This is exactly how one department store activates their gift cards / gift certificates. SM Department Store (Philippines) sells gift cards with values from P100 to P1000. It says on the card itself, it is activated 24 hours after purchase.
You're supposed to give it to a friend or something the next day.
Topic: Brick & Mortar Bitcoin Selling (Read 1396 times)
Would be interesting. Maybe a little card similar to a prepaid TracFone phone card, with the public key and private key under a scratch off area, but these cards would have to be put up in a display case with a lock, to prevent people from just scratching them off in store and stealing the money since normal prepaid cards get activated on check out, so they are useless till checkout but Bitcoin would have no clue if the card was checked out or not. So you would only have the cashier give you the card at checkout, like how stores keep cigarettes locked up behind glass.
This is really not an issue seeing as you could send the bitcoins to the card at the checkout (so the cards on the shelf have a 0 balance until you scan them and X bitcoins get sent to the card address)
This is also great for preventing major thefts. For example a store could have millions of dollars worth of bitcoin cash/cards onsite, without actually have a single dollars worth of bitcoins onsite. The actual digital bitcoins could be controlled by someone at a remote location, so even if the robbers demanded the cashier load up the cash cards, they wouldn't be able to.
Why didn't I think of that. Sending the coins to the card on checkout, similar to activation. Have the UPC Code look up the address and amount for that card from the database and send the money to the card when scanned and checked out. Maybe say if the card was $5, add $5 worth of Bitcoins to it at the current exchange rate. Hmm, maybe we should turn this into a business. These little cards can sit next to the iTune's and FarmVille cards. Anyone want to partnerup?
Pawnshops or Money Changers might add bitcoin to their list of currencies. They already trade USD for CAD, PHP, JPY, AUD, HKD, GBP, etc. What's one more currency for them, as long as someone there is knowledgeable about it?
Would be interesting. Maybe a little card similar to a prepaid TracFone phone card, with the public key and private key under a scratch off area, but these cards would have to be put up in a display case with a lock, to prevent people from just scratching them off in store and stealing the money since normal prepaid cards get activated on check out, so they are useless till checkout but Bitcoin would have no clue if the card was checked out or not. So you would only have the cashier give you the card at checkout, like how stores keep cigarettes locked up behind glass.
This is really not an issue seeing as you could send the bitcoins to the card at the checkout (so the cards on the shelf have a 0 balance until you scan them and X bitcoins get sent to the card address)
This is also great for preventing major thefts. For example a store could have millions of dollars worth of bitcoin cash/cards onsite, without actually have a single dollars worth of bitcoins onsite. The actual digital bitcoins could be controlled by someone at a remote location, so even if the robbers demanded the cashier load up the cash cards, they wouldn't be able to.
Would be interesting. Maybe a little card similar to a prepaid TracFone phone card, with the public key and private key under a scratch off area, but these cards would have to be put up in a display case with a lock, to prevent people from just scratching them off in store and stealing the money since normal prepaid cards get activated on check out, so they are useless till checkout but Bitcoin would have no clue if the card was checked out or not. So you would only have the cashier give you the card at checkout, like how stores keep cigarettes locked up behind glass.
Oh, and the Casascius Physical Bitcoins might be interesting in stores like maybe coin collector shops, but not sure if the store would have any legal issues.
Oh, and the Casascius Physical Bitcoins might be interesting in stores like maybe coin collector shops, but not sure if the store would have any legal issues.
With Bitinstant out there, there are already thousands of locations that sell bitcoins.
As an information center advertising your services and bitcoin in general in the biggest 20 cities of the world this makes sense. Maybe if the bitcoin foundation runs an office, they place it in a big town city center just to give bitcoin a face.
To trade bitcoins, it doesn't. If there were a need for such a thing, all kind of existing shops could additionally buy bitcoins to get rid of the cash that only is hard to transport and dangerous to hold and banks could sell bitcoins at their ATMs.
To trade bitcoins, it doesn't. If there were a need for such a thing, all kind of existing shops could additionally buy bitcoins to get rid of the cash that only is hard to transport and dangerous to hold and banks could sell bitcoins at their ATMs.
well, not dedicated but I don't see why currency houses don't offer it, no?
Is there potential for a Brick and Mortar store - that just sells Bitcoins to people?
I would guess no. With a B&M, you have a lot of overhead. Bitcoin is still new enough that only a small percentage of the population in any given area is going to know about and use Bitcoin. As Bitcoin becomes more popular, there will be more ways to obtain them, so people probably won't need a B&M.
Adding the service of selling Bitcoins to an already existing B&M might not be a bad idea though.
I'm thinking the more exposure (sitting the building next to cash your checks or a western union) would help Bitcoin get noticed even as a novelty item. Enough for people to come in I would think. As Bitcoin becomes more popular, I agree, becomes more viable.
Is there potential for a Brick and Mortar store - that just sells Bitcoins to people?
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