# Lifestyles & Discussion > Bitcoin / Cryptocurrencies >  Buying Bitcoin: The easiest fast way without huge markup for confused newbies.

## evilfunnystuff

There was some interest and someone complimented my response, so I figured I would make a thread to make it easy to find, though it may get easier on the 29th with CoinLabs new partnership with MtGox https://mtgox.com/press_release_20130228.html




> The easiest fast way without huge markup for newbies, that I would recommend...
> 
> 1 Create a new wallet for free at https://blockchain.info/
> 
> 2 Go to https://www.bitinstant.com
> 
> 3 Select Walmart in the pay from box
> 
> 4 Select Bitcoin address from pay to box
> ...


Bitcoins are automatically bought at current market price on MtGox, and forwarded to your wallet.

Fees with this method, 4% to bitinstant 4 dollars to zipzap.


Alternatively you can start an Mtgox account, go to bitinstant and select MtGox in the pay to field, enter your MtGox account number. You then have Us Dollars in your MtGox account, and can choose when to buy coins based on price fluctuation.


There are ways to get a little more for your money but that is probably the easiest way to get them without too much additional cost.


There are many other ways to acquire some, but for a unsure newbie these are probly the best methods for a first purchase, and the companies involved are well known and reliable.

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## anaconda

^Thank you.

One question: Why are bitcoins trading at a variety of prices at any given moment? 

https://localbitcoins.com/buy_bitcoins

One more question: Why did bitcoins suddenly jump from $40 to $70?

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## evilfunnystuff

No problem

For the same reason the value of the dollar fluctuates vs other currencies, like the Euro and even silver and gold.

Why did it go that high? Supply and demand, more businesses accepting it, recent news, etc

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## anaconda

> For the same reason the value of the dollar fluctuates vs other currencies, like the Euro and even silver and gold.


I would expect it to fluctuate like the Euro, silver, and gold. What I'm not understanding is why there are different quotes at the same moment in time? Are there several different quotes for silver at the same time on the same day?




> Why did it go that high? Supply and demand, more businesses accepting it, recent news, etc


But a sudden 75% increase?

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## evilfunnystuff

> What I'm not understanding is why there are different quotes at the same moment in time? Are there several different quotes for silver at the same time on the same day?


Different exchanges and sellers will have different prices that tend to follow one another. MtGox is the largest exchange. If you go to different silver dealers and exchanges you will pay different prices.




> But a sudden 75% increase?


Lots of factors at play, as more products and services available for bitcoin pop up demand will increase, as that happens prices will rise.

Much more detail than what I gave you would amount to speculation.

Here is bicoins large increase over the last 3 months (you can adjust the time peiod on the site)
http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgo...zm1g10zm2g25zv

Here is a gold chart for the last year.
It went up 200 dollars an ounce in 3 months thats alot and explaining every single factor in detail is speculation.
https://www.igolder.com/gold-charts/...=180&months=12

Heres a gold all time chart. 
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZLZsY-057c...old+8-2011.PNG

Gold Silver and BTC have all hd there dips as well.

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## anaconda

> http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgo...zm1g10zm2g25zv


Not sure what the pink vs. green color difference indicates on the graph..

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## Petar

Thanks for the guide man, I'm kicking myself for not adapting earlier. I am now on a mission to collect as many of these things as I can, and I will gladly accept them in return for web-development work.

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## evilfunnystuff

> Not sure what the pink vs. green color difference indicates on the graph..


The longer pink and green bars are trade volume denoted on the right the shorter red and green bars are price denoted on the right.

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## anaconda

The link died. Bummer.

http://bitcoincharts.com/charts/mtgo...zm1g10zm2g25zv

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## RickyJ

> Thanks for the guide man, I'm kicking myself for not adapting earlier. I am now on a mission to collect as many of these things as I can, and I will gladly accept them in return for web-development work.


Not me, but I will take gold and silver for web development work though.

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## ronpaulfollower999

Was lurking the Bitcoin Reddit (some good stuff there btw) and found a real good post by Hazek on how to secure the living $#@! out of my wallet. It's pretty basic, and not laced some insane technology jumbo that I can hardly understand, so definitely recommended reading for the new guys coming into Bitcoin.

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## Jordan

You know a top is near when a certain "invstment" gets talked up day after day...

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## ronpaulfollower999

> You know a top is near when a certain "invstment" gets talked up day after day...


Bitcoin is not an investment, it's the future.

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## Dianne

So I know absolutely nothing about bc's, but I looked locally in my area and found this:

Buy Bitcoins with Cash near 28104, United States!   So the cheapest is 83.94 for one?    Am I reading this right?

Seller	Distance	Location	Price/BTC	Amount	
   GORMO69 (0)	 22.9 miles	 Charlotte, United States	83.94 USD	1 - 1000 USD	Buy bitcoins!

   LiftLight (0)	 97.7 miles	 Blythewood Road, Blythewood, SC 29016, USA, Blythwood, United States	99.93 USD	25 - 800 USD
	Buy bitcoins!
   zouvluch (0)	 140.7 miles	 27021, King, United States	91.24 USD	20 - 200 USD	Buy bitcoins!

   barbarousrelic (0)	 153.1 miles	 29607, Greenville, United States	90.37 USD	25 - 500 USD	Buy bitcoins!

