[ANN] LocalBitcoins.com - a location-based bitcoin to cash marketplace - page 21.

DannyHamilton

legendary

Activity: 3472

Merit: 4801

Quote from: RandomQ on July 31, 2013, 10:53:48 AM

Minor bug on the map

when using anaheim,ca or 92806 in the location i get 71486, Zwolle, United States

which is the first 3 of the phone area code (714) of the anaheim area

I also get 71486, Zwolle, United States, when I use Minooka, IL or 60447. There is no connection at all between Zwolle and Minooka, (zip, phone area code, alphabetically close, etc). It looks like the map is just broken right now, always showing Zwolle.

Makes it difficult for customers to find me on a site that is intended to be used to find "local" buyers and sellers, if the only location anyone can find is Zwolle. Perhaps I should put an ad in Zwolle?

2weiX

legendary

Activity: 2058

Merit: 1005

this space intentionally left blank

I'd like a complete list of usable variables.

For example, btcdeEUR_24h gives a different number from the one on bitcoincharts.com.

Also, when adding two 24h-averages, the formula gives an average of both values.

RandomQ

hero member

Activity: 826

Merit: 500

Minor bug on the map

when using anaheim,ca or 92806 in the location i get 71486, Zwolle, United States

which is the first 3 of the phone area code (714) of the anaheim area

Yurock

sr. member

Activity: 462

Merit: 250

Quote from: molecular on July 27, 2013, 03:58:45 PM

is this documented somewhere? I had checked for this recently, for example in the pricing faq: https://localbitcoins.com/cash_exchange_howto#howto_pricing, but couldn't find it.

Quote

Selling equation: (mtgoxEUR_ask + intrsngEUR_ask + EUR_24h ) / 3 * 1.05
Selling equation #2: max(max(mtgoxUSD, bitstampUSD), USD_24h)
Buying equation: (mtgoxEUR_low + intrsngEUR_low + EUR_24h ) / 3

As parameters you can use any currency averages from bitcoincharts.com, for example USD_30d, EUR_24h, SEK_7d. Also market data can be used by combining the market like mtgoxUSD and a parameter like ask, bid, low, high and close.

molecular

donator

Activity: 2772

Merit: 1019

Quote from: Yurock on July 27, 2013, 03:38:03 PM

Quote from: RandomQ on July 26, 2013, 08:39:03 AM

Can i request that Bitstamp Pricing be added to the site.

Type "bitstampUSD" into "Price equation".

is this documented somewhere? I had checked for this recently, for example in the pricing faq: https://localbitcoins.com/cash_exchange_howto#howto_pricing, but couldn't find it.

Yurock

sr. member

Activity: 462

Merit: 250

Quote from: RandomQ on July 26, 2013, 08:39:03 AM

Can i request that Bitstamp Pricing be added to the site.

Type "bitstampUSD" into "Price equation".

molecular

donator

Activity: 2772

Merit: 1019

Quote from: RandomQ on July 26, 2013, 08:39:03 AM

Can i request that Bitstamp Pricing be added to the site.
Because I don't consider MtGox to be a valid pricing right now (due to wire delays)

+1 on bitstamp
+0 for bitcoin.de

(been using bitcoin.de for quite some time now (making price on spot base on bitcoin.de), mtgox is just erratic and can't be used)

using gox as basis may be good for most here (sellers), but I'd like to make fair prices. mtGox doesn't represent a fair price for instant cash deals because of the liquidity crisis there.

RandomQ

hero member

Activity: 826

Merit: 500

Can i request that Bitstamp Pricing be added to the site.
Because I don't consider MtGox to be a valid pricing right now (due to wire delays)

cardcomm

sr. member

Activity: 294

Merit: 250

Quote from: cardcomm on July 16, 2013, 11:14:02 AM

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

Thanks again for the responses. Dwolla it out of the question, for quite a number of reasons.

As for coinbase... well, linking my bank account, providing personal info, and waiting a month just doesn't strike my fancy either, for some reason

Although admittedly the prospect of purchasing bitcoin with little fee IS enticing.

I've been away from it for a few days. I'll start looking at the possible funding options again.

molecular

donator

Activity: 2772

Merit: 1019

Quote from: kangasbros on July 23, 2013, 09:25:32 AM

Quote from: molecular on July 18, 2013, 04:02:12 PM

I know this has been talked about before but I will bring it up again:

I would really really love to see some kind of feature that would allow the price (by formula) to remain variable until the time when the physical meeting takes place.

Fixing a price days ahead of time will always leave one party disgruntled. It helps noone. It also increases the occurence of people just not showing up greatly. Adjusting the amount of fiat cash involves cumbesome calculations (I did this today).

