Re: [ANN] LocalBitcoins.com - a location-based bitcoin to cash marketplace
Hello,
I've just started looking at LocalBitcoins.com for an online buy funded from within the US. I'm having a little trouble sorting through and understanding all the available funding options, and their costs. I see many funding options listed - including OKPay, MoneyGram, Western Union, bank transfers from specific banks, etc.
Is there somewhere I can easily find out more about the cost and restrictions of each funding option, without researching each one individually? I'm a little overwhelmed by the funding options. I've tried doing the research myself, but some of the funding options (like MoneyGram) offer different services at different fees. I'm not sure even which service is correct.
Sorry for the noob question, and thanks in advance for any helpful response
I've just started looking at LocalBitcoins.com for an online buy funded from within the US. I'm having a little trouble sorting through and understanding all the available funding options, and their costs. I see many funding options listed - including OKPay, MoneyGram, Western Union, bank transfers from specific banks, etc.
Is there somewhere I can easily find out more about the cost and restrictions of each funding option, without researching each one individually? I'm a little overwhelmed by the funding options. I've tried doing the research myself, but some of the funding options (like MoneyGram) offer different services at different fees. I'm not sure even which service is correct.
Sorry for the noob question, and thanks in advance for any helpful response
Hi Cardcomm
yeah, a noob question it is but those are the most valuable for the devs as most noobs don't dare to ask and so the service ends up only being used by the experience users that flood the devs with more expert features making the noob experience even worse although more and more features get accomplished, so thanks again. We were all noobs at some point.
(terms made up by me. people please correct me if there are better names for these types of exchanges)
There are floating exchanges (the exchange allows you to make arbitrary buy and sell offers and the exchange matches them, having all the coins and $$ under their control. MtGox is one of them), market maker exchanges (the exchange is basically just one big market maker that offers a buy and a sell price that it adjusts much slower than some floating exchange, so you can buy and sell at a price at display) and there are "social" exchanges that facilitate the process of other people willing to exchange, but that don't actually hold your money. Most prominent example historically would be the OTC IRC where the first "exchange" established. These exchanges keep track of the reputation of traders and help you find out who you can trade with based on the payment methods available to you. Localbitcoins opted to target more for the in person exchange where you deal with cash but due to demand, now all the classical methods that you mentioned are offered by its users as well. Localbitcoins is agnostic to the payment option though. It only distinguishes between cash and electronic in that cash is advertised to your proximity and electronic to all within your currency independent of distance. Therefore Localbitcoins has no core interest in providing fee infos as neither can it know all the details of MPesa, Chinese wire transfer, Australian food tokens or whatnot people decide to use, nor the fees the advertiser is willing to cover. Therefore you have to read the single advertisements and judge for yourself if that trader is trustworthy and if you like the payment method. It is much more heterogeneous than MtGox for example but therefore also has a strength.