   GimEEE (2; 100%)	 172.9 miles	 27302, Mebane, United States	95.92 USD		Buy bitcoins!
Show more

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## anaconda

> Fees with this method, 4% to bitinstant


I'm very naive about all of this, but 4% sounds kind of high. So it would cost someone $404 to buy $10K in bitcoins? Is there anyone that charges a flat fee?

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## anaconda

> Alternatively you can start an Mtgox account, go to bitinstant and select MtGox in the pay to field, enter your MtGox account number. You then have Us Dollars in your MtGox account, and can choose when to buy coins based on price fluctuation.



Is there a 4% commission here? Like with bitinstant?

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## anaconda

> The longer pink and green bars are trade volume denoted on the right the shorter red and green bars are price denoted on the right.


But what's the difference between pink and green?

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## anaconda

How do I know what price I'm getting on my bitcoin purchase? Does Bitinstant give you a quote?

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## hazek

> How do I know what price I'm getting on my bitcoin purchase? Does Bitinstant give you a quote?


Some services give you a quote others don't and you have to look it up and calculate it on your own. If it's 1 bitcoin you need to pay then you just look up the price, if it's something else, you multiply the current exchange rate by the amount bitcoins you need to pay.

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## anaconda

I don't understand these categories for fees. Is this saying that bitinstant only charges 0.89% if you use MtGox?

https://www.bitinstant.com/fees

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## hazek

> But what's the difference between pink and green?


Pink is when volume is generated because bids were filled and green is when volume is generate because asks were filled. When a bid is filled it's usually called a sale and therefor signals selling and when asks are filled it's usually called a buy and signals buying.

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## anaconda

> Pink is when volume is generated because bids were filled and green is when volume is generate because asks were filled. When a bid is filled it's usually called a sale and therefor signals selling and when asks are filled it's usually called a buy and signals buying.


Aren't the bids & asks satisfied simultaneously? Like a pit trader finding a match on their list of asks & bids? I don't understand how these can be conceptually separated.

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## evilfunnystuff

Throught this method ythe max transacion is capped at 1 or 2 k I think.

For that much dwolla would be much cheaper if they do not have similar caps.

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## evilfunnystuff

Is the


> re a 4% commission here? Like with bitinstant?


.6% gets cheaper with higher volume.

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## anaconda

I was watching a tutorial video and when the Bitcoin purchaser went to CVS Pharmacy to send the Moneygram, she apparently had to give her name, address, and phone number. Doesn't this make the Bitcoin owner traceable by the government (since the transaction also involves the Merchant number and a "receive code")? Seems like all the Feds would need to do is search the transactions by Merchant code to identify every Bitcoin transaction by an individual. This seems to undermine the "anonymity" of Bitcoin. Thoughts?

Here's the vid:

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## evilfunnystuff

> I was watching a tutorial video and when the Bitcoin purchaser went to CVS Pharmacy to send the Moneygram, she apparently had to give her name, address, and phone number. Doesn't this make the Bitcoin owner traceable by the government (since the transaction also involves the Merchant number and a "receive code")? Seems like all the Feds would need to do is search the transactions by Merchant code to identify every Bitcoin transaction by an individual. This seems to undermine the "anonymity" of Bitcoin. Thoughts?


There are ways to get them anon and to make them anon but that wasnt the intent of this post.

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## anaconda

> Is the
> 
> .6% gets cheaper with higher volume.


When I begin a transaction on Bitinstant is says there is a 3.99% fee, as if there is no other option. Which is why I don't understand the fee schedule at the link in post #20 above.

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## dannno

> There are ways to get them anon and to make them anon but that wasnt the intent of this post.


What about creating another anon wallet and transferring them to your other wallet?

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## evilfunnystuff

> How do I know what price I'm getting on my bitcoin purchase? Does Bitinstant give you a quote?


If yuou do bitinstant to bitcoin address it just buys at current market price, go bitinstant to mtgox then u can choose to buy wwhen u like the price.

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## evilfunnystuff

[QUOTE=anaconda;4950059]When I begin a transaction on Bitinstant is says there is a 3.99% fee, as if there is no other option. Which is why I don't understand the fee schedule at the link in post #20 above.[/QUOT

On that schedule you would be lookin for zipzap to mtgox zipzap processes your payment to bitinstant.

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## anaconda

> What about creating another anon wallet and transferring them to your other wallet?


But it seems like the feds would be able to easily trace your cash payment to the Bitinstant Merchant code. What about just creating an account at Mt.Gox? Would this avoid the Moneygram part of the transaction. Sorry for my newbie confusion.

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## anaconda

> On that schedule you would be lookin for zipzap to mtgox zipzap processes your payment to bitinstant.



So shouldn't everyone use Mt.Gox (0.89% vs. 3.99% ???)? Or, what am I missing here? Thanks.

