Topic: Buying bitcoin for the first time (Read 1461 times)

For first time buyers, I would avoid any online trade.  There is so much that can go wrong.

A lot of people say to avoid localbitcoins because it is too expensive.

While I agree that you won't get the best rate, I think it is a good starting point.  The reasons include: you can meet someone in person, which, if you meet in public, and you use common sense (like dealing with an established trader), you should be ok.  Also, you may be able to find a trader who will allow for small trades.

Buying btc from an exchange can be expensive too.  Although the rates may be lower, you will probably be paying bank transfer fees that can wipe out any savings you would get. 

Most of the exchanges also require you to hand over so much personal info, that reduce the anonymity.  Some people factor that in as an "expense" not worth paying for.

I would start off with a local trade, whether it be from localbitcoins, paxful, or from someone advertising elsewhere on the web.  LBC has a good escrow so you can reduce your risk of getting scammed.  Even if you don't use escrow with a local trade, at least you can agree face-to-face that when you hand over the $, the seller is going to send it to your wallet.  Check the blockchain to see if confirmations go thru.

Deal only with reputable traders!

You can try at coinbase, poloniex.

It's best to buy it on exchange - try bitfinex.com

Avoid localbitcoin, too much % on the price BTC/USD, i think it's best (and more secure and more fast) buy on coinbase and instant transfer to another more secure wallet

Buying is made simple with the localbitcoins.com. It gives you detailed information about traders. You can select the trader with whom you wish to buy based on trust, Volume, access.

Localbitcoin is an option but you need to be careful with whom you deal.

You can try virwox if fees is not an issue with you.

Coinbase, Xapo, Bit-x and Gemini are some trustworthy websites.

As well and you can even try buying bitcoins from forum members in the Currency Exchange section.

You can also buy from a trusted seller on Bitcointalk.org.  Just make sure that the seller has a positive trust score.  But I haven't tried this and I assume it's risky.

Could you tell us more OP, which country are you from, what payment method you're looking to buy bitcoin with, it would be easier to provide right advice if we know these details.

Localbitcoins.com is the best option to make a buy. It has got the very simple interface and the best access than other bitcoin exchange websites.

it depends how you want to buy. I mean what is your alternative payment source for buying bitcoin? if you have paypal or other e-currency like payza and Perfectmoney. then it is better to buy bitcoins from individual trader on this forum. and if you want to buy bitcoin through bank account or credit card then localbitcoin is best option for it.

coinbase maybe. be careful many scam sites and scammer people around. Got scammed last year for 2 BTC.

Us members have many reliable options like coinbase but on LBC, one can find users from almost all countries who sell their bitcoins for different payment options. Cryptsy was dead long back but I don't trust Gemini to some extent as I had issues with them earlier.

I'm new in Crypto world as well and I used LocalBitcoins to buy with bank transfer from reputed members - no problem there (just use those that have 100+ transactions under their name), you can also use CoinBase they are one of the most reputable as well.

some of the suggestions here are bad. if you don't want to get ripped off and you are new, then don't use services like localbitcoins that you have to buy bitcoin p2p, or any method that requires you to buy from a person.
instead use a well known service like coinbase, circle,... or an exchanger. that way you know who you are dealing with (it wouldn't be a random anonymous person on the internet)

if you dont want to buy bitcoin on exchange,you should buy on people in this forum,sent your money first to trusted seller,and get the best escrow to handle your transaction,its fast and safe way to buy bitcoin.

you can use coinbase, cex.io, coinmama, there are many options, but be careful

It depends on where you are located. If you are from US then  you have plenty of good services to buy bitcoin from. Some major exchanges are operating in USD.
If security of your transaction is your top priority I would personally recommend you to use Gemini. And remember to NOT use Cryptsy, they are dead.

Everyone above has great suggestions. I'd think you be able to find an exchange that would work with you from any of the above, but just in case. I look at  https://www.bitcoin.com/buy-bitcoin.  You can search by country to help speed up the process.
There's always indacoin also. They are extremely quick. But mostly comes down to restrictions based on country.

Hope it helps

Cheers

in my country it's a little bit difficult to buy bitcoin because we don't have those bitcoin ATM machines and there is not a lot of bitcoin sellers around here

Localbitcoins acts as an escrow during the process of buying Bitcoin and reduces the chance of fraud occurring. Otherwise, Bitstamp is a reputable exchange with relatively low fees.

You can choose to go to the currency exchange section on the forum and opt for escrow. It is possible to use escrow when exchanging Bitcoin for fiat or vice versa.