Post
Topic
Board Bitcoin Discussion
Re: Bitcoin's Paypal solution/alternative?
by
roy
on 10/05/2011, 04:18:36 UTC
How does MyBitcoin.com offer recourse for buyers?

Why does Mybitcoin, or anyone, have to offer you recourse?  Bitcoin is cash for the Internet.  Would you walk into a corner store and pay cash for a candy bar?  What is your recourse there?  If the vendor took your money and then told you to buzz off, what would your recourse be?  Call the cops over $1.50?  What would happen, do you think?  In the end, you would be out your money and a candy bar, and would simply never trust that vendor again.  Don't send bitcoins to untrusted vendors.  If you get screwed, tell people about it, and name names.  Sometimes the risks of getting defrauded is just part of the costs of doing business.  There are steps you can take to limit those risks, but none of those things are intergrated into Bitcoin, nor should they be.

I don't believe your example works to describe an online transaction. When you walk into a store you usually pick out the item -> walk to the till and pay for it. The buyer has already seen & received the item before paying. In distance selling (such as the internet) we must first pay the seller then when the seller feels like it he provides the buyer with goods that may or may not be what they wanted.

In Satoshi's paper he suggests escrow services for the protection of buyers, but as far as what I've read of Clearcoin it seems Clearcoin is currently unfair to the buyer?
Mybitcoin offers a convenient payment gateway, but doesn't offer an escrow service afaik.
Sellers have protection by implementation.

I'm just trying to point out that as far as I can tell a suitable escrow service does not exist.