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## dannno

> But it seems like the feds would be able to easily trace your cash payment to the Bitinstant Merchant code. What about just creating an account at Mt.Gox? Would this avoid the Moneygram part of the transaction. Sorry for my newbie confusion.


Sorry that makes sense. I'm just thinking it would be good to transfer the non-anonymous payments that you know you are doing non-anonymously to an anonymous wallet and then the best way to remain anonymous otherwise would be might be to meet up with somebody and do a cash transaction, then transfer those to your anonymous wallet. I don't know tho, I'm still waiting for a wire transaction I don't have anything in any wallets yet.

https://localbitcoins.com/

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## anaconda

> I'm still waiting for a wire transaction I don't have anything in any wallets yet.


I thought that was supposed to only take about 5 minutes? Maybe you're using a commercial bank instead of the "cash payment" at CVS, Walmart, etc.?

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## dannno

> I thought that was supposed to only take about 5 minutes? Maybe you're using a commercial bank instead of the "cash payment" at CVS, Walmart, etc.?


Ya I used coinbase, not bitinstant, but it seems to have locked in my lower price from when I began the transaction.

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## anaconda

> Ya I used coinbase, not bitinstant, but it seems to have locked in my lower price from when I began the transaction.


So you are wire transferring from a commercial bank?

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## dannno

> So you are wire transferring from a commercial bank?


Ya, supposedly coinbase is teaming up with mtgox as of today but I dunno how that's going.

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## anaconda

> Ya, supposedly coinbase is teaming up with mtgox as of today but I dunno how that's going.



Is there a reason you preferred a wire transfer over a cash payment at CVS or Walmart?

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## hazek

> Aren't the bids & asks satisfied simultaneously? Like a pit trader finding a match on their list of asks & bids? I don't understand how these can be conceptually separated.


You are right, I guess I should have made the distinction between orders being placed and orders already placed. With bid and asks I meant stading orders, not orders being placed.

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## anaconda

> You are right, I guess I should have made the distinction between orders being placed and orders already placed. With bid and asks I meant stading orders, not orders being placed.


But "standing orders" don't create any sales volume. Right? Unless I'm misunderstanding you. So, I still don't get the distinction between the green bars on the chart and the pink ones...

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## Keith and stuff

I recommend going to New Hampshire and using this machine. Less fees, more private and you can use cash.  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57...-your-account/

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## Indy Vidual

> I recommend going to New Hampshire and using this machine. Less fees, more private and you can use cash.  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57...-your-account/


You guys get all the fun.  





> When I begin a transaction on Bitinstant is says there is a 3.99% fee, as if there is no other option...


I would not pay 4%.
USA deposits directly into MtGox/Coinlab are supposed to be easy/cheap now, but I have not done it myself yet.

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## anaconda

Looks like Mt.Gox requires a scanned ID and a utility bill or something to give you an account. Why do they care if your money's good? And, doesn't this impugn the "anonymity" concept a bit (one of the presumed advantages of bitcoins)?

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## anaconda

> Ya I used coinbase, not bitinstant, but it seems to have locked in my lower price from when I began the transaction.


I see Coinbase charges just 1%. Beats 3.99%. But I don't get the "account credentials" verification thing. I don't see why it should be any different than using a debit card online. I get the feeling that they get your login information, including password. So I guess they could steal all your money. There is also something called "Challenge Deposit Verification" whatever that is..

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## evilfunnystuff

> Looks like Mt.Gox requires a scanned ID and a utility bill or something to give you an account. Why do they care if your money's good? And, doesn't this impugn the "anonymity" concept a bit (one of the presumed advantages of bitcoins)?



I never sent that stuff in but have seen what you are talking about, I think you only need to do that for usd transactions over a certain amount, they are required to keep records of large transactions to avoid being shut down.

If you want anonymous they can be anonomized after the fact or purchased other ways that are anonymous. 

This thread was only intended to show the fastest way to get btc without loosing your shirt or waiting days or more for approval or delivery.

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## evilfunnystuff

> You guys get all the fun.  
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I would not pay 4%.
> USA deposits directly into MtGox/Coinlab are supposed to be easy/cheap now, but I have not done it myself yet.


It depends, the speed makes it worth it for me. 

Using this method I was able to get a little action on that dip into the 70's the other day.

Usually the 4% is made up for by the rise in btc rather quickly + when I spend my btc I am getting great deals already.

When I see somethin I want to buy in btc I can buy it, and replenish my btc (and a little extra) in less than 30 minutes.

Ya 4% is kinda alot but It has worked well for me, I am excited to see what speed and fees coinlab brings to the table, I am hoping they can streamline and simplify things for the newbies(and me) with smaller fees.

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## anaconda

> I am excited to see what speed and fees coinlab brings to the table


Looks like they are limiting daily transactions to $100 for the time being, if I remember correctly. Pretty small.

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## anaconda

I sent Bitinstant a couple of emails early yesterday morning with some questions. Never heard anything back. Not even one of those robo emails acknowledging my emails. This sends up some red flags for me. Makes me wonder how solid their organization is.