Allowing the price (amount of coins to be transacted) to adjust by pricing formula would solve all these problems.

Let me add that it would probably make me actually use the transaction feature (instead of avoiding it like now, telling people to bring a wallet and do everything on the spot, which is cumbersome and can lead to misunderstandings) and therefore generate revenue for the site (currently the site has close to no revenue from me).

Are there any problems with this approach I'm missing? I don't see any substantial drawbacks of offering this, only advantages.

The only problem is our current dev resources, which are limited. But I can promise you that the floating feature is coming.

Yurock

sr. member

Activity: 462

Merit: 250

Quote from: justusranvier on July 24, 2013, 01:29:05 AM

mostly the risk on the seller's side, not the buyer's

Yes. But I would be cautious with banks and payment networks that turned against bitcoiners.

justusranvier

legendary

Activity: 1400

Merit: 1013

Quote from: Yurock on July 23, 2013, 06:57:30 PM

Quote from: justusranvier on July 22, 2013, 07:45:15 PM

the easiest online method would probably be to load dollars into a Dwolla account and buy that way

There is a report that Dwolla screwed a Bitcoin user: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1h9iyv/psa_dwolla_worse_than_paypal_for_accepting/

And this is from new Dwolla TOS:

Quote

You understand and agree that You will not engage in the following activities:

Use of the Dwolla System, without Dwolla's written consent, to operate or engage in any business regulated by FinCEN, including the money service business;
Use of the Dwolla System without registering as a money services business if required by FinCEN's March 18, 2013 Guidance entitled "Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Persons Administering, Exchanging, or Using Virtual Currencies" (FIN-2013-G0001);
Act as a marketplace and/or exchange for virtual currency products without Dwolla's prior written consent, and FinCEN registration if applicable;

I didn't say there was zero risk involved, but mostly the risk on the seller's side, not the buyer's.

Yurock

sr. member

Activity: 462

Merit: 250

Quote from: justusranvier on July 22, 2013, 07:45:15 PM

the easiest online method would probably be to load dollars into a Dwolla account and buy that way

There is a report that Dwolla screwed a Bitcoin user: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1h9iyv/psa_dwolla_worse_than_paypal_for_accepting/

And this is from new Dwolla TOS:

Quote

You understand and agree that You will not engage in the following activities:

Use of the Dwolla System, without Dwolla's written consent, to operate or engage in any business regulated by FinCEN, including the money service business;
Use of the Dwolla System without registering as a money services business if required by FinCEN's March 18, 2013 Guidance entitled "Application of FinCEN's Regulations to Persons Administering, Exchanging, or Using Virtual Currencies" (FIN-2013-G0001);
Act as a marketplace and/or exchange for virtual currency products without Dwolla's prior written consent, and FinCEN registration if applicable;

kangasbros

hero member

Activity: 812

Merit: 1006

Quote from: molecular on July 18, 2013, 04:02:12 PM

I know this has been talked about before but I will bring it up again:

I would really really love to see some kind of feature that would allow the price (by formula) to remain variable until the time when the physical meeting takes place.

Fixing a price days ahead of time will always leave one party disgruntled. It helps noone. It also increases the occurence of people just not showing up greatly. Adjusting the amount of fiat cash involves cumbesome calculations (I did this today).

Allowing the price (amount of coins to be transacted) to adjust by pricing formula would solve all these problems.

Let me add that it would probably make me actually use the transaction feature (instead of avoiding it like now, telling people to bring a wallet and do everything on the spot, which is cumbersome and can lead to misunderstandings) and therefore generate revenue for the site (currently the site has close to no revenue from me).

Are there any problems with this approach I'm missing? I don't see any substantial drawbacks of offering this, only advantages.

The only problem is our current dev resources, which are limited. But I can promise you that the floating feature is coming.

chrisrico

hero member

Activity: 496

Merit: 500

Quote from: cardcomm on July 22, 2013, 06:27:48 PM

I'm in the US, as stated. Unfortunately, there are no exchanges that I'm aware of that allow funding from the US without significant delays and fees. Hence my interest in Localbitcoins.

I'm fairly determined and literate. Yet I find the funding options sufficiently overwhelming that I have yet to do a transaction on Localbitcoins. I guess I just need to jump in and semi-blindly try some of the options, and figure out the fees by trial and error. I guess it would build my "reputation" as well.

I long for a future where purchasing bitcoins will be as easy as getting change for a $100. hahaha

If you link your bank account to Coinbase, wait a month, and fill out some personal information, you can get bitcoins at little to no fee instantly.

justusranvier

legendary

Activity: 1400

Merit: 1013

Quote from: cardcomm on July 22, 2013, 06:27:48 PM

I'm in the US, as stated. Unfortunately, there are no exchanges that I'm aware of that allow funding from the US without significant delays and fees. Hence my interest in Localbitcoins.

