Topic: Here's the problem - BitCoin users are too cheap and just want to hide it - page 2. (Read 4541 times)

You got a prepaid cell phone? Not only will you find a trusted and fair trader I will sell you PIN codes below retail.  See CellCoin link in my sig. 

It will take time but one by one I really do believe you will see reputable places to spend your hard earned coins. 

You didn't try to buy any shirts or stickers.   

I ship product all the time and sell items for as little as .2 btc .

I do admit that people hold on to bitcoins pretty tightly.  That should change some as they are easier to get with bitinstant and others like them now.  I have found the market for services to be more lively then the market for physical items.  Logo design, VPN services and of course gambling. 

The fairest place I have seen is Satoshi Dice, as the outcome is predicable and the house margin is low and all of the traffic is visible. 

I've noticed this as well as a guy who tried to expand his business ventures into more areas with very few takers on here.I'd like to get feedback from potential customers in the BTC community as to what things they want.My lottery was the only thing that had very few takers (0.25btc total but hey a winner was picked randomly, so at least some good came out of it).My loans venture was a loss maker (lost 4BTC to a scammer,it's not that much lost but still nice to sell off the debt asap or sell part ownership of that venture about 5-10% of all total ownership while I hold majority control for now).

A good business minded person will ask for and listen to feedback from potential clients/actual customers as well.So I'm listening. This is also the mindset (as well) that makes me question whether it's worth keeping my ventures in the BTC world or to take it back to the real world (like it was before).Oh well,no turning back now.Got to restructure some of my ventures by letting people have a chance of part ownership (for BTC of course) as well as trying harder to give people what they want.

Maybe.  

(Paper) Fortunes have been made in bitcoin from literally nothing.  I believe the smart ones have been quietly cashing in for good old regular currency.  I know I would.  The naive ones (no offense intended) are the vocal ones on this board claiming they are waiting for the $1000 bitcoin or whatever other crazy amount they have thought of.  What isn't happening is regular spending on anything more than a small scale.  

It doesn't make sense to spend much money with bitcoin.  Here is why:

1.  No buyer protection.
2.  Not many merchants.
3.  Better prices elsewhere.  

It doesn't make much sense to sell products in bitcoins either.  Here is why:

1.  No buyers!
2.  Bitcoins fluctuate huge amounts all the time.  
3.  No real motivation to take the steps necessary to do so.  The biggest motivation would be to reach a new market but that is mostly negated by point #1.

My experience as a merchant so far trying out bitcoin:  

posted an ad here no takers
put up auctions on the 2 main sites.  Got one sale for 75% of what it goes for on ebay.  Buyer still didn't even pay or respond to communication.  

The best thing bitcoin had going for it was silk road.  Bitcoin actually filled a need there that couldn't be met by any other payment method.  Like it or not, bitcoins biggest draw is black market trade.    

And last but not least the biggest bitcoin downside of all.  Security.  It is funny I was going to post this this morning before todays fun but was away from the computer.  Here are some fun things to think about:

-  If you have lots of bitcoin you better keep it to yourself.  You would be a dream target for a couple guys with guns to come visit your home and borrow your computer for a minute.  
-  How about chinese and other hackers?

Bitcoin is drawing every hacker and online criminal organization worldwide like bugs to a big bright tasty light. 

The security concerns alone are enough reason that bitcoin will NEVER be used as a serious investment vehicle.

Just IMHO of course.  I have nothing riding on this because I can't short bitcoins.  But I am enjoying the show.    

Yes, the West is funded by everyone else and if the house of cards falls down then everyone will suffer.

But don't kid yourself that the West won't suffer more. They will. The BRIC countries and Africa can do enough trade between them. During the rebuilding process, the West will be severely disadvantaged.

Apart from rampant consumerism, what does the West bring to the table? Relatively little.

Where do you think the West is getting their debt from?  As long as their debt is denominated in USD and loaned to the West - we are both in trouble.  If the West defaults on their debt to them - we will all be in for a wild ride.

