Good job on the site. I like the design!

Update April 16th, 2014

Created reddit announcement: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/236inf/we_just_launched_coinstax_precious_metals/

Update April 16th, 2014

Created reddit announcement: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/236inf/we_just_launched_coinstax_precious_metals/

Update April 2nd, 2014

• Added a Twitter feed of @coinstax to homepage (http://twitter.com/coinstax)
• Added a Gold news feed to homepage
• Removed "Bitcoin Fee" at checkout; calibrated prices

Thanks for the feedback everyone! We changed the pricing structure as requested.

As block rewards lessen, the inflation of Bitcoin nears zero. Deflation, in monetary supply terms and disregarding lost coins, is never a reality for Bitcoin. However, as you have already noted, price deflation is possible because of demand outpacing supply.

The number of bitcoins expected to enter circulation is predictable and expected. This means that inflation is already largely factored into the price. Therefore, even with decreasing block rewards, we should not expect significant appreciations in price if demand is unchanged. [Edit: However, I am not 100% sure how swift changes in monetary creation affects velocity/prices, as will happen at each halving] Of course, in this scenario we are assuming no surprises, like a large sum of coins being verifiably lost.

If ten times more people are using Bitcoin in 2020 as now, this does not necessarily mean that demand is 10x higher. Demand is not a number, but a schedule. See the following for an in depth explanation:

http://mises.org/rothbard/mes/chap11a.asp

However, because demand is not simply a number, this also means that the price can increase by a factor greater than its adoption base. In addition to the number of users, increased demand might result from improved functionality, infrastructure, velocity, etc.

As an aside, I think there will be shocks to come if very old coins begin to move. As time goes on, the market is factoring old coins out of the price, but if they begin moving, they will be part of the money supply again.

Hi superdork,

As I mentioned in my previous post, and you have also pointed out, it is fair to say that since we only accept Bitcoin at the moment, and only use one payment processor, we could adjust prices at the product level to account for payment costs. Judging by the sentiment here, we may very well do that.

The reason for this fee is because all payment types carry some sort of cost. Please keep in mind that while Bitcoin is being converted to dollars and transferred to our account (a surprisingly lengthy process), we must manage volatility swings through hedging and other means. The original goal was to have a base line cost for the product (as is done frequently elsewhere) and have the checkout cost vary according to our incurred cost. Maybe this is overly complicated for our purposes.

We are a very lean startup, so you can imagine how we are still refining our approach to all of the above. I certainly plan to improve the service using yours and others feedback, so it really is appreciated.

Regarding trust, of course I understand being cautious with large purchases. I won't just ask you "to trust me" - that always comes off tryhard. What I can tell you is

• We have never failed to ship an order
• All orders are insured with UPS, shipped overnight
• This is not vaporware which will be developed soon(TM)
• I am not an anonymous figure

I will continue working on this and I hope you will consider us in the future. Thanks again for your feedback!

@coinstax
@robamichael

Update March 1st, 2014

Added Krugerrands! https://coinstax.com/product-detail/10/

Hi Amaze,

Apologies for the delay in responding, but thank you for giving your feedback!

Since we use a warehouse/vault which is not close to home, I cannot show you specifically those items. However, if you check the bottom of this linked blog post, you will find a picture of me showcasing some of our products at Bitcoin Center NYC:

http://btcgeek.com/bitcoin-center-nyc-bitcoin-new-york/

The next Satoshi Square event is Monday. I will not be bringing trunk loads of bullion, but I will post a picture of me with our showcase items, with your name on a paper.

While its true that our focus has been to be up "running as soon as possible," you are the first to think (at least aloud ) that the site looks hastily put together. Instead of reinventing the wheel on the product descriptions, we thought it made sense to piece together facts of interest for each item. I suppose somebody on Alibaba had the same idea . We definitely want everything to look professional and sleek though, so I appreciate your candor. If this is your main concern with the "look" of the site, definitely let me know. Otherwise, if its more about the style, can you recommend any changes?

