a little trouble sorting through and understanding all the available funding options, and their costs. I see many funding options listed - including OKPay, MoneyGram, Western Union, bank transfers from specific banks, etc.

Is there somewhere I can easily find out more about the cost and restrictions of each funding option, without researching each one individually? I'm a little overwhelmed by the funding options. I've tried doing the research myself, but some of the funding options (like MoneyGram) offer different services at different fees. I'm not sure even which service is correct.

Sorry for the noob question, and thanks in advance for any helpful response

Here's a suggestion: Try to find someone local on localbitcoins.com and meet him. Most traders doing local trades are friendly guys who are also happy to explain stuff to you. They want to spread the bitcoin love.

You pay him cash and he'll give you bitcoin (you don't have to use localbitcoins.com wallet or escrow). If you have a smartphone or laptop, you can have a wallet on that und receive the money directly... a lot less complicated. (Don't give him the cash before your wallet says: "1 confirmation" as a precaution).

Fun fact: two of the people I sold bitcoins to, came without a clue about bitcoin, so with one I went to an internet café where I helped him set up a hosted wallet (telling him 10 times how bad an idea it is to do that in an internet café but for demonstrative purpose at this small sum, .. blablabla) and another listened to how bitcoin works and we agreed for him to mail me an address once he has a wallet set up. I could have stolen the cash from both, easily and I know there are people that would, so be careful. Else I agree that most people are very very friendly and talkative when it comes to bitcoin.