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Thinking Of Accepting Bitcoin?

by sdentrepreneur
15 replies
I am thinking of starting to accept Bitcoin from my business clients and also from people who want to take my course. Is anyone else taking and or using Bitcoin on a regular basis? What advice would you have on this subject?
#accepting #bitcoin #busines #thinking
  • Profile picture of the author aharrold
    Lol next joke... With the constant price fluctuations of bit coins and government looming over the "currencies" shoulder, this would be an awful potential mistake/headache. What kind of legitimate business owners have bitcoins laying around?
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    • Profile picture of the author dmaster555
      Originally Posted by aharrold View Post

      Lol next joke... With the constant price fluctuations of bit coins and government looming over the "currencies" shoulder, this would be an awful potential mistake/headache. What kind of legitimate business owners have bitcoins laying around?
      You couldn't be more wrong about that. I don't know about long term, but right now bitcoin is worth accepting. Many businesses have seen an increase in sales just by accepting bitcoin and providing that group of people with their product/service. You just need to have a strategy.
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  • Profile picture of the author Markus Mustikkamaki
    just forget those bitcoins...just as aharrold said::
    "What kind of legitimate business owners have bitcoins laying around?"
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  • Profile picture of the author Marcel Pamphile
    Problem
    "What kind of legitimate business owners have bitcoins laying around?"

    Solution
    Sell a product that has a broader reach and hungry buyers

    You have nothing to lose by including an additional payment method. Except a little time.

    Especially since
    1. There are no refunds.
    2. You can reduce the price of your product to reward buyers
    3. You cannot get kicked out of a third party processor.
    4. Bitcoins are projected to eventually increase in value to $10,000+

    Overstock added $180,000 in sales on it's first day of accepting BTC.
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  • Profile picture of the author Garble
    Too many virtual currencies have been closed abruptly due to government intervention, starting with egold. The chairman of the Federal Reserve has stated publicly that he does not believe that the government needs to concern itself with bitcoin at this time. But is he the only person that makes the decision about whether to shut it down? Wasn't egold closed by the FBI? Bitcoin is getting too popular and attracting too much attention, so I don't think it will last. Governments don't like competition.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    I live in San Diego and more places that I want to spend my money are excepting BitCoins. Bars, Restaurants, Massage Therapist just to name a few. I am only talking about maybe 10% of my sales.
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    • Profile picture of the author aharrold
      Originally Posted by sdentrepreneur View Post

      I live in San Diego and more places that I want to spend my money are excepting BitCoins. Bars, Restaurants, Massage Therapist just to name a few. I am only talking about maybe 10% of my sales.
      I live in San Diego and have never heard of a business accepting bitcoins. If they did want bitcoins instead of cash/credit I probably wouldn't even want to be a patron at the business. Are they trying to pull some serious tax evasion off or something lol? Trust me, I have seen many digital currencies crash and get shutdown- don't mess with digital currency unless you are buying or selling something illegal. I know you have probably seen these on the news a lot lately and think they are the "cool" new thing, but they are sadly a rehash of other digital currencies that don't exist anymore.
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      • Profile picture of the author Shadowflux
        I'm still on the fence about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in general. We've seen a lot of growth coming from bitcoin but it's been so fast I'm not sure you can call it stable growth.

        The other problem is there are a lot of different cryptocurrencies out there. Most people only know about bitcoin but there are new currencies being created every day. Which one is going to be successful? Which will disappear? I just don't know.

        The biggest problem I have is that I find it hard to believe the government isn't going to get involved once BTC becomes a common form of payment. I'm not really sure what that will do to the value of the currency since much of its popularity stems from it being unregulated.

        For the short term, I suppose it's ok to accept bitcoin but I wouldn't put too many of my assets into it. I'd hold onto them if I wanted to play the market, otherwise I would convert them to USD as soon as I can.
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        • Profile picture of the author Marcel Pamphile
          Originally Posted by Shadowflux View Post

          I'm still on the fence about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in general. We've seen a lot of growth coming from bitcoin but it's been so fast I'm not sure you can call it stable growth.

          The other problem is there are a lot of different cryptocurrencies out there. Most people only know about bitcoin but there are new currencies being created every day. Which one is going to be successful? Which will disappear? I just don't know.

          The biggest problem I have is that I find it hard to believe the government isn't going to get involved once BTC becomes a common form of payment. I'm not really sure what that will do to the value of the currency since much of its popularity stems from it being unregulated.

          For the short term, I suppose it's ok to accept bitcoin but I wouldn't put too many of my assets into it. I'd hold onto them if I wanted to play the market, otherwise I would convert them to USD as soon as I can.
          IMHO, the safest altcoin after Bitcoin is Litecoin.

