Topic: how to buy BTC in person - page 2. (Read 1661 times)

I've had a similiar situation with some random person  looking over my shoulder just as I was entering my password. I asked him kindly to look away, and later changed my password just to make sure 

You'll have to decide for yourself how many confirmations to wait for.

When the seller is willing to use the localbitcoins.com transaction service, there is no need to wait for any confirmations at all, but that service costs the seller 1% of the transaction amount. If the seller is in a hurry and doesn't want to wait for the number of confirmations you need to feel secure, suggest that they cover the cost and use the transaction service.  That allows them to buy the ability to leave quickly after the transaction.

For amounts less than $20, I'm almost always willing to accept with 0 confirmations.
For amounts less than $200, I'm almost always willing to accept with 1 confirmation.
For amounts less than $2000, I'm almost always willing to accept with 3 confirmations.
I don't think I'd personally be concerned about waiting for 6 confirmations in a face-to-face exchange unless the amount was over $10,000.

That's my personal choice though.  A zero confirmation transaction is pretty risky, but it would take some significant technical knowledge, to pull off a scam after 1 confirmation, especially if you verify that confirmation from multiple sources (your wallet, blockchain.info, and blockexplorer.com).

The only concern I've had so far in a face-to-face transaction was when someone tried to look over my shoulder as I typed in my wallet password.  I don't think they were trying to memorize the password (which would've been extremely difficult for them anyhow), I think they were just naturally curious about what I was doing on my computer, but as soon as they left, I changed the password anyhow, just in case.

If possible try stay for 3, most sites who take Bitcoin wait for 3 but if you have a lot of time then you could stick around for 6.

Thanks guys! that was useful information! I actually live near NYC so nearest casino is about 1 hour away. I guess starbucks could work as that local site seemed to have local people in NYC/NJ that it may work in.

Good info as far as the confirmations as was not sure how many i should stick around for.


Thanks for all the info!

its legit

Yes, confirm times do vary, For larger transfers you can expect a good hours wait.

Depends, sometimes it's slow sometimes it's fast can take 20 minutes. Make sure you have enough time to wait around, you're normally safe after the 1st confirmation but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Sorry if off topic, but does 6 confirmations mean 60 minutes? Or is there another way to tell?

Localbitcoins.com if your in a larger city might be a viable option.

Its happend, I was reading last week about some guy who did a face to face deal. The guy put in his USB to deliver the bitcoins, the next day all the bitcoins were gone. Probably installed some keylogger on his machine.

Not really, a scammer isn't going to scam someone in real life. Unless they are scum or a scam artist.

Local Bitcoins? Sounds sketchy.

this is really helpful if you live in a major city

 Soon there will be many bitcoin atms.

I think there is only one Bitcoin ATM at the moment, isn't very viable for a few years if they even decide to make more.

"a" bitcoin ATM doesn't do much good unless there are many of them

 Thanks for the link!

Hmm, isn't there a bitcoin ATM now?

How about a betting shop, here in the UK they have quite a few CCTV cameras installed.

Perhaps a nearby bank lobby? Or the lobby of a courthouse?