Quote from: Giraffe.BTC on November 04, 2011, 08:10:13 PM

Quote from: MoonShadow on November 04, 2011, 08:06:03 PM

I'm regularly amused by members who do no comprehend Praxeology or Economics telling me how consumers should act.

Since you're obviously an expert in both, what do you think will motivate a consumer to use an irreversible method like Bitcoins to buy something online instead of their Visa card?

I'm educated in both. (Actually, I'm educated in Praxeology, Economics is a subset) There is no such thing as an expert in either discipline, because they are both social sciences. Trustworthy Economists don't call themselves "experts", other people do. It's like the "guru" word among unix programmers, it's a title that you earn, not one you claim.

As the the question, "what do you think will motivate a consumer to use an irreversible method like Bitcoins to buy something online instead of their Visa card?" the answer is very simple. Lower transaction fees over the Internet, and eventually merchant discounts. Once upon a time, cash was cheaper than using a credit card, until the credit card companies got wise and started demanding vendors sign contracts to not advertise prices lower than the credit card prices. This is why the dual price displays on gas pumps disappeared in the 1980's. But you can still get a cash discount from such vendors on larger items, such as a new tv, if you know who it is in the store you have to talk to. Online vendors, for the most part, don't sign such agreements; and even if they did, they could be undercut by another website selling the exact same products for bitcoin only.