UPDATE: I sent _Coinbase_ an email question earlier this evening and very quickly received an automatically generated email acknowledging my email and indicating they would respond as soon as possible. So they were far more on the ball with their customer service than _Bitinstant._

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## The Northbreather

> I never sent that stuff in but have seen what you are talking about, I think you only need to do that for usd transactions over a certain amount, they are required to keep records of large transactions to avoid being shut down.
> *
> If you want anonymous they can be anonomized after the fact or purchased other ways that are anonymous.* 
> 
> This thread was only intended to show the fastest way to get btc without loosing your shirt or waiting days or more for approval or delivery.


Could you elaborate on both before and after the fact.

Excellent thread btw

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## anaconda

> This thread was only intended to show the fastest way to get btc without loosing your shirt or waiting days or more for approval or delivery.


I totally understand, and offer you many thanks and appreciation for your OP. To your credit, you have generated lots of enthusiasm and questions. We all realize at some point you are allowed to get back to your normal life and leave this thread to live or die on its own.

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## evilfunnystuff

> Could you elaborate on both before and after the fact.
> 
> Excellent thread btw


1 buy person to person https://localbitcoins.com/ or trade things for btc http://www.bitmit.net/en/bestseller

2 would probly be more complicated this would probly get you going in the right direction though https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=98556.0

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## PaulConventionWV

> I would expect it to fluctuate like the Euro, silver, and gold. What I'm not understanding is why there are different quotes at the same moment in time? Are there several different quotes for silver at the same time on the same day?
> 
> 
> 
> But a sudden 75% increase?


Yes, silver isn't the same price to everybody, uniformly.  The market price is simply the average of all those transactions.  Some people value it more than others, and so depending on the environment and the situation, silver will trade for different prices to different people.  The market price is the average of all the different prices within the market.

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## evilfunnystuff

> I sent Bitinstant a couple of emails early yesterday morning with some questions. Never heard anything back. Not even one of those robo emails acknowledging my emails. This sends up some red flags for me. Makes me wonder how solid their organization is.
> 
> UPDATE: I sent _Coinbase_ an email question earlier this evening and very quickly received an automatically generated email acknowledging my email and indicating they would respond as soon as possible. So they were far more on the ball with their customer service than _Bitinstant._


Ya I had an issue with an order through bitinstant once. I figured it out before they got back to me, and I sent them a message that I figured it out. 

I was looking into using dwolla as it is cheap, but am now waiting for coinlab. 

CoinLab will be MtGox partner in the US and is supposed to streamline deposits and withdraws, lower costs, and increase limits, by not requiring you to send money to Japan.

https://mtgox.com/press_release_20130228.html



> Mt.Gox will continue to provide back-end exchange clearing services, and transition over handling of customer accounts, deposits, withdrawals, and other functions to CoinLab's US-based team.


It supposed to have happened already I think but have seen no evidence yet, maybe tomorrow.

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## PaulConventionWV

> Different exchanges and sellers will have different prices that tend to follow one another. MtGox is the largest exchange. If you go to different silver dealers and exchanges you will pay different prices.
> 
> 
> 
> Lots of factors at play, as more products and services available for bitcoin pop up demand will increase, as that happens prices will rise.
> 
> Much more detail than what I gave you would amount to speculation.
> 
> Here is bicoins large increase over the last 3 months (you can adjust the time peiod on the site)
> ...


Do you have an all-time chart for silver?

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## evilfunnystuff

> I totally understand, and offer you many thanks and appreciation for your OP. To your credit, you have generated lots of enthusiasm and questions. We all realize at some point you are allowed to get back to your normal life and leave this thread to live or die on its own.


 lol I will try to at least point people in the right direction.

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## evilfunnystuff

> Do you have an all-time chart for silver?


http://www.infomine.com/investment/m...es/silver/all/

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## evilfunnystuff

> I recommend going to New Hampshire and using this machine. Less fees, more private and you can use cash.  http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57...-your-account/



Wish I could.

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## anaconda

> Yes, silver isn't the same price to everybody, uniformly.  The market price is simply the average of all those transactions.  Some people value it more than others, and so depending on the environment and the situation, silver will trade for different prices to different people.  The market price is the average of all the different prices within the market.


Shouldn't this create arbitrage opportunities up the yin yang?

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## amonasro

Thanks for the easy instructions. I just bought some BTC using Moneygram at my local pharmacy. Guy at the counter asked what everyone was buying suddenly.

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## evilfunnystuff

> Thanks for the easy instructions. I just bought some BTC using Moneygram at my local pharmacy. Guy at the counter asked what everyone was buying suddenly.



If you would rather not tell them, you can say your sending a car payment, funding your paypal account, funding a forex account etc...

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## dannno

> I sent Bitinstant a couple of emails early yesterday morning with some questions. Never heard anything back. Not even one of those robo emails acknowledging my emails. This sends up some red flags for me. Makes me wonder how solid their organization is.
> 
> UPDATE: I sent _Coinbase_ an email question earlier this evening and very quickly received an automatically generated email acknowledging my email and indicating they would respond as soon as possible. So they were far more on the ball with their customer service than _Bitinstant._



The owner of Bitinstant was interviewed by Tom Woods on the Peter Schiff show a few days ago, dudes name is Erik Vorhees.

