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Cucurbita wrote on 2014-07-01 21:10
After many years of waiting, many naysayers have a lot of sock/hat eating to do.
I thought they'd be sneaky about it, but they're really up front too.
[Image: http://i.imgur.com/2z7sgyW.png]
Oh man, that first payment option, that benefits promotion.
"Bitcoin is the safest and most secure way to pay online."
You fucking tell em, newegg.
[Image: http://puu.sh/9SEHU/1669c93dff.jpg]
On a side note, some people have made a pretty penny off this news. I'd imagine it will progress as newegg exposes more potential users and promotes spending from holders.
[Image: http://puu.sh/9SF8m/f6139b53b2.png]
Still time to catch the wave before behemoths like target and amazon pick it up!
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Osayidan wrote on 2014-07-01 22:02
After mt. gox exploded litterally a few weeks after I signed up and was waiting for them to approve my account so I could start trading bitcoin, it did not leave a very good impression about the whole system.
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Ashikoki wrote on 2014-07-01 22:58
Mt Gox exploded because Karpeles was under qualified to handle the responsibility of running an exchange. He just happened to get in very early and the exchange became huge.
For starters, it wouldn't be fair to lose faith in a protocol if an independent service failed. No one is saying email is bad because @hotmail.com faded out. If Mt Gox was a USD to JPY exchange that failed, you most definitely would not get reimbursed, and no one would lose faith in the dollar or yen.
A lot of people lost money when Gox crashed, but the lesson is to keep your money in a secure offline wallet or an online bank-type wallet, rather than holding it on an exchange. Also, it prompted other companies to increase transparency to provide proof of solvency, which narrowed down more dependable sources for exchange.
Security in bitcoins is mostly self governed. Faith by use. With increasing global usage, it would be good to start picking up a coin or half.
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Yoorah wrote on 2014-07-01 23:59
It might be good for Newegg in some ways, but I'd rather pay by credit card. With Bitcoins, you're putting too much trust in the merchant--you can no longer have a 3rd party, such as a credit card company, stand up for you in the case that a chargeback may be required. Once the bitcoin transaction is done, it is impossible to reverse. In a perfect world, this is great... but in our world, I imagine cases where the consumer will get screwed.
In any case, this is great news for Bitcoin fans. Over the short term, it's might even be a good investment. Over the medium-long term, however, it remains an unknown.
Just as before, I feel it's not worth it for me to get into it for the sake of making money. I'd rather make money through real work. Getting into it just for curiosity's sake? Maybe. But at current prices of $600+ per BTC, it's a bit too expensive for such a purpose. And I'm not buying a fraction of a BTC--that just feels lame.
Maybe I'll get into it for the lulz the next time an exchange or bank blows up/gets hacked and the value tanks.
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Ashikoki wrote on 2014-07-02 00:38
The chargeback function is great for smaller and shady businesses, but I can't remember the last time anyone had to resort to it in larger corporations like newegg. They're not known for the best customer support, but they still bend over pretty hard when pressured by customers.
As for small investments or for experimentation, I don't think the price of a single coin should intimidate you, because it doesn't mean anything. Transactions are done at down to the 0.00000001 coin, so the faster we stop thinking of coin values in USD equivalency the faster it can go to the moon.
It is especially handy if you travel like I do. Bitcoins are cheaper and easier to use in foreign countries than USD. Much more secure than carrying change.
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Aubog007 wrote on 2014-07-02 03:27
And 3/4 of the people i know still dont know what it is.
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Ashikoki wrote on 2014-07-02 06:55
Quote from Aubog007;1229505:
And 3/4 of the people i know still dont know what it is.
It took a long time before people finally accepted coins as currency, then a long time before people finally accepted printed paper as currency, and a long time before people finally accepted credit cards as a form of payment.