I'm fairly determined and literate. Yet I find the funding options sufficiently overwhelming that I have yet to do a transaction on Localbitcoins. I guess I just need to jump in and semi-blindly try some of the options, and figure out the fees by trial and error. I guess it would build my "reputation" as well.

I long for a future where purchasing bitcoins will be as easy as getting change for a $100. hahaha

If you can't do face-to-face purchases, the easiest online method would probably be to load dollars into a Dwolla account and buy that way. I know of at least one reliable seller on Localbitcoins who accept Dwolla payments.

Or you could take the time to get fully verified on CampBX and buy it that way.

cardcomm

sr. member

Activity: 294

Merit: 250

Quote from: molecular on July 16, 2013, 01:46:16 PM

Quote from: cardcomm on July 16, 2013, 01:39:18 PM

Quote from: giszmo on July 16, 2013, 11:40:21 AM

Quote from: cardcomm on July 16, 2013, 11:14:02 AM

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.

Thanks for all the responses.

I should have made it clear in my OP that I'm unable to do a face-to-face meet up to buy bitcoins. I realized that is what the site was originally designed for, but that won't work for me personally. So it's only the online purchase options that I'm interested in.

I also understand that LocalBitcoins really has no stake in how I pay, and it's up to the individual seller to set their method of payment, and for me to choose a seller based on their feedback, funding methods, etc.

The question arises when I try and determine the best (fastest/cheapest) funding method. Looking just at MoneyGram alone, there is a pretty complex fees schedule based on where you pay, where the payment recipient lives, and how fast you want the payment delivered. Those are just some of the variable for ONE of the possible payment options.

I believe I have a good understanding of bitcoin trading and how LocalBitcoins itself works. I clearly have to first narrow down my acceptable funding options before choosing a seller. But I'm daunted by the plethora of funding options, and I don't feel I have enough information to make an informed decision. For example, with MoneyGram, the only way I can see to determine what my ACTUAL costs are to send the funds is to do a transaction and see what they charge. LOL! There has to be a better way...

It seems to me you could also consider using an exchange. Depending on where you are (Europe? US?) there are probably some good options to get coins for a fair price.

I'm in the US, as stated. Unfortunately, there are no exchanges that I'm aware of that allow funding from the US without significant delays and fees. Hence my interest in Localbitcoins.

I'm fairly determined and literate. Yet I find the funding options sufficiently overwhelming that I have yet to do a transaction on Localbitcoins. I guess I just need to jump in and semi-blindly try some of the options, and figure out the fees by trial and error. I guess it would build my "reputation" as well.

I long for a future where purchasing bitcoins will be as easy as getting change for a $100. hahaha

Yurock

sr. member

Activity: 462

Merit: 250

Quote from: molecular on July 18, 2013, 04:02:12 PM

I would really really love to see some kind of feature that would allow the price (by formula) to remain variable until the time when the physical meeting takes place.

Allow negotiations before fixing the amount and the price. The taker contacts the advertiser; parties discuss an approximate amount and details of the deal; one of parties enters the exact amount, and the price is fixed at that time. If both parties are OK with it, they proceed to the deal.

Stephen Gornick

legendary

Activity: 2506

Merit: 1010

Quote from: tolan77 on July 15, 2013, 08:07:12 PM

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

Here's a guide:

U.S. Secret Service Know Your Money
- http://www.secretservice.gov/know_your_money.shtml

Counterfeit Bills A Risk For Local Bitcoin Trading
- http://bitcoinmoney.com/post/36244271879

justusranvier

legendary

Activity: 1400

Merit: 1013

Quote from: molecular on July 18, 2013, 04:02:12 PM

I know this has been talked about before but I will bring it up again:

I would really really love to see some kind of feature that would allow the price (by formula) to remain variable until the time when the physical meeting takes place.

Fixing a price days ahead of time will always leave one party disgruntled. It helps noone. It also increases the occurence of people just not showing up greatly. Adjusting the amount of fiat cash involves cumbesome calculations (I did this today).

That would be nice, although I've been able to avoid the problem by not accepting orders that can not be completed within a few hours.

If somebody opens a contact and we can't meet right away I just ask them to close the order and open a new one immediately before we agree to meet. It also helps to exchange cell phone numbers after initial contact to help coordinate that.

Topic: [ANN] LocalBitcoins.com - a location-based bitcoin to cash marketplace - page 21. (Read 126108 times)