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## dannno

> Thanks for the easy instructions. I just bought some BTC using Moneygram at my local pharmacy. *Guy at the counter asked what everyone was buying suddenly.*


Verrry interesting.

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## anaconda

EEk. I see BTC is $104. I almost bought at $92 over the weekend, but was feeling a little under the weather so I held off.

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## jclay2

Apparently the high was $ 106.00....snooze fest. Wake me up when the real moves happen of 50%/day.

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## Jackie Moon

> I see Coinbase charges just 1%. Beats 3.99%. But I don't get the "account credentials" verification thing. I don't see why it should be any different than using a debit card online. I get the feeling that they get your login information, including password. So I guess they could steal all your money. There is also something called "Challenge Deposit Verification" whatever that is..[/I]


With the challenge deposit verification you give them your account and routing number and they make two small deposits in to your bank account.  Then you log in to Coinbase and enter the two amounts to confirm that it is an account you have access to.

Coinbase is slower than BitInstant but it was pretty simple.  I signed up for an account on Tuesday March 19th.  On Thursday March 21st they made the two deposits of $.02 and $.08 in to my bank account.  I went to Coinbase to enter those and confirm my account.  

On Saturday the 23rd I placed an order for 1.5 BTC and it said the Bitcoin would arrive on Thursday, March 28.

On March 26th they charged my bank account, and as promised the Bitcoin showed up in my Coinbase wallet on March 28th.

Overall it looks like it takes about a week from start to finish.  I can't guarantee these results for anyone else but I was pretty happy with them.

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## FSP-Rebel

> I sent Bitinstant a couple of emails early yesterday morning with some questions. Never heard anything back. Not even one of those robo emails acknowledging my emails. This sends up some red flags for me. Makes me wonder how solid their organization is.
> 
> UPDATE: I sent _Coinbase_ an email question earlier this evening and very quickly received an automatically generated email acknowledging my email and indicating they would respond as soon as possible. So they were far more on the ball with their customer service than _Bitinstant._


When I had an issue with bitinstant they got back to me the next day with personalized detailed info on what I needed. With coinbase, I easily linked my checking account up after retrieving the two debits but after three consecutive days of trying to buy btc, each time I'd try I'd get back a "sorry, we've passed the rolling 24 hour period and the max amount of btc have already been bought" and I did this at different times of the day. So thanks to their bull$#@! I couldn't get in in the $40s so then I went with blockchain and bought through bitinstant. And every transaction I've had with bitinstant processed fairly instantly.

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## PaulConventionWV

> EEk. I see BTC is $104. I almost bought at $92 over the weekend, but was feeling a little under the weather so I held off.


That makes me feel good about buying in when you held off.  Now it's at $108.  I'm trying to decide whether I should put more in.  I only have about $200 in but I'm wondering if something closer to a thousand would still be a safe bet.  It depends on how far this thing will go.  I want to believe Max Keiser when he says $100k, but I still have a hard time imagining it.

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## PaulConventionWV

> Shouldn't this create arbitrage opportunities up the yin yang?


Yes, and it does.

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## dannno

> When I had an issue with bitinstant they got back to me the next day with personalized detailed info on what I needed. With coinbase, I easily linked my checking account up after retrieving the two debits but after three consecutive days of trying to buy btc, each time I'd try I'd get back a "sorry, we've passed the rolling 24 hour period and the max amount of btc have already been bought" and I did this at different times of the day. So thanks to their bull$#@! I couldn't get in in the $40s so then I went with blockchain and bought through bitinstant. And every transaction I've had with bitinstant processed fairly instantly.


Wow, that sucks, coinbase obviously wasn't able to predict that demand increase. The thing is, when you do a transaction with coinbase you buy the coins at the current market value and coinbase I believe makes the purchase so you can have the bitcoin at that price once your transfer clears. If the transfer doesn't clear then I assume coinbase ends up with the coins in an account and they end up giving them to the next in line.

But I guess the way I benefited from coinbase was that I bought in at $78 and by the time my transfer went through the price was actually already over $90, but my purchase held at the $78 price. But if you use bitinstant it sounds like everything just gets verified more quickly and you don't use a bank transfer, definitely very nice benefits.

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## FSP-Rebel

> Wow, that sucks, coinbase obviously wasn't able to predict that demand increase. The thing is, when you do a transaction with coinbase you buy the coins at the current market value and coinbase I believe makes the purchase so you can have the bitcoin at that price once your transfer clears. If the transfer doesn't clear then I assume coinbase ends up with the coins in an account and they end up giving them to the next in line.
> 
> But I guess the way I benefited from coinbase was that I bought in at $78 and by the time my transfer went through the price was actually already over $90, but my purchase held at the $78 price. But if you use bitinstant it sounds like everything just gets verified more quickly and you don't use a bank transfer, definitely very nice benefits.