Likewise internet took some time, and email as well. People go through a pretty similar step in all of these situations:
1. Learn about its existence
2. Dismiss it as something dangerous
3. Period of being pressured by widespread acceptance
4. Learn more about it
5. Realize they've been ignorant all along
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Osayidan wrote on 2014-07-02 12:00
I don't think it's as simple as that. I don't know the history of the others but in the case of bitcoin, the currency itself is very secure. Don't see anything wrong there and I'm not worried about anyone stealing my bitcoins or "bitcoin fraud". Where there's a problem is the buyer has no security or anywhere to turn to for help. Where do you go when there's a dispute between buyer and seller? The technology for bitcoin is so secure that you're screwed. Once you've sent bitcoins out there's not a damned thing you can do you're at the complete mercy of the person you sent them to, So I don't see bitcoin as a viable currency yet.
It's not as if newegg (or any other large retail) will rip you off on purpose, but they do suck ass at shipping delicate hardware and I would say a good third of everything I've ordered from them has had to be sent back or refunded, and usually the threat of getting a paypal dispute or calling my credit card company for a chargeback is the only thing that provided enough leverage to make that happen. Can't do that with bitcoin.
What I do see bitcoin as right now is similar to the stock of a company. Buy some, sit on it and play your luck with the value going up and down then convert it back to your local currency. All that's needed for this is a good bitcoin exchange, though my willingness to do that went *poof* when the then so called "best" exchange in the world exploded. Yes it's dumb that people were keeping their money in there like a bank. I don't care though, even if not a single dime of customer money was lost it's not encouraging at all for a financial service you were about to start using to just die off.
If mt. gox had not died when it did I would currently be sitting on some bitcoin, but still would not consider purchasing anything with it.
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Aubog007 wrote on 2014-07-02 12:14
Quote from Osayidan;1229584:
Where there's a problem is the buyer has no security or anywhere to turn to for help. Where do you go when there's a dispute between buyer and seller? The technology for bitcoin is so secure that you're screwed. Once you've sent bitcoins out there's not a damned thing you can do you're at the complete mercy of the person you sent them to, So I don't see bitcoin as a viable currency yet.
There you go.
BitCoin is a currency first and foremost, and I would definitely want some regulation on said currency before using it.
WE ALL KNOW HOW THE HONOR SYSTEM VS THE GREED SYSTEM WORKS OUT.
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Campylobacter jejuni wrote on 2014-07-02 12:37
What's the point if Bitcoin becomes a regulated payment method like any other money?
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Aubog007 wrote on 2014-07-02 16:19
Quote from Campylobacter jejuni;1229588:
What's the point if Bitcoin becomes a regulated payment method like any other money?
What's the point in buying something online if you don't know you are guaranteed it.
I can see why this currency works well in the "underground" though.
Also, to your statement itself. Exactly.
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Ashikoki wrote on 2014-07-02 18:49
First, btc is supposed to be an alternative option rather than a full replacement. The ultimate goal is to provide a global presence in most establishments, and its getting there pretty fast.
As for end user security, it is true that bitcoins is a system that increased benefit for merchants but not so much for buyers. Much like other forms of payment though, there are a number of established third party protection options that don't cost much (bitpay, coinbase, etc), and any major business have reputations to uphold, plus there are registries that log btc merchants for their transaction fidelity (bitcoins OTC). Its similar to Amazon and ebay's merchant rating system.
As for regulations: NO. That completely defeats the entire purpose of bitcoins. And some people have a hard time making the distinction between unregulated and unlawful. Bitcoins are still goods protected by the law (or commodity or currency, as soon as our governments figure it out). If you buy 0.2 bitcoins online and they don't deliver, that's no different than buying any other goods online without delivery. Magic the gathering cards aren't "regulated" by any government but you sure can get police involved if they don't give you the cards after you pay. You're probably buying bitcoins with a credit card to begin with so if all else fails you can charge back I suppose?
As it currently stands, there is no reason not to try using bitcoins on your next big newegg or overstock purchase. Any local businesses you walk in to that accepts bitcoins can use some love too. I know a great restaurant here. I DONT recommend using bitcoins on craigslist though, but the risk you're running is no different than any other form of payment. Rephrased: don't use craigslist, period.