... Yes, the merchants I have purchased from have used a processor (BitPay in fact, is what I remember). Which is why, as I said, the transaction for me, the consumer, was instantaneous. It was an online transaction, so the moment it went through I was free to go on with my day.
If you used a payment processor, you did not buy with Bitcoin. What you did was find the most convoluted way of buying with fiat, something Rube Goldberg would be proud of.
It goes something like this:
Buy BTC with fiat, possibly pay fee.
Send BTC to the payment provider, who will
convert it to fiat & pay the merchant.
Such convenient. Wow.
Actually, it was very convenient. And in fact I did pay with bitcoins - that I mined. If the merchant chooses to keep those as bitcoins, then in fact there is zero fiat involved. One of the merchants was bitcoinshop, which I believe did indeed keep the coins as such. It really irks me all these people who are like "you used a payment processor so you didn't really use bitcoin". Well, my bitcoin balance on the wallet went down by the amount I used, and I received something in return, so to me - I paid in bitcoin. Where those coins came from is irrelevant to that fact.
Oh, and in fact for other purchases I did actually saved more money - but maybe that's inconvenient for you. Here's what I did, since the opportunity was there:
Buy BTC with CAD.
Spend BTC on item (price converted from USD)
Benefit from difference in BTC exchange rate AND USD/CAD exchange rate.
Result - saved myself 15-20% on the purchase price. Bonus: didn't have to use my CC number again on the internet.
Since you went all-caps on the word "MANY," I feel I should address this first: Did you know that there are MANY companies, both large and small, that do not accept BTC?
Well, now you know.
Yes I am well aware. The number that do is increasing every day. This is just one example of it following the same trend that websites did.
Regardless of what you believe will happen in the future, we're not talking about one of the possible ways for the probability wave to collapse. We're talking now.
Now the number of merchants accepting BTC is nowhere near those accepting CC.
Now that is a humorous argument! Don't use something until it's ubiquitous. Well, I guess if you want to live in the dark ages, that's fine.
...I don't believe inflation is required, however, since not all salaries go up to match inflation. In fact, mine has not kept up with inflation for at least the past 6 years.
No, not all salaries keep up with inflation, because not communism. Since yours hasn't, I suggest you get good.
Get good... what?
...
The security of the technology IS important - if it were possible for someone to easily steal or counterfeit bitcoins that would be a big deal - but they can't. And many experts have tried. So it's important to realize that the weak point is not the technology, but the human factor. And no more so than with other forms of digital payment.
So if you are careful with your bitcoins and treat them as securely as you would a handful of cash, then you shouldn't have a problem. You won't have to worry about someone stealing the credit card database from a large retailer and then you having to replace your card. Sure the CC company will cover the fraudulent transactions, but its still a pain in the butt. Especially if you happen to be travelling and charging stuff on your CC when it gets denied. Ever have that happen? That's certainly not convenient.
So someone hacking into a server to get CC #s is the fault of CC technology? Not a flaw in the overly technology or a lapse of security? OK, but the consumer nonetheless doesn't lose his money, unlike the endless list of Bitcoin "hacks" from TF to Ukyo to Mt.Gox etc., etc., etc.
If you feel the inconvenience of dealing with the CC company is no worse than having all your money disappeared, I got nothing.
Wait... so you're saying CCs are safe even though companies involved get hacked... uh, yeah... The fact that CC companies will reimburse consumers clearly says something about how much fees they collect. Oh, and there are documented cases of hacks on bitcoin companies where the company did actually reimburse the customers, so don't say it doesn't happen.
There is no recourse if someone steals your coins, just as there is no recourse if someone steals your cash.
If you keep all of your money in cash, you're doing it wrong. You probably keep all your coin in an online wallet with a freshly-registered domain & no ssl, amirite?
Get yourself a few CC and live like a twenty-first century human being
Where did I say I keep all my money in cash? That's some serious clutching so got going there...
I will admit that I like CCs for some things - I always pay my bill when it comes, and don't do cash withdrawals on the card, so they don't collect from me directly. I get points for using the card, but of course these types of reward cards hurt the merchants even more with higher fees. The day is coming when these "perks" are going to be going away from the cards, mark my words. For now I am happy with them, but they won't last forever. The CC companies see the competition, so they will have to adapt.
I personally like when I can pay with Bitcoin and not have to dig out my CC once again. You may find it funny, but not giving out more information actually makes me feel safer.