In that instant, I can see the benefit if that site didn't piss me off and I'd try them again. OTOH and conversely, I was thinking of buying another 4 @ $92, so I placed my receipt on bitinstant, then went to CVS and paid but the price had dropped back into the mid-80s and I ended up getting another .6 BTC that I wasn't expecting.

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## Jackie Moon

> With coinbase, I easily linked my checking account up after retrieving the two debits but after three consecutive days of trying to buy btc, each time I'd try I'd get back a "sorry, we've passed the rolling 24 hour period and the max amount of btc have already been bought" and I did this at different times of the day.





> Wow, that sucks, coinbase obviously wasn't able to predict that demand increase. The thing is, when you do a transaction with coinbase you buy the coins at the current market value and coinbase I believe makes the purchase so you can have the bitcoin at that price once your transfer clears. If the transfer doesn't clear then I assume coinbase ends up with the coins in an account and they end up giving them to the next in line.
> 
> But I guess the way I benefited from coinbase was that I bought in at $78 and by the time my transfer went through the price was actually already over $90, but my purchase held at the $78 price. But if you use bitinstant it sounds like everything just gets verified more quickly and you don't use a bank transfer, definitely very nice benefits.


Both of those things also happened to me with Coinbase.  It took a day of trying to purchase at random times and seeing the "24 hour limit reached" message until it finally went through.  But when it did I was able to lock in the price at $64 and when they arrived they were worth $89.  

I agree that Coinbase is having trouble handling the demand right now.  They say they're working on being able to lift the 24 hour limit and are trying to hire more support.  

Hopefully they succeed because it is a pretty simple way for new people to purchase Bitcoins without having to sign up to multiple sites or learning how to trade on an exchange.

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## anaconda

> With the challenge deposit verification you give them your account and routing number and they make two small deposits in to your bank account.  Then you log in to Coinbase and enter the two amounts to confirm that it is an account you have access to.
> 
> Coinbase is slower than BitInstant but it was pretty simple.  I signed up for an account on Tuesday March 19th.  On Thursday March 21st they made the two deposits of $.02 and $.08 in to my bank account.  I went to Coinbase to enter those and confirm my account.  
> 
> On Saturday the 23rd I placed an order for 1.5 BTC and it said the Bitcoin would arrive on Thursday, March 28.
> 
> On March 26th they charged my bank account, and as promised the Bitcoin showed up in my Coinbase wallet on March 28th.
> 
> Overall it looks like it takes about a week from start to finish.  I can't guarantee these results for anyone else but I was pretty happy with them.


Thank you very much for writing this out. Also, if I may: Did you get locked into the price as of your March 23rd order time? And, did that number appear somewhere in the order process, so that you could confirm that you were getting the market price?

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## anaconda

> When I had an issue with bitinstant they got back to me the next day with personalized detailed info on what I needed. With coinbase, I easily linked my checking account up after retrieving the two debits but after three consecutive days of trying to buy btc, each time I'd try I'd get back a "sorry, we've passed the rolling 24 hour period and the max amount of btc have already been bought" and I did this at different times of the day. So thanks to their bull$#@! I couldn't get in in the $40s so then I went with blockchain and bought through bitinstant. And every transaction I've had with bitinstant processed fairly instantly.


Thanks for sharing your experience. Perhaps I fell through the cracks. If memory serves, they listed about three different emails to select from when contacting them. I used:

support@bitinstant.com

I wonder if your problem with Coinbase had anything to do with their (seemingly) weird low daily limit level of $100?

http://blog.coinbase.com/post/343572...ecting-any-u-s




> Are there any limits in place?
> 
> Yes, the maximum you can buy or sell right now is $100 USD per user, per day.  This is a low limit just so we can keep an eye on things as we ramp up, and make sure we have all the right systems in place to prevent abuse.  We’ll raise this limit over the coming months.


So, if this is correct, we can't even buy one whole Bitcoin from Coinbase in a single transaction.

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## anaconda

> Yes, and it does.


Well, that's interesting. I know nothing about the silver market. But, is it therefore safe to say it is not a very efficient market? Why not buy it from the lower price offering and sell it to the higher price bid simultaneously? Don't computers do that stuff these days?

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## anaconda

> In that instant, I can see the benefit if that site didn't piss me off and I'd try them again. OTOH and conversely, I was thinking of buying another 4 @ $92, so I placed my receipt on bitinstant, then went to CVS and paid but the price had dropped back into the mid-80s and I ended up getting another .6 BTC that I wasn't expecting.


I'm confused. If we use Bitinstant, exactly _when_ is our purchase price locked in? And how do we confirm it was correct?

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## anaconda

> That makes me feel good about buying in when you held off.  Now it's at $108.


$117 last trade quote at 4:56 PM PST per Mt.Gox.

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## FSP-Rebel

> I'm confused. If we use Bitinstant, exactly _when_ is our purchase price locked in? And how do we confirm it was correct?


Don't quote me but they say your receipt has up to 120 hours before it must be paid for or it's a bust. From what I can tell, whatever the price is when you go and pay zipzap (at the store) then you're locked in at the current price when that happens. As an example, I went to buy one btc earlier today but it must have went up a buck or two since I was online and thus I got slightly less than one coin even though I was all priced out to include the fees.

