Why people price things in fiat but want BTC - choose one or the other

FattyMcButterpants

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Quote from: ?? on ??

Everything can be priced in everything else (as long as those things have prices). That's just the way it works.

People have been trained their entire life to price things in their local fiat.

There is an exchange rate, so we don't need to choose "one or the other".

I don't think it is so much the fact they have been "trained" to price items in their local fiat, but rather they are paid in their local fiat so that is how they measure their money.

I also think the exchange rate of bitcoin is too volatile for most things to be effectively be priced in terms of bitcoin. The only real exception to this would be things that are able to generate bitcoin income (for example miners or cloud mining)

Aemon

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I think the biggest reason for this is to attach a currency to that. It is the same reason BTC has a price attached to it. If I tell you I am going to give you 150 blue velvet posters, wouldn't you want to know the fiat value of that?

johncarpe64

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Quote from: pawel7777 on August 31, 2014, 03:43:13 AM

Quote from: jonanon on August 07, 2014, 06:29:16 AM

I've seen loads of topics of people trying to sell things and saying I want x amount of dollars worth of BTC. Surely if someone is so keen on the idea of Bitcoin fiat shouldn't even be mentioned.

They should be prepared in certain instances to take a fiat loss for their beliefs.

What about the other way around? What if the T-shirt business applied your logic when bitcoin was $10 worth, if they fixed the price of single t-shirt+delivery at BTC2 ($20 at that time) how many do you think they'd be selling now?

If you're running a business, you have to adjust the price to BTC/USD rates to make sure all the expenses are covered (payable mostly in fiat).

If you're individual (ebay-like) seller, who doesn't sell for a living (just getting rid of unwanted goods) - you can fix the price in BTC, take the loss if price goes down, but if the BTC price goes up, you still have to be prepared to lower that fixed price (to remain competitive).

This is a very good point. Most people selling things for bitcoin are bitcoin poor and inventory rich. If they were to price things in terms of bitcoin then their sales would be negatively affected when the price of bitcoin goes up.

In order to be able to have a stable price for their goods, a merchant will need to price their products in something that has a stable value (dollars).

R2D221

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Quote from: Aemon on September 03, 2014, 01:05:46 PM

Quote from: R2D221 on August 28, 2014, 10:13:41 AM

I check the price once a month. If the price changes everyday, then I'm almost always behind.

Is there any reason you don't check it multiple times a day? It is as easy as checking the time which I am sure you do multiple times a day.

I'm not buying stuff multiple times a day.

Kickstart4

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There are not much known people who accept bitcoins to buy regular stuff but fiat is accepted by everyone.
So people think bitcoin only as investment.

Aemon

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Quote from: R2D221 on August 28, 2014, 10:13:41 AM

I check the price once a month. If the price changes everyday, then I'm almost always behind.

Is there any reason you don't check it multiple times a day? It is as easy as checking the time which I am sure you do multiple times a day.

pawel7777

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Quote from: jonanon on August 07, 2014, 06:29:16 AM

I've seen loads of topics of people trying to sell things and saying I want x amount of dollars worth of BTC. Surely if someone is so keen on the idea of Bitcoin fiat shouldn't even be mentioned.

They should be prepared in certain instances to take a fiat loss for their beliefs.

What about the other way around? What if the T-shirt business applied your logic when bitcoin was $10 worth, if they fixed the price of single t-shirt+delivery at BTC2 ($20 at that time) how many do you think they'd be selling now?

If you're running a business, you have to adjust the price to BTC/USD rates to make sure all the expenses are covered (payable mostly in fiat).

If you're individual (ebay-like) seller, who doesn't sell for a living (just getting rid of unwanted goods) - you can fix the price in BTC, take the loss if price goes down, but if the BTC price goes up, you still have to be prepared to lower that fixed price (to remain competitive).

AaronCraig

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Quote from: NotAtOld on August 29, 2014, 01:04:58 AM

LOL. Right. How much value has the US dollar lost in the last 100 years?

'Volatile' means changing suddenly and unpredictably. A slow, steady decline of 3%-ish a year is not volatile no matter how much you want it to be.

Quote from: NotAtOld on August 29, 2014, 01:04:58 AM

BTC has been volatile in the past, but for the most part we enjoy great stability now.

You know, except for that 20% drop we had a week or two ago.

Quote from: NotAtOld on August 29, 2014, 01:04:58 AM

Going back to OP though, the price isn't that important. The thing is that just like gold, providing a specific amount of weight doesn't tell you much. But comparing it to a currency gives a user a more "local" impression of the value.