Regarding the Whois guard, I can ask my developer about that, but as I understand it, this is put in place to reduce spam. I am all around the NYC Bitcoin scene, so honestly there shouldn't be too much issue getting in contact with me if that is your concern. We are pretty quick on the info @ coinstax dot com address as well.

The shipping cost is to cover insured shipping which is essential for shipments of this value. We also video tape all packaging to remove doubt when customer orders are not correct. Per your suggestion, I have added the cost to our Policies page.

The 1.5% Bitcoin processing fee is added because we considered adding other forms of payment (cash, credit card, altcoins, cashier's checks, bank wires, etc.), each of which posts to our account at different speeds and carries its own cost. To get an idea of how to account for these different fees, we reviewed the checkout procedures of others in the industry and found that most use a baseline price for the product and then calibrate fee structures on top of this. We found that Bitpay sweeps funds at the end of the day, then sends an ACH payment that takes another few days to post to our account. This delay of funds to our account makes for some other considerations on our end, but all in all Bitpay is still one of the best electronic payment processors out there (go Bitcoin!). A bank wire would post to our account same day, but costs the customer ~$30. Cash or cashier's checks are immediately available in our account, but the customer needs to either mail it or find us in person (and we do not currently have a storefront). Since we are accepting only bitcoins at the moment, it is fair to say we could change all the prices to reflect this, but it would take effort to recalibrate price tiers, and I wonder if it will make us look less competitive to others who still use a baseline cost system. Changing this is definitely worth considering though, so thanks for asking!

While we have shipped many successful orders, with customers receiving their products just fine, I can understand that our minimums might be higher than you are willing to test for a first go around. I will PM you regarding a reduced volume special arrangement offer for the first shipment and we can use a trusted forum escrow if you wish.

Thanks again for your thoughtful feedback Amaze! Really, this is helpful.

I heard from Charlie Lee that there is a Litecoin payment processor in the works. If this materializes, we would definitely consider Litecoin.

We love the doge (to the moon) as well, but there is no viable way to cash out as of yet.

Hi BTCitcointalk!

I am excited to announce that CoinStax Precious Metals is now live and accepting orders!  

****www.coinstax.com****

We offer Gold and Silver for sale (accepting Bitcoin only!) with shipping in under 5 days.

We are rolling out slowly, so please take the chance to navigate the site and offer and feedback you may have.

If you are located in the NYC area, please stop by the Bitcoin Center http://www.meetup.com/BitcoinCenterNYC/ sometime. It is located on 40 Broad Street, and I am there often. Every Monday night is reserved for Satoshi Square, an open air Bitcoin market where people (hundreds!) meet and swap BTC. You may also find gold and silver bullion!

Questions? Feedback? Just want to say hi? I will be active on this thread or you can email:  info @coinstax dot com

-Rob Michael


Update March 1st, 2014

Per customer request, we added Krugerrands to the product line: https://coinstax.com/product-detail/10/


Update April 2nd, 2014

• Added a Twitter feed of @coinstax to homepage (http://twitter.com/coinstax)
• Added a Gold news feed to homepage
• Removed "Bitcoin Fee" at checkout; calibrated prices

Update April 16th, 2014

Created reddit announcement: http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/236inf/we_just_launched_coinstax_precious_metals/

BTCBTCBTC

Hi Bitcointalk!

I am excited to announce that CoinStax Precious Metals is now live and accepting orders!  

****www.coinstax.com****

We offer Gold and Silver for sale (Bitcoin only!) with shipping in under 4 days.

We are rolling out slowly, so please take the chance to navigate the site and offer and feedback you may have.

If you are located in the NYC area, please stop by the Bitcoin Center http://www.meetup.com/BitcoinCenterNYC/ sometime. It is located on 40 Broad Street, and I am there often. Every Monday night is reserved for Satoshi Square, an open air Bitcoin market where people (hundreds!) meet and swap BTC. You may also find gold and silver bullion!