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## anaconda

> Don't quote me but they say your receipt has up to 120 hours before it must be paid for or it's a bust. From what I can tell, whatever the price is when you go and pay zipzap (at the store) then you're locked in at the current price when that happens. As an example, I went to buy one btc earlier today but it must have went up a buck or two since I was online and thus I got slightly less than one coin even though I was all priced out to include the fees.


Thanks. Hey can you pay at the store with a debit card or do you need to carry in fiat currency?

Also: Kind of scary if you don't know what price you're getting.

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## FSP-Rebel

> Thanks for sharing your experience. Perhaps I fell through the cracks. If memory serves, they listed about three different emails to select from when contacting them. I used:
> 
> support@bitinstant.com
> 
> I wonder if your problem with Coinbase had anything to do with their (seemingly) weird low daily limit level of $100?


That's the support I used and was contacted back from some chick named Rachel. Also, that issue with Coinbase about the max must have been my problem cause I was trying to max. I'm only gonna use bitinstant from now on til I'm satisfied with Coinbase's progress. In fact, I went with Coinbase first because they also have wallets but when that didn't work out I had already been planning a contingency as I started to see how fast these puppies were increasing. By the time I heard back from bitinstant support, I was ready to roll with a blockchain wallet and canceled my Coinbase link to checking.

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## FSP-Rebel

> Thanks. Hey can you pay at the store with a debit card or do you need to carry in fiat currency?


It's tough to say but I've only paid in obamabacks.

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## Jackie Moon

> Thank you very much for writing this out. Also, if I may: Did you get locked into the price as of your March 23rd order time? And, did that number appear somewhere in the order process, so that you could confirm that you were getting the market price?


Yeah, when I entered the amount I wanted to purchase it shows the current market price and what the total of my order would be before actually clicking the button to buy.  I bought 1.5 BTC at around $64 each so it showed my total as $98.35 which includes their 1% fee and a $0.15 bank fee.

I wanted to spend around $100 so as I tried different times to buy I was able to adjust the amount of BTC until the total came to $100.




> I wonder if your problem with Coinbase had anything to do with their (seemingly) weird low daily limit level of $100?
> 
> http://blog.coinbase.com/post/343572...ecting-any-u-s
> 
> So, if this is correct, we can't even buy one whole Bitcoin from Coinbase in a single transaction.


I don't think they have that $100 personal limit anymore.  Right now for new accounts you can buy up to 10 BTC a day, and sell 100 BTC a day.  The problem is that they have a site wide limit where they will only process a certain number of purchases from everyone put together within a 24 hour period.

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## anaconda

> Bitcoins are automatically bought at current market price on MtGox, and forwarded to your wallet.


Sounds like people are getting the market price as of the time their payment is made in store (Walmart, CVS, etc.) on Bitinstant. Can we get a clarification on this?

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## amonasro

> Sounds like people are getting the market price as of the time their payment is made in store (Walmart, CVS, etc.) on Bitinstant. Can we get a clarification on this?


I believe you are correct.

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## PaulConventionWV

> Well, that's interesting. I know nothing about the silver market. But, is it therefore safe to say it is not a very efficient market? Why not buy it from the lower price offering and sell it to the higher price bid simultaneously? Don't computers do that stuff these days?


Yes, they do.  There are entire businesses based on that, and it's not just silver.  A lot of things are like that.  A good example is the book, "Once A Runner" made in the 1980s about running.  Now it's a very popular book among runners and somewhat of a novelty item, but it's only available on Amazon at like $120.  My brother-in-law tried an experiment by buying up old copies that shoe stores carry but never actually sold.  He would ask them for all of their copies and they would sell them for about $10.  He bought several copies from several different shoe stores for the lower price, turned around and sold them on Amazon for $70 apiece, making a nice profit all while beating the competitors' prices handily.  In this case, the internet market was much more active for this particular book than it was in shoe stores, so it's really just a matter of finding where the market undervalues and overvalues things and trying to take advantage of it.

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## PaulConventionWV

> I'm confused. If we use Bitinstant, exactly _when_ is our purchase price locked in? And how do we confirm it was correct?


If you go the moneygram route, then your price is locked in as soon as you go to the store and confirm the payment.

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## PaulConventionWV

> That's the support I used and was contacted back from some chick named Rachel. Also, that issue with Coinbase about the max must have been my problem cause I was trying to max. I'm only gonna use bitinstant from now on til I'm satisfied with Coinbase's progress. In fact, I went with Coinbase first because they also have wallets but when that didn't work out I had already been planning a contingency as I started to see how fast these puppies were increasing. By the time I heard back from bitinstant support, I was ready to roll with a blockchain wallet and canceled my Coinbase link to checking.


How do you sell your bitcoins with bitinstant?  Are there any fees beside the zipzap fees with bitinstant?  Because when I went to the store and paid, I paid a total of $657.90 including zipzap fees, but when I got back to my wallet, it said I had 6.57--- bitcoins and they were only worth $600, so I feel like I was missing $50.  Any idea what happened there?

