Read the whitepaper and found some of the concepts extremely interesting insofar as digital trade is concerned. There is little mention of dealing with physical goods in the real world ie: ebay's current province. So, have I got this wrong then? Is bitbay primarily geared toward plugging holes in crypto trade/digital trade, with exchange of physical goods ancillary to that end?
A small $4 deposit on a $4 item is perfectly fine.
A small $4 deposit on a $4 item is cumbersome and illogical to most normies.
Now lets say you are involved in a 10k deal, even a deposit of 2500 should be no issue here.
I can think of about a million examples where $2500 on $10K would be impossible, or cause undue harm/distress to the one putting down the deposit.
The issue I'm seeing here is why a 42 year old house wife would sit down to buy her widgits and baubles and on one hand you have ebay...click and buy...and on the other bitbay where you have to put down a deposit on top of the purchase price. As far as most people are concerned when money leaves their account its gone, even if there's a promise it's coming back. So the housewife would choose ebay and IMO so would most buyers given what I'm seeing here. And where the buyers go the sellers follow, not the other way around.
You haven't yet addressed why people can't create burner accounts to game the system. You go into detail regarding an example that seems to focus on one person/one account. Is there anything stopping one person from holding multiple accounts? Is there anything stopping that person from using one of those accounts to build up rep buying junk with the intention of scamming a seller on a large item (ie, only having to pay the fractional deposit on an item worth four times as much, etc). Will rep be weighted based on dollar/bay value of transactions completed, or is it (let's say) one rep point regardless of whether it's a $4 or $10K transaction?
There is no justice in this world we are trying to bring that back. ... Think of this analogy, both of your children are fighting. One is lying but you can't find out who. So, you punish both. You kindly explain "I know one of you are telling me the truth and I think I know who it is, but this way both of you will know not to lie as it will never favor you. If I was to choose, then I might choose wrong and reward the one who lies so I reward neither in order to never incentivize a lie."
That's not justice. At all.
As you said when it is in limbo it's really no big deal because...
It is a big deal due to inflation. It's why no one keeps money in a savings account, because it loses money. That's why I suggested you need some sort of incentive for people to keep their funds locked up. You've killed their liquidity for days or weeks and will be guranteeing them a loss on the locked funds (albiet in practice probably an inconsequential amount). So, what do they get in return, aside from a completed transaction?
I'm not sure why I need to whitewash myself or sugar coat everything.
Because you're the sole avatar of this project and you're asking for a billion dollars...possibly billions?
I know I must sound like a ballbuster but crypto devs tend to exist in an echo chamber and often have an aspie level of focus on minutiae and sometimes fail to see the forest for the trees. The positivity around here is fantastic and in truth this isn't really the venue for dissenting opinions. My ultimate goal is to help strengthen the project by fostering alternative perspectives -- considering all the options. At worst I make myself look like an ass and everyone gets a laugh.