No, they're hoarders because the only things that sell in the Marketplace are things that you would see at a yard sale. There is ZERO serious trade going.

A few people like 5grainsilver and myself are trying to encourage some serious trade but nobody here is interested. Nobody wants to release any capital, they just want to hold it.

If this continues to happen, hardly anything will get into circulation and it will be their own undoing.

Eventually, the market will get fed up of it and demand will drop. Then there will be a panic situation as the hoarders try to secure their profits and the currency will crash.

So bitcoiners are hoarders because they wouldn't buy your metals to hoard?

I put up an ad for bullion and got zero takers.  Have to agree.

No offence to your friends but current times are proving them wrong.

The West is bankrupt. They thought that debt=wealth but they were wrong. The economies of BRIC countries and the East have citizens that are net savers. Their economies will pummel the West during this next decade.

I'm waiting 'til the 'coins i got are worth at least around 1k USD total before starting spending anything more than sporadic donations of a couple bitcents once in a while, i don't wanna run out of money too soon (or at all really).

I love the BTC idea and tech, but my 'normal economy' friends would say:

"AHA!" to what you just mentioned above, and also say:

"You see, that is exactly IT... it is the VELOCITY of money that makes for 'rich' countries and economies.  Those who spend their money, by force or by nature end up way better off than those 'poor' countries and economies where people "value their money more and save it"..."

Any comments?

--okay, so I have a quote within a quote... you know what I mean

If you look at local currencies (I forget the real name), the ones where a town prints their own paper money, these become a success because people believe in them and use them at a variety of stores.

I can't believe a currency will be a success unless a critical mass actually use it for buying/selling goods and services.

Problem is, most of the currency is in the hands of hoarders. Anyone know what the total figures of issued currency are and how much is traded daily? If the ratio of spend to circulation is very low then this currency is doomed before it's even taken off.

If businesses wont accept BTCs for what you want, pool a few of those BTCs together with others and create a business that will.

I see lots of people just looking to convert BTC to cash, or when they want to buy large items they cant find anyone selling them for BTC. Like $2k+ products.

Personally, I've mainly just been buying BTC to use with various projects so I guess I'm hoarding. Its an exciting time right now for new Bitcoin projects to come out of the woodwork and vie for bitcoins.

Besides converting to USD, I think tipping/gambling people are probably up in the top uses right now.



If you ever want to try your hand again at BTC -> beef jerky, check us out! http://www.stuffpoints.com/browse-new/beef%20jerky/1/

Chicken and egg then? Could this be the limit of BTC? No more price rises and perhaps even collapse?

I TRIED to buy beefjerky with BTC, but the business owner reneged on the deal.

I TRIED to gamble it all away but couldn't find a fair place to do it that wasn't just some stupid lottery or rigged site.

I TRIED to do lots of things with bitcoins.  The only thing I was able to successfully buy with it was USD.  Not surprisingly I was easily able to buy beefjerky with these magical USD, and my friends sure did enjoy taking them from me in our poker game.

The problem is that the market isn't big enough yet. The people with the goods and services WE WANT don't accept bitcoins and the people with the bitcoins don't want to spend it on goods/services that are currently on the market.

What I mean is, it seems that people are suddenly uber-careful with their money.

Think about it. The might dollar or pound: people don't respect it anymore. It's not backed by gold, you can get credit easily. People spend money as if it were too hot to handle. Little wonder that the average western citizen has no savings but huge consumer debt.

Now contrast that to poorer countries who value their money more and save it. Contrast to people owning precious metals who like to hoard their money.

BTC seems to be behaving more like precious metals.


Basically, BTC is like fiat money. And it seems that the modern economy is incompatible with fiat money to a great extent. A currency like BTC could force the modern economy to grind to a halt. I think this is why BTC is not a true replacement for paper currency. Because people have no desire to return to a lifestyle they had 30 years ago...

Oh no, a money good enough that people actually want it. If people are willing to turn down cars and mansions and yachts and hookers all to keep the same number of coins imagine the amazing things people will do in order to get more! Maybe you should get some coins so you can buy some of the great stuff coming.