Bitcoin and Craigslist

[PrintCoins]

So sometimes I post that I am a local trader of bitcoin in my area on craigslist. So far I have had one bite on this.

Also I search on bitcoin for things to purchase, and always when I sell stuff on craigslist I list that I accept bitcoin.

Do others use craigslist with bitcoin?

[BoardGameCoin]

I haven't sold anything on craigslist before, but at least one local bitcoiner advertises $/BTC services locally on craigslist. I periodically search craigslist for 'bitcoin' and 'btc' to see what the uptake is. Several US metro areas have a 'willing to buy amd gpus' posting that seems like its the same person and is related to bitcoins.

-bgc

[niko]

This is a good way to both make use of, and raise awareness of bitcoin. It doesn't cost anything to add that one sentence to your ad.

[Elwar]

I have seen one guy in my area accept BTC on craigslist.


I thought briefly that it would be a good idea to offer something very cheap and put in the ad that you only accept Bitcoin. But then drop the ad after enough people have figured out how to use Bitcoin.


Kinda wrong but it would get exposure.

[TheButterZone]

http://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Acraigslist.org+bitcoin

I do, but my payment methods (spelled out, as opposed to these) and a bunch of other info are on a separate page, to keep the tl;dr factor of the ads themselves down.

ETA: I now have 'Bitcoin' in my ads, as I found out my credit card processor was bought by PayPal and it went to hell.

[westkybitcoins]

I use craigslist to sell things on occasion, and when I do I usually list that I'm willing to take up to $X of the cost in bitcoins.

No bites on the bitcoins yet.

[unclemantis]

Craigslist is a pain in the ass. You list something and if someone is not happy they can report the post and the post gets deleted! IT IS BULLSHIT.

[TheButterZone]

And yet it is practically unusable if you are just browsing, with all the spam and miscategorized shit that takes an infinite amount of flags to be removed, if ever.

[westkybitcoins]

It's free, and doesn't demand you use Paypal. *shrug*

[adamstgBit]

I have seen one guy in my area accept BTC on craigslist.


I thought briefly that it would be a good idea to offer something very cheap and put in the ad that you only accept Bitcoin. But then drop the ad after enough people have figured out how to use Bitcoin.


Kinda wrong but it would get exposure.

someone should do this just for lolz

"wtf is bitcoin, i have cash! i pay cash! ok?"

"no, only bitcoin"

[Trader Steve]

I've had success selling bitcoin locally by advertising on Craigslist. It's a great supplement to services like http://TradeYourBitcoin.com, http://localbitcoins.com, and http://btcnearme.com.

[TheButterZone]

It's free, and doesn't demand you use Paypal. *shrug*

Technically eBay doesn't demand it, just that you accept reversible payment methods. It'll still keep selecting PayPal every time you create or edit a listing, you just have to deselect it. In my case I selected credit/debit instead.

[dunand]

Craigslist is not popular in Quebec but I do it all the time on kijiji.ca. I add mention that I also accept to be paid in Bitcoin.

[niko]

Craigslist is not popular in Quebec but I do it all the time on kijiji.ca. I add mention that I also accept to be paid in Bitcoin.

Kijiji in the rest of Canada, too. I add a sentence stating that I gladly accept bitcoins, and offer a discount for bitcoin payments. This is a sensible way to popularize and legitimize Bitcoin.

[TheButterZone]

So a relevant necro, does anyone have any ideas on how to make craigslist ads where people can pay for the item without a complicated checkout?

While most everyone in bitcoindom may have a mobile wallet with QR scanning, we might all not have a standalone QR scanner app that we can use to open URLs. I thought it was weird when QR codes started appearing on bus and other ads years ago, when all mobile devices didn't have a QR scanner installed by default. And from what I can tell, they still aren't universal.

If this wasn't the case, then each ad could have a QR encoded of https://blockchain.info/payment_request?address=1blahblahblah&amount=0&amount_local=5 to have it float to local fiat. However, that may be too complicated for most. The bitcoin URI standard only allows a bitcoin variable currently, not a fiat value that all wallets can recognize and convert based on whatever market's (or average) ticker_last.

I don't think there's any resource right now where you can take your Electrum master public key and have a bunch of addresses' QRs generated for as many items as you have for sale (including each item's price and title encoded).

[Velkro]

craiglist is so old fashioned, no hope for bitcoin there

[Yeezus]

craiglist is so old fashioned, no hope for bitcoin there

What's wrong with it? People still buy and sell stuff in free ads. Good place to get a bargain.

[JypsiCreme]

Remember to ask for the cash before you make the Bitcoin transaction. A month ago the was a guy who did just that and after he made the transaction, the buyer the walked away with his money and there seller couldn't prove anything.

[Swordsoffreedom]

This is a good way to both make use of, and raise awareness of bitcoin. It doesn't cost anything to add that one sentence to your ad.

True a user can also add also accepting Bitcoin to whatever they are selling on Craiglist without causing to much headache.
If someone bites its awesome if not well some people might go what the heck is a Bitcoin and learn about it

[unexecuted]

Remember to ask for the cash before you make the Bitcoin transaction. A month ago the was a guy who did just that and after he made the transaction, the buyer the walked away with his money and there seller couldn't prove anything.

But that risk exists for most Craigslist transactions. I mean if they forced the scammer to stay until the cops came it'll be easy to prove. Fiat or not, theft of property is still theft.