Vendors using multiple addresses to keep track of orders

[Elwar]

I understand why this is done, you generate a new address for every order that goes through so that you can track that order.

But am I missing something here or could you not just have the customer input their own address into a field such as when they fill out their address. Then give them the same address that you use for all customers. Then you can track each order based upon the source address as opposed to generating a bunch of new addresses.

Is this feasible?

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[SgtSpike]

I understand why this is done, you generate a new address for every order that goes through so that you can track that order.

But am I missing something here or could you not just have the customer input their own address into a field such as when they fill out their address. Then give them the same address that you use for all customers. Then you can track each order based upon the source address as opposed to generating a bunch of new addresses.

Is this feasible?

No.

Customers generally don't know what address their coins will be coming from.

[BitPay Business Solutions]

I understand why this is done, you generate a new address for every order that goes through so that you can track that order.

But am I missing something here or could you not just have the customer input their own address into a field such as when they fill out their address. Then give them the same address that you use for all customers. Then you can track each order based upon the source address as opposed to generating a bunch of new addresses.

Is this feasible?

No.

Customers generally don't know what address their coins will be coming from.

Sgt Spike is correct.

when we create a unique address for an invoice, its basically a bucket whose address is only known to the customer.  Then we sit and wait for the bitcoins to fall out of the sky (literally) into this bucket.  When they do, we usually have no idea where they came from, but since its a single use address, we can confidently say that particular order has been paid for.

[Elwar]

No.

Customers generally don't know what address their coins will be coming from.

Ok, then this is where my understanding of Bitcoin has a hole in it.

When you download your wallet you get an address. You use that address to tell people where to send money to get it to you.

Does that address not correspond to what you then send to someone else?

[BitPay Business Solutions]

No.

Customers generally don't know what address their coins will be coming from.

Ok, then this is where my understanding of Bitcoin has a hole in it.

When you download your wallet you get an address. You use that address to tell people where to send money to get it to you.

Does that address not correspond to what you then send to someone else?

unfortunately it does not.

The main client, for example, creates a brand new bitcoin address for you anytime there is "change" from a transaction that you send.  the user has no control over this.  And there's little control over what address the funds get sent from.

Instawallet tried to do what you are saying, and it does work on a small scale.  But its not something that can be relied on.  That's why they created the "green address" last year so that transactions could be sent from a generic address that all instawallet users could share, and external wallets would be able to identify them as coming from an instawallet user.

[Elwar]

Ok, thank you for the clarification. I need to do a bit more research on how things work at that level.

[Herodes]

I understand why this is done, you generate a new address for every order that goes through so that you can track that order.

But am I missing something here or could you not just have the customer input their own address into a field such as when they fill out their address. Then give them the same address that you use for all customers. Then you can track each order based upon the source address as opposed to generating a bunch of new addresses.

Is this feasible?

Did you consider pregeneration a lot of addresses as well ? So every time a customer does a purchase, instead of generating a new bitcoin address, you just dish out on that's pregenerated from before.

Additional benefit being that you could check the balance from the block chain, and didn't need to have the wallet containing the addresses attached to the network constantly.

[BitPay Business Solutions]

Ok, thank you for the clarification. I need to do a bit more research on how things work at that level.

No problem.  i still need to come visit your wife's shop!