I really don't understand what any of this means.

knifeedge

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I think it will one day shift into pricing directly in BTC, but not until we reach mass adoption. For now, the bitcoin economy is still in the kindling phase... not yet the blazing fire economy. For now, people relate better to USD or their base currency when trying to adopt BTC I think.

wasserman99

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Quote from: NotAtOld on August 29, 2014, 01:04:58 AM

Quote from: PalmerLaura on August 29, 2014, 12:18:09 AM

Quote from: jonanon on August 07, 2014, 06:29:16 AM

I've seen loads of topics of people trying to sell things and saying I want x amount of dollars worth of BTC. Surely if someone is so keen on the idea of Bitcoin fiat shouldn't even be mentioned.

Because BTC is a volatile currency, but US dollars aren't.

LOL. Right. How much value has the US dollar lost in the last 100 years? The USD is only seemingly stable because of the establishments in place to keep order and keep stacking the house of cards. BTC has been volatile in the past, but for the most part we enjoy great stability now. Depending when you bought in, you're still several hundred percent up.
Going back to OP though, the price isn't that important. The thing is that just like gold, providing a specific amount of weight doesn't tell you much. But comparing it to a currency gives a user a more "local" impression of the value.
In the future that could change, but we will see.

Most people do not keep cash fiat in this fashion for 100 years. They have no reason to.

Someone that has put their fiat USD into an investment that is "designed" to be kept there for a long time (eg stocks, long term bonds) then would have done very well over this 100 years, even after accounting for inflation.

R2D221

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Quote from: TimeWatch on August 29, 2014, 03:59:10 AM

People are more comfortable in buying things with real currency than BTC , and they think BTC as a sort of investment, maybe that's why.

Hope I am clear.

So, the problem is that people think Bitcoin is not a real currency.

TimeWatch

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People are more comfortable in buying things with real currency than BTC , and they think BTC as a sort of investment, maybe that's why.

Hope I am clear.

Drendas

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Oh, c'mon! Are you stupid?

Bizzaran

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fiat exist, so it must be mentioned until it is globally replaced. and anyone invested i hope knows the risk and is prepared for any change being a loss, gain, or stagnant market.

Dawnbreaker

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“But,” the whiners protest, “Bitcoin can’t be used as a unit of account! How can it be a currency when you can’t use it to distinguish a profit from a loss?”

To put this argument in context, let us review the three traditional functions of money. Money is often simultaneously a store of value, medium of exchange, and unit of account. The argument goes that if a good is not useful as a unit of account then it is not money. However, the only necessary relation between these three functions is that a medium of exchange must also be a store of value. A thing can serve as a store of value without being a medium of exchange or a unit of account, and a thing can be a unit of account without being either of the other two. Konrad Graf has written an article developing this point."

http://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/i-love-bitcoins-volatility/

NotAtOld

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Quote from: PalmerLaura on August 29, 2014, 12:18:09 AM

Quote from: jonanon on August 07, 2014, 06:29:16 AM

I've seen loads of topics of people trying to sell things and saying I want x amount of dollars worth of BTC. Surely if someone is so keen on the idea of Bitcoin fiat shouldn't even be mentioned.

Because BTC is a volatile currency, but US dollars aren't.

LOL. Right. How much value has the US dollar lost in the last 100 years? The USD is only seemingly stable because of the establishments in place to keep order and keep stacking the house of cards. BTC has been volatile in the past, but for the most part we enjoy great stability now. Depending when you bought in, you're still several hundred percent up.
Going back to OP though, the price isn't that important. The thing is that just like gold, providing a specific amount of weight doesn't tell you much. But comparing it to a currency gives a user a more "local" impression of the value.
In the future that could change, but we will see.

PalmerLaura

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Activity: 116

Merit: 10

IPSX: Distributed Network Layer

Quote from: jonanon on August 07, 2014, 06:29:16 AM

I've seen loads of topics of people trying to sell things and saying I want x amount of dollars worth of BTC. Surely if someone is so keen on the idea of Bitcoin fiat shouldn't even be mentioned.

Because BTC is a volatile currency, but US dollars aren't.

Moneyunmaker

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People cant still think in btc terms.

Pente

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I tend to do the same thing when traveling in a foreign country. So when the local food stall ask me 20 shillings for a kg. of spinach, I quickly convert in my head to $0.25. I believe in the concept of Bitcoin, but I can't think in bitcoin prices yet.

klovishey

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Selling Coupons Babie

It is like when you visit country with different currency, you need to make conversion to something your very familiar with. And with your local currency you have all life experience, so it is natural to convert to the one your most familiar with.

Maybe if the kids start using Bitcoins much more often than local currency, they will start converting local currency to Bitcoin to get better idea how much it really cost.

Topic: Why people price things in fiat but want BTC - choose one or the other (Read 4911 times)