Instead they are treating it like a short-sighted marketing gimmick.
because they know it won't last
Topic: Why are merchants not serious about the advantages of Bitcoin? (Read 3462 times)
because they know it won't last
January 30, 2015, 05:18:45 PM
Why would you think that?
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
My complaint is not with the number of merchants accepting bitcoin, but with their failure to capitalize on its use. Bitcoin provides cost savings to merchants who accept it in the form of lower fees and costs associated with other forms of payment (bounced check fees, arguing chargebacks, hiring armored cars to carry away cash, and so on).
Consumers like me get rebates and points and so forth using other payment systems like credit cards. So we need an incentive to switch to bitcoin. Since the merchants are indirectly paying for my rebates/points/etc with the fees they pay to financial middlemen, it makes sense for them to offer a discount to consumers paying with bitcoin. They should be able to hit a sweet spot where the discount is less than the amount they are saving, but more than we consumers can get using alternate forms of payment.
Do that and bitcoin use will explode.
January 30, 2015, 02:45:56 PM
I think another reason is tons of people probably bought Bitcoins when they were much more expensive. If the price jumped up to say 1200, I would bet every business would see you a huge raise in the amount of Bitcoin purchases.
January 30, 2015, 01:47:36 PM
Why would you think that?
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
the problem with microsoft ,dell ,overstock ,newegg etc is they sell a lot of equipment people dont buy often
i have dell laptops that are years old running 24/7 and i buy an up to date new one every 3 years or so
its things i buy everyday or every month that are not accepting bitcoin yet ,like fast food ,gas/diesel ,coffee ,
groceries ,bus ,train tickets,taxis ,phone ,utility bills
i think when these places catch on we will see a lot more adoption but in turn these places will have to give something back
to the customer for using btc or they will just use simple cash
discount or reward points of some incentive to buy btc and spend them is what they need ,at least in the beginning they should
give back whatever % saved by not using credit cards and not having to worry about charge backs etc
sales will be final and fraud from stolen credit cards and chargebacks etc will be zero so there is good incentive for the merchant if they can be bothered
to learn about btc and use it ....
January 30, 2015, 01:30:29 PM
Why would you think that?
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
Yes, but is that what is killing the value of Bitcoins? I think it might be because I think they are selling right now.
January 30, 2015, 12:59:36 PM
Why would you think that?
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
I think merchant adoption has been stellar, if you consider the vol we have had
January 30, 2015, 12:40:11 PM
Not sure if they are allowed to treat credit card customer's differently, there must be some policy that says you can't charge extra if your customer is paying by credit cards.
actually quite the opposite. some states have passed legislation that allows merchants like restaurants to charge up to 5% more for buyers using credit cards.
January 30, 2015, 12:39:04 PM
Merchants are scared of Bitcoin's extreme volatility plus its still too experimental for them to massively adopt, slowly they willget it tho.
Very good point.
If I will be merchant, right now I will be very scared to accept bitcoin as payment tool for my services/products.
For example, if I sell something for 10 btc and 1 btc is let's say 200 usd, and value of btc suddenly drop to 150 usd, I will loose 500 usd because of this value instability.
Very bad for any business.
But if they're scared of this they can use a payment processor which automatically converts the coins to cash and deposits it into their bank account. This isn't an excuse really for this exact reason.
January 30, 2015, 12:36:07 PM
Lots of reasons that are mentioned here are great why merchants are not serious.
I really like the comment about all about Fiat for these business, it is, they can't hold onto Bitcoin and hope that the value goes up. They can probably keep a small amount of coins but they need the money to pay for their crap
I really like the comment about all about Fiat for these business, it is, they can't hold onto Bitcoin and hope that the value goes up. They can probably keep a small amount of coins but they need the money to pay for their crap
January 30, 2015, 12:13:37 PM
In the end it's all about fiat money. Most crypto investors want to make a profit and when the price is high enough they turn their back and exchange for fiat.
January 30, 2015, 12:10:38 PM
Merchants are scared of Bitcoin's extreme volatility plus its still too experimental for them to massively adopt, slowly they willget it tho.
Very good point.
If I will be merchant, right now I will be very scared to accept bitcoin as payment tool for my services/products.
For example, if I sell something for 10 btc and 1 btc is let's say 200 usd, and value of btc suddenly drop to 150 usd, I will loose 500 usd because of this value instability.
Very bad for any business.
January 30, 2015, 12:07:34 PM
The simple answer is that they have yet to be provided the proper motivation to seriously consider BTC.
That is more or less a failure of marketing.
That is more or less a failure of marketing.
