1.) Do you care one way or the other, and just use it as an alternate to the current central banking system?
2.) Do you like to have that option sometimes, to be anonymous in your purchases?
3.) Do you anticipate making the majority or all of your purchases online using bitcoins to be anonymous?
It should probably be considered before you vote, that one can generally not receive goods in the mail without anyone knowing who you are.
1-2-3: I like having the possibility to make an near anonymous purchase (shipping address an the issue). The obstacle I see is the current consumer business; purchases nowadays imply or guarantee satisfaction - they saw this as an appeal to consumers, to keep an edge on competition - which requires more info from the consumer, or awareness of store policies specific to the store (reciepts, amount of days, exchanges). That is the biggest issue on a practical side. I personally understand bitcoin, so I know that if I send a payment and forgot to include the address or contact information, I have only the hope and good grace of the business to explain the problem and hopefully see the amount as a payment I sent. Stores should offer varying levels, but state the risk in not including some information; perhaps I forgot to pickup the package at the sent address, or no name on the package is against the shipper's policy, etc. In Other Words: Make it clear to the consumer that these transactions
are different than what we are used to (policies, risks, delay for confirmations of payments).
MAIN POINT: its very nice to get rid of the billing info of a transaction, that streamlines one step. Just make it obvious what the circumstances are, and whether or not refunds or other occurrences are handled in the same way as our everyday situations.
What I really don't like is having to remember the goddamn zipcode of the house I rented the last time I changed my debit card bank info in order to buy a pair of fucking socks.
I want to: Pay, give the address I want the thing (if it's a thing) shipped to.
That's the frustration of the current credit payment system. Remember, when it first came out, swiping an imprint unto duplicate, calling up the merchant to verify amount, handing the phone over to the carholder for him to answer questions? Probably not, but for awhile that was the norm. Then it became reimbursements on false purchases, checking the signature. Now, we have security codes, PINs. Billing zipcode are now common, to verify the identity of the cardholder, who would know the billing address.
The systems in place came about in responses to problems. Fraud, whether anonymous or back in the days by lending a card to a friend, having it signed on the back, a note from the cardholder giving permission.
What I love is the customers who scribble out the numbers except for the last four, on our merchant copy. Does nothing. You agree to this purchase, then we can get quite a bit of info if circumstances warrant. That use to be a thing against dumpster diving, back when fraud had to be a physical act of acquiring it. The waiter or cashier has that info too. But people don't realize such things.
This last part is with banks, though I'm quoting a reliable friend. Apparently you can easily find out routing and tracking numbers (one being your account). I'm pretty sure you could call up a phone order and pay with that info, or at least use to. He also told me the IRS can take owed dues straight from your account, whether you agree or know about it. He owed money to them, and I'm never looked up specifics to double check his story; But I know the beginnings of checks had all sorts of things that seem strange nowadays, but they never reworked the system, just appended it.
