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True there's no advantage to paying with bitcoin currently and most people are just using it for the novelty value. But enough growth and merchants will just ha

True there's no advantage to paying with bitcoin currently and most people are just using it for the novelty value. But enough growth and merchants will just have to offer discounts with bitcoin purchases to stay competitive.

StavrosK 12y ago
Isn't that illegal?
- sanswork 12y ago
  Credit card companies use to dictate that you couldn't charge different prices for them but they were sued and lost so now you can.
  - digitalsushi 12y ago
    The Dodd-Frank act, 2010, with the Durbin Amendment, made it so that vendors could impose a restriction on credit card purchases up to 10 dollars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act#cite_note-21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_...
  - yebyen 12y ago
    Citation please. I've been charged extra at my favorite Chinese restaurant for using a card, so it's not that I don't believe you, but I would really like to know the relevant decision. (Upvoted)
    - belandrew 12y ago
      Visa and Mastercard settled so there was no decision needed. http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2010/262867.htm http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2010/262867... I believe American Express settled later.
mrb 12y ago
If the numerous and massive data breaches, and subsequent credit card theft and fraud events of the last few years have taught us anything, it is that yes paying in bitcoins has one fundamental advantage: you are never handing the store your full billing info which can be stolen and reused by fraudsters. Now, Bitcoin also has its own security challenges (eg. how to secure a wallet), but there are solutions (hardware wallets) making it a fundamentally more secure way of transacting online.
- sanswork 12y ago
  Except when that happens with credit cards you're protected from loss so it doesn't matter as a consumer.
  - danielweber 12y ago
    In fact, you aren't out the money at all, ever. If someone steals my credit card and runs up $8000 in charges on it, I'm not out $8000. There is a piece of paper somewhere that says I owe $8000, but that's not being out the money. One might have a model of "net worth" as "total assets minus total debts," and normally it's a decent model, and this makes net worth go down. But illegitimate debts put a wrinkle in that model. Never underestimate the advantage of having money versus being owed money. (This is a start-up lesson, too.)
  - mrb 12y ago
    How naive you are. You could basically be arrested and branded as a pedophile if your CC info is stolen: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7326736.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7326736.stm I recognize this is an extreme story, but you cannot claim that CC info theft "does not matter". When it happens, there are many ways in which it can turn in a big pile of hassle for you.
    - coldtea 12y ago
      This is a BS, extremely naive argument in favor of bitcoin. For one, you can very much have the same happen to any bitcoin user, using their personal details online in such sites.
aianus 12y ago
That's not true, it's cheaper for me to buy things on Amazon with Bitcoin via Gyft (3% cashback) than using my credit card (1% cashback) or debit card (nada).
- sanswork 12y ago
  You're ignoring the cost of acquiring bitcoins in that 3%. Also cheaper still to buy gift cards via raise, cardpool, giftcardgranny, hundreds of other results for "discount gift cards" which are 3%-6% off AND get your 1% cash back.
  - NSEDhom 12y ago
    Your own specious arguments also ignore the cost over exchange quoted prices in acquiring Bitcoin, and make a lot of incorrect assumptions to boot. You seem very vested in making this sound like bad news. I guess your job as a shill is in jeopardy? Better post more.
  - aianus 12y ago
    Please link me to a site that has Amazon gift cards at a greater than 3% discount. I tried searching last time someone gave me that reply and couldn't find one.
    - sanswork 12y ago
      http://www.giftcardgranny.com/store/amazon/ http://www.giftcardgranny.com/store/amazon/
  - mhluongo 12y ago
    Buying Amazon cards on the secondary market isn't a good idea, though, due to the fraud. Otherwise agreed.
    - sanswork 12y ago
      Which is helped by the ability to do chargebacks when you are defrauded.

StavrosK 12y ago

Isn't that illegal?

sanswork 12y ago
Credit card companies use to dictate that you couldn't charge different prices for them but they were sued and lost so now you can.
- digitalsushi 12y ago
  The Dodd-Frank act, 2010, with the Durbin Amendment, made it so that vendors could impose a restriction on credit card purchases up to 10 dollars. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_and_Consumer_Protection_Act#cite_note-21 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodd%E2%80%93Frank_Wall_Street_...
- yebyen 12y ago
  Citation please. I've been charged extra at my favorite Chinese restaurant for using a card, so it's not that I don't believe you, but I would really like to know the relevant decision. (Upvoted)
  - belandrew 12y ago
    Visa and Mastercard settled so there was no decision needed. http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2010/262867.htm http://www.justice.gov/atr/public/press_releases/2010/262867... I believe American Express settled later.

mrb 12y ago

If the numerous and massive data breaches, and subsequent credit card theft and fraud events of the last few years have taught us anything, it is that yes paying in bitcoins has one fundamental advantage: you are never handing the store your full billing info which can be stolen and reused by fraudsters. Now, Bitcoin also has its own security challenges (eg. how to secure a wallet), but there are solutions (hardware wallets) making it a fundamentally more secure way of transacting online.

sanswork 12y ago
Except when that happens with credit cards you're protected from loss so it doesn't matter as a consumer.
- danielweber 12y ago
  In fact, you aren't out the money at all, ever. If someone steals my credit card and runs up $8000 in charges on it, I'm not out $8000. There is a piece of paper somewhere that says I owe $8000, but that's not being out the money. One might have a model of "net worth" as "total assets minus total debts," and normally it's a decent model, and this makes net worth go down. But illegitimate debts put a wrinkle in that model. Never underestimate the advantage of having money versus being owed money. (This is a start-up lesson, too.)
- mrb 12y ago
  How naive you are. You could basically be arrested and branded as a pedophile if your CC info is stolen: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7326736.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7326736.stm I recognize this is an extreme story, but you cannot claim that CC info theft "does not matter". When it happens, there are many ways in which it can turn in a big pile of hassle for you.
  - coldtea 12y ago
    This is a BS, extremely naive argument in favor of bitcoin. For one, you can very much have the same happen to any bitcoin user, using their personal details online in such sites.

aianus 12y ago

That's not true, it's cheaper for me to buy things on Amazon with Bitcoin via Gyft (3% cashback) than using my credit card (1% cashback) or debit card (nada).

sanswork 12y ago
You're ignoring the cost of acquiring bitcoins in that 3%. Also cheaper still to buy gift cards via raise, cardpool, giftcardgranny, hundreds of other results for "discount gift cards" which are 3%-6% off AND get your 1% cash back.
- NSEDhom 12y ago
  Your own specious arguments also ignore the cost over exchange quoted prices in acquiring Bitcoin, and make a lot of incorrect assumptions to boot. You seem very vested in making this sound like bad news. I guess your job as a shill is in jeopardy? Better post more.
- aianus 12y ago
  Please link me to a site that has Amazon gift cards at a greater than 3% discount. I tried searching last time someone gave me that reply and couldn't find one.
  - sanswork 12y ago
    http://www.giftcardgranny.com/store/amazon/ http://www.giftcardgranny.com/store/amazon/
- mhluongo 12y ago
  Buying Amazon cards on the secondary market isn't a good idea, though, due to the fraud. Otherwise agreed.
  - sanswork 12y ago
    Which is helped by the ability to do chargebacks when you are defrauded.