          BitCoin is like a .com and 1-800 number. It is the first tier, Number One option. It is and will always be until a new innovator supplants it with real innovation years from now.

          Second Thier
          Litecoin is second best and closely riding the coattail of Bitcoin.

          Third Tier
          Altcoins like Dogecoin are the equivalent of .nets. .orgs, 1-888, 1-999 numbers.
          Even then, these third tier option Altcoins. For example Gamification within your own software or online services.

          Yes, tons of altcoins will fail. But that is the natural order of things. Their backers will take their experience to Bitcoins and make it stronger. Litecoin won't be too far behind because it rides the Bitcoin train as the #2 "easier" option.
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          • Profile picture of the author Ingredients4Success
            Originally Posted by Marcel Pamphile View Post

            IMHO, the safest altcoin after Bitcoin is Litecoin.

            BitCoin is like a .com and 1-800 number. It is the first tier, Number One option. It is and will always be until a new innovator supplants it with real innovation years from now.

            Second Thier
            Litecoin is second best and closely riding the coattail of Bitcoin.

            Third Tier
            Altcoins like Dogecoin are the equivalent of .nets. .orgs, 1-888, 1-999 numbers.
            Even then, these third tier option Altcoins. For example Gamification within your own software or online services.

            Yes, tons of altcoins will fail. But that is the natural order of things. Their backers will take their experience to Bitcoins and make it stronger. Litecoin won't be too far behind because it rides the Bitcoin train as the #2 "easier" option.
            I like the way you put this in terms of comparing to domains!

            Litecoin has done well to market itself as the 'silver' of the crypto currencies. This marketing / branding works very well and will continue to do so imo.
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      • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
        Hey Harrold,

        I will get the names of places in San Diego that accept. I live/work in Gaslamp area, we should talk shop sometime. Peace...

        Originally Posted by aharrold View Post

        I live in San Diego and have never heard of a business accepting bitcoins. If they did want bitcoins instead of cash/credit I probably wouldn't even want to be a patron at the business. Are they trying to pull some serious tax evasion off or something lol? Trust me, I have seen many digital currencies crash and get shutdown- don't mess with digital currency unless you are buying or selling something illegal. I know you have probably seen these on the news a lot lately and think they are the "cool" new thing, but they are sadly a rehash of other digital currencies that don't exist anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author Silver Natural 9
    This video presentation was an eye opener to me.
    I've played it for family and I've played it for friends.
    Everyone seems to be blown away by it.
    This 40mins might affect the rest of your life:
    The True Value of Bitcoin: What You Really Need To Know - YouTube
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  • Profile picture of the author WorldIR
    accept bitcoin at low price n offload during high price
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  • Profile picture of the author DaniMc
    Lot's misinformation in these responses LOL

    I'm not quite sure how bitcoin could get "shut down" - it is a decentralized currency. Just like the Feds can't shut torrents down - it doesn't belong to any "country" - it is data. The many exchanges are in different countries and can easily exchange bitcoin for any currency. You transfer bitcoin just like sending an mp3 song to someone - 1's and 0's are sent. It cannot be stopped.

    Using bitcoin does not enable tax fraud (sheesh). It is no different than saying "We accept Japanese Yen for payment." Or Canadian money, or Pesos. All global currencies are just digits in a computer these days. None of them are backed by anything "real." You still must pay taxes on any income. The IRS can easily see when dollars go into an account from bitcoin or any other currency. You don't pay the tax, you get caught. There is no way around it. The transactions are not anonymous and if you are audited, they can see how much bitcoin you have spent, and if you haven't paid taxes on that income, you are prosecuted.

    You can easily transfer your bitcoins into any other currency at any time.

    EGold was completely different story. Not even a close analogy. EGold was a centrally controlled currency backed by physical gold. It was subject to manipulation by it's owners. It was possible to block transfer of money by the Treasury Department. None of this is even remotely true or possible with bitcoin.

    I don't know that it will help your business any because I don't think there are tons of people out there with bitcoins, but it could be a cool novelty. Then again, if you get your business listed in the directories as a place that accepts bitcoin, you might pick up some business. Watch the exchange rate and be sure to exchange them for dollars when the price is high.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ingredients4Success
    We've been accepting Bitcoins for just over 1 year now.

    Only a very small % of clients pay with Bitcoins, the majority of the clients in question were attracted to our store due to the fact we offered this payment option and their previous supplier/s did not.

    For the record: month on month we are noticing an increase in both enquiries relating to Bitcoin and clients opting to use them to make payment.

    We recently added Litecoin to our list of payment options but as of yet, 6 weeks later, we have still to receive a single payment in Litecoins.

    If accepting Bitcoins leads to an additional sale / profit then it's a good move!

    You have the chance to cash out there and then - ie take profit or the option to hold as an investment and ride the waves to .....?
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