Questions? Feedback? Just want to say hi? I will be active on this thread or you can email support@coinstax.com

-Rob Michael

Here is the latest for everyone!

Update:

• Menu bar finished
• Guest and User Account options available
• Initial ordering policies finalized
• FoxyCart fully integrated
• Initial products determined and pages created

Launch seems imminent. Our hope is to launch by Bitcoin Black Friday (11.29.13?).

I think we have something set for that, but thanks!

However, I am looking for some thoughts on overall theme/style of the site. Give me a PM if you are interested in taking an early look.

Thanks TheNewAnon135246!

As far as a time frame for launch - it is still difficult to say exactly when, but given our latest milestones, we are aiming for sooner than 2 months.


And thanks to you too Moonshire!

Anon135246 and DiamondCardz - Thanks for the encouraging words!



Update:

• We have fully functional product pages, complete with pictures and descriptions.
• Product prices throughout site can be viewed in BTC or USD using a drop down selection.
• Nearly finished integrating FoxyCart as our shopping cart provider.
• Officially an authorized merchant of Bitpay.

Thanks grabhive!

We like what CoinMap is doing.

Definitely worth looking into collaboration possibilities when the time is right.

Thanks Phinnaeus Gage!

That is a great idea.

Firstly

Excellent work here. It will take awhile to digest, but it is plenty interesting.

I am struggling to understand the backed currency feature. Please allow me to present my sticking point. Thanks in advance to anyone who can resolve it.


Scenario

Consider an honest entity, MintX, which issues a MasterCoin derivative known as PlatinumCoin with the intention that it will track the price of 1 oz of Platinum bullion denominated in USD.

To issue PlatinumCoin, MintX accepts a nominal amount of MasterCoin equal to the USD price of 1oz Platinum, and in exchange the buyer receives one platinumcoin. MintX continues to issue at this rate to establish a market for PlatinumCoin. The mastercoins it accepts in the process are stored in escrow.

Should the secondary market price of PlatinumCoin fall below the intended price (1 oz Platinum:1 PlatinumCoin), MintX is expected to serve as a market maker. MintX destroys platinumcoins by accepting back any issued PlatinumCoin for a nominal amount of MasterCoin equal to the USD denominated price of 1 oz Platinum.


Caveat

The above scenario is presented under the assumption that the issuing entity, MintX, is honest, and we need not worry that it might sell off its escrowed MasterCoin, which is reserved solely for market making purposes.

The problem instead is that should the price of MasterCoin fall, the value of all MasterCoin in escrow will not meet the intended value of all issued PlatinumCoin. A similar price mismatch will arise should the USD price of 1oz Platinum rise.

In this condition, in which all MintX owned MasterCoin do not cover the intended value of all PlatinumCoin issued, what options are left for MintX should the market require MasterCoin in volume excess of that which is escrowed?


Example

1 MasterCoin = $500 USD
1 oz Platinum = $1500 USD

MintX issues 300 PlatinumCoin @ 1 PlatinumCoin:3 MasterCoin
MintX escrows 900 MasterCoin worth $450k

The USD price of MasterCoin tumbles
1 MasterCoin = $100 USD
MintX escrow = $90k USD

PlatinumCoin price falls, prompting MintX to buy PlatinumCoin @ 1 PlatinumCoin:15 MasterCoin

It would require only 60 PlatinumCoins to bankrupt the MintX escrow.
60 PlatinumCoin = $90k USD = 900 MasterCoin


What then?

Greetings Bitcoiners!

It is a great relief to see the return of BitcoinTalk, for which there is no replacement in terms of Bitcoin development and education, and also my favorite place to watch for new projects.

On that note, I am excited to announce that CoinStax will be launching soon! Work remains, but CoinStax will offer physical precious metals products (gold, silver, and platinum bullion), accepting primarily (only?) Bitcoin as payment.

We have a twitter account which will soon release periodic updates. You can follow us @coinstax

Leading up to launch, we will also utilize BitcoinTalk for news on the project, so please check back now and then. And feel free to offer your thoughts on our new endeavor.