January 30, 2015, 12:03:32 PM
Merchants are scared of Bitcoin's extreme volatility plus its still too experimental for them to massively adopt, slowly they willget it tho.
January 30, 2015, 08:35:30 AM
if you have $200 in cash use that to pay the hookers and blow and hopefully the btc will go back to $450+
most people are not interested in taking a personal loss just to stimulate the bitcoin economy ,thats the reality
Again, by spending 1 BTC on hookers and buying one back right away (at $200), rather than just spending the $200 on hookers, you are:most people are not interested in taking a personal loss just to stimulate the bitcoin economy ,thats the reality
1. NOT taking any personal loss whatsoever (you already took that loss when buying 1 BTC at $450 and it dropped to $200)
2. Actually helping to recover your loss by stimulating the Bitcoin economy, rather than hodling and merely "hoping" the price will somehow magically rise to $450
Remember: by just sitting on your coins, instead of using them, Bitcoin won't grow! Spend them, and buy back at the same time.
i understand what you are saying but i am already a bitcoin enthusiast
people who are not converted yet think its a $450- $200 is $250 lost + exchange fees as its not always free to use banks to credit exchange and get bitcoins , charges vary depending on what country you live in and which exchange you need to use for whatever reason
January 30, 2015, 08:32:38 AM
Merchants likely aren't serious purely down to ignorance, though there needs to be a big demand from the public also and there's only a tiny minority using bitcoin at the moment so there's not too much advantage for them. Hopefully this will change overtime, though.
But any advantage they do get from it is free. Publicity, new customers (even though it probably won't be much yet, depending on area and type of business), for free.There isn't a single disadvantage in using Bitcoin for merchants: no investment, no costs, no chargebacks, no volatility, no fraud risk, nothing!
January 30, 2015, 08:09:22 AM
Merchants likely aren't serious purely down to ignorance, though there needs to be a big demand from the public also and there's only a tiny minority using bitcoin at the moment so there's not too much advantage for them. Hopefully this will change overtime, though.
January 30, 2015, 07:52:44 AM
Not sure if they are allowed to treat credit card customer's differently, there must be some policy that says you can't charge extra if your customer is paying by credit cards.
Where I live certain places charge more depending on certain cards because of credit card fees. I've even seen some online shops charge more for people to pay via Paypal because their fees are so steep. Bitcoin's small fee are a major advantage to retailers but it's just educating them about it.
January 30, 2015, 07:46:44 AM
if you have $200 in cash use that to pay the hookers and blow and hopefully the btc will go back to $450+
most people are not interested in taking a personal loss just to stimulate the bitcoin economy ,thats the reality
Again, by spending 1 BTC on hookers and buying one back right away (at $200), rather than just spending the $200 on hookers, you are:most people are not interested in taking a personal loss just to stimulate the bitcoin economy ,thats the reality
1. NOT taking any personal loss whatsoever (you already took that loss when buying 1 BTC at $450 and it dropped to $200)
2. Actually helping to recover your loss by stimulating the Bitcoin economy, rather than hodling and merely "hoping" the price will somehow magically rise to $450
Remember: by just sitting on your coins, instead of using them, Bitcoin won't grow! Spend them, and buy back at the same time.
January 30, 2015, 07:26:54 AM
I am sure one reason why merchants aren't so serious about bitcoin is because they probably don't have lot of people using bitcoin to make purchases, and their main aim is to make money, not promote bitcoin.
January 30, 2015, 07:14:04 AM
You would rather call it a gamblers fallacy, that the price can't go lower . Thats what most of the people holding bitcoin have the mindset about .
You're missing the point. In both strategies I suggested, Joe is essentially keeping his Bitcoin. Except with number 2, he is actively helping to raise the price level, on two ends (bitcoin economy, and market demand).
If Joe does think the price will go lower, then he's better off spending his BTC anyway (now that it still buys him $200 worth of stuff), rather than spending $200 and keeping his BTC.
Or, better yet, he buys more- thereby decreases his cost per Bitcoin.
He bought one for $450.
Goes out and buys 4 more @ $200/each. Essentially, he bought each coin for $250/each (1250/5).
BTC could make that kind of value back at some point on any given day.
it still doesnt make sense to pay $450 for a btc and spend it on a hookers and blow a month later when its worth $200 ,
if you have $200 in cash use that to pay the hookers and blow and hopefully the btc will go back to $450+
most people are not interested in taking a personal loss just to stimulate the bitcoin economy ,thats the reality
But had they bought at $450, then BTC goes up to $700, he's in a better spot....doesn't matter.
You missed the point that if an individual buys in at a price point and valuation drops, they have an opportunity to buy more at the lower valuation, bringing down the overall price per eact BTC that they had purchased.
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