Post
Topic
Board Beginners & Help
Re: ebay clone site for bitcoin users only
by
Andre Jensen (World Bitcoin Exchange)
on 06/07/2011, 04:10:11 UTC
I think such a bitcoin marketplace would need some kind of trusted institution, like an escrow service. It should look something like this:

The buyer (B) buys an item on the marketplace.
He hands the cash to the escrow (let's just call it BitPal for now).
The seller ships his item to BitPal.
BitPal checks if it has the ware and the cash.
If both is at BitPal, it ships the item to the buyer and the cash to the seller.

Using this system would make transactions a lot easier, because now you just have to trust a single institution instead of hundreds of individuals.
Of course, this would kinda destroy the anonymity of Bitcoin because BitPal would have a lot of money and a lot of personal data, but it's just a thought on what is possible.

Tell me what you think!

The escrow service adds too much to the cost on smaller ticket items. BitPal service + paying shipping twice.
If BitBay(ebay clone site) was also BitPal(escrow service), it would cut costs and offer what we want. low to no fee trading.
You could offer No fees at BitBay(keeping the allure value) and still make a profit from the BitPal escrow service.
BitBay will need some Reputability to pull this off though(probably couldn't do it alone).

this is correct, i will need some Reputability to pull this off , hay by the way i like your site bitoffer. well done

cheers gorkalitus