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## anaconda

> If you go the moneygram route, then your price is locked in as soon as you go to the store and confirm the payment.


Do you mean, as in, the big red phone "confirmation?" Before you actually step up to the cashier? Don't suppose there's anyway to know what you paid per BTC until you look in your wallet?

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## anaconda

> How do you sell your bitcoins with bitinstant?  Are there any fees beside the zipzap fees with bitinstant?  Because when I went to the store and paid, I paid a total of $657.90 including zipzap fees, but when I got back to my wallet, it said I had 6.57--- bitcoins and they were only worth $600, so I feel like I was missing $50.  Any idea what happened there?


I think it shoulda' been 3.99% plus whatever for the moneygram (maybe $3.95??). Which should have come out to about $628.86 in BTC. By my math. This is what troubles me about Bitinstant. Looks like you got $95.72 per coin. Is it possible that this was the market price when your payment cleared?

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## PaulConventionWV

> Do you mean, as in, the big red phone "confirmation?" Before you actually step up to the cashier? Don't suppose there's anyway to know what you paid per BTC until you look in your wallet?


Right.  It's hard to tell.  I just use the blue slip, though.

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## PaulConventionWV

> I think it shoulda' been 3.99% plus whatever for the moneygram (maybe $3.95??). Which should have come out to about $628.86 in BTC. By my math. This is what troubles me about Bitinstant. Looks like you got $95.72 per coin. Is it possible that this was the market price when your payment cleared?


Yes, it's possible.  My closest wal mart happens to be 40 miles away so I was out of town when the payment cleared and there could have been a spike.  When I left in the morning it looked like it was going to be about 93.5, so it definitely could have changed in the 2 or so hours it took to actually clear the payment.

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## anaconda

> Right.  It's hard to tell.  I just use the blue slip, though.



Do you have to fill out ALL of the fields in Bitinstant? I tried leaving my name, age, & email blank but when I pressed send funds nothing seemed to happen. The two tutorials I saw online DO NOT have these extra fields...

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## anaconda

Eeee-ghad! $147 tonight.

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## Crystallas

So many liberty skeptics tried to help. "Buy in at $1, $5, ect, guys, this thing is for real..."  And we got "blah blah, gold this, gold that" and we said, "gold is good, but this is good too, both are good, different purposes, $1 a BTC... pretty cheap, just to be safe, get a few". 

And somehow BTC hits $100+ and we're crazy bad guys who "make up BS currencies out of thin air".  Give me a break. I couldn't care less from now on about trying to help strangers online that are supposed to be liberty allies. 


BTW, this $150 is a pump. Someone made a large transaction the bumped the prices. Possibly to use a tactic that doesn't work with bitcoin, LOL(making a share too pricey for someone to buy in, but bitcoin is trade-able and divisible, so it doesn't matter). It will correct over the week. But it should reach $150+ soon, as BTC is still considerably undervalued.

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## Romulus

Question for you guys... I filled out an order when btc was $113 yesterday and printed that order, but have not paid for it.

When I pay for it, am I locked in at the price I ordered, or will I get "current" rates of btc deposited ??

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## Invi

Didn't read whole thread, but wasn't there someone wanting to sell a house for Bitcoins? Assuming they had interest, I would think that might play a part in the price fluctuation.

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## amonasro

> Question for you guys... I filled out an order when btc was $113 yesterday and printed that order, but have not paid for it.
> 
> When I pay for it, am I locked in at the price I ordered, or will I get "current" rates of btc deposited ??


When you pay cash  at Walmart, cvs, or wherever, your price is locked in then at current market value.

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## Romulus

> When you pay cash  at Walmart, cvs, or wherever, your price is locked in then at current market value.


Thanks.. that is sort of a bummer.. I thought I was creating a contract at a price and had so long to pay.. I can see how that could be cheated though. lol

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## FSP-Rebel

> When you pay cash  at Walmart, cvs, or wherever, your price is locked in then at current market value.


I originally thought that too but some of m latest transactions have led me to believe that your price is locked when you actually "pay the bill." Then again, it says you have 120 hours until the receipt expires so ultimately idk.

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## dannno

> Question for you guys... I filled out an order when btc was $113 yesterday and printed that order, but have not paid for it.
> 
> When I pay for it, am I locked in at the price I ordered, or will I get "current" rates of btc deposited ??


I heard on another thread you get it at the market value when you pay for it.. Coinbase, on the other hand, gives you the current market value and then awaits your bank transaction (2-3 days) and you get it at the value you originally purchased it at.

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## anaconda

BTC price seems to go up in the evenings. Is this when every body runs out to CVS or Walmart to pay their Moneygram?

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## amonasro

> BTC price seems to go up in the evenings. Is this when every body runs out to CVS or Walmart to pay their Moneygram?


Haha, maybe. Or people around the world are buying.

Looks like a recovery from a Mt Gox lagfest earlier in the day.

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## The Northbreather

Hmmmmmm

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