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by BitcoinStore 4978 days ago
The advantage to using Bitcoin is that there are no payment processing fees. What we're able to cut with BitcoinStore is that 1-10% fee that Visa, PayPal, et al. charge especially when dealing with products that have a high chargeback risks. So the products that sell best when using Bitcoin have high chargeback risks associated with them.
2 comments
srdev 4978 days ago
How do you fill the gap for me, the consumer, of not having chargebacks available? Chargebacks are a net plus for me.
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ewillbefull 4978 days ago
This is usually filled by escrow services which I'm not sure this website has implemented. Even Silk Road has implemented this, so it's a deal-breaker for me.
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r2DEYdly 4978 days ago
Silk Road has implemented this because it is a market between sellers and buyers. BitcoinStore is a company selling stuff, having escrow would have no point at all.
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mikeash 4978 days ago
How does the fact that it's a company instead of an individual change the picture at all? In both cases, escrow serves the same purpose: to safeguard against getting ripped off.
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rdl 4978 days ago
Assuming bitcoinstore hasn't ripped off their previous N customers, I'm fairly confident being purchaser N+1, especially if my transaction isn't "special" in any way.

They would have a lot to lose by ripping off customers, vs. a random seller on silkroad, so I'd feel comfortable up to a few thousand dollars.

I think I've actually bought something from Memorydealers before. I'm not sure of the relationship between bitcoinstore and Memorydealers. If they're the same entity, then I'd be fine up to $100k or so -- it's a real business.

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mikeash 4978 days ago
That makes escrow less likely to be useful, but the chance doesn't go to zero, so it hardly has "no point at all".
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rdl 4978 days ago
High chargeback risk makes sense; the 1-3% fee otherwise doesn't really make a business, given how widespread credit cards are, etc., IMO.

So, selling prepaid cards online would be a particular niche, maybe, or other things which are cash-equivalent.

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BitcoinStore 4978 days ago
For the 1-3% fee businesses, it does actually make sense. Especially with really low-margin sites. Think of your local grocery store offering a cash discount because of credit card fees, those businesses really do exist on the margin.
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