I like your idea of being a local bitcoin proxy. I see it lacking in where I am at now.
I've been looking at the bitcoin world for a while. I'm thinking about the bitcoin world like I thought about the ebay world when it first started. I ran an ebay auction business, because people were nervous about signing up to ebay, dealing with strangers on the Internet, and frankly, people are lazy. It's easier to drop off a bunch of stuff with me, I sell it for them, take a cut of the sales, and send them the check. I made a decent amount of money on the side until lots of these businesses started to pop up and then I shutdown and moved on.
As I talk to the common person on the street about bitcoins, here's what comes up:
1. Where do I get them? Can I get them locally? Can you get them for me?
2. What can I buy with bitcoins that I cannot buy with cash/credit today?
3. Buying bitcoins seems full of peril and I'm tying my only bank account to various unknown companies/websites.
4. How can I use bitcoins to send money back home instead of moneygram/western union/bank transfer?
I see a local arbitrage opportunity for being a bitcoin proxy, selling up the local aspect, and building up a reputation as a trusted middleman as an exchange. Eventually, it will end if/when bitcoins become much more commonplace. However, until then, it's a short term opportunity to make some money on the side. I'd guess 1-2 years is the length of the business. Yes, there are websites that do this already, but no big deal. I'm not trying to compete with them. I'm trying to tap into the majority of people who don't trust the Internet and don't trust their bank either. Basically, I'm the offline bitcoin exchange.
Item 4 intrigues me the most. There is a local 'send money home/payday loan' shop around the corner from me where I know their accountant well. They are making millions of dollars each for three people doing simple cash to wire transfers. People don't trust the Internet, so they stop by the shop and wire money home. They could do it from their bank if they had one. Lots of their customers are questionably legal immigrants or migrant workers here on short-term visas.
Another option is to become a proxy purchaser for others. Pay me bitcoins, I'll buy what you want on amazon, newegg, nordstom's, zappos, etc. The packages are shipped to me, and then I ship to you. Sounds simple. Call it personal shopping or private shopping or whatever.
Another option is for the local businesses around me to feel better about accepting bitcoins because they know I'm the local bitcoin bank. They can just exchange their bitcoins from customers to me for local cash and be done with it.
I've started looking into doing all of these, but can't get normal answers on what laws I fall under, if any. I'd rather not find out the hard way after a raid/warrant.
