Buying Bitcoins safe and cheap from USA

[INFINITeXpRESS]

@DoomKitty @Alfapharm I always thought he had a high rep because of the cat in his avatar

 

[Jesse]

BITCOIN HEADACHE RELIEF

By  vitruviusbeard, August 4 in Introductions

Posted August 4

If you are having trouble with bitcoin, please let me help you. It is a lot easier then Google would make you believe.

Step 1: Download Electrum wallet. It will give you a set of words to allow access to your wallet. Keep these somewhere safe. It is the only way to access your money if you forget your password, etc.

Step 2: Set up an account with Coinmama. (this takes a bit of time and pictures, but after 12-24 hours you will be able to buy bitcoin immediately) Banks do not like to support bitcoin so only certain vendors can get passed this.

Step 3: In the receive tab of your Electrum wallet you will see a wallet address. You give this to people so they can send you money. The same goes for Coinmama. When buying Bitcoin from that website it will ask you for your wallet address. This is the Electrum address that you copy and paste in. The money has to bounce around the world for a few hours securing your transaction. (Sometimes you will have to restart the Electrum so it will begin to track your order, you may have to do this a few times)

Step 4: OPTIONAL - You can have multiple Electrum wallet addresses if you want, but the only advantage to this is to know exactly who sent you money. That is the ONLY reason. If you do not need to know who sent you money then don't add other addresses, just keep one.

Step 5: To send money, the recipient will have to send you their wallet address. Go to the send tab in your Electrum wallet and paste that address in. Select the amount of bitcoin to send using google (USD to bitcoin, CAD to Bitcoin, etc) to get the exact amount to send. There is a slider bar underneath asking the fee amount you would like use. Its use is how fast the money gets sent around the world. Whether you set it to high or low, it is really not a large amount of money. So I always send high because it is just a nice thing to do for your recipient. I have never used low so I dont know how much longer it takes, but its only a couple of bucks so just use high.

Step 6: Thank Bitcoin for being amazing and giving us freedom with our money. 

Edited August 4 by @vitruviusbeard

 

This is the best post I've ever found on this subject. May I suggest to admin that it pinned someplace where others can easily find it?

Question for the author: What about the reliability of CoinMama? One of the things that kept me with Coinbase (other than relatively low fees and it transfers quickly) is that they're established enough that I trust them not to run with my money. Nothing's stopping me from setting up a website called BitJesse (or maybe JesseCoin?), offering super-low fees and user-friendly service, and just pocketing your money. This is the very reason we have the FDIC, but it doesn't protect pretend-money like bitcoin. 

I guess what I'm asking for is an addendum to this that includes other bitcoin vendors. Like many others, I've run into plenty of places that won't work with my bank. So even if I weren't concerned about reliability, some people probably won't be able to use CoinMama because their bank refuses it.

Knowing our options would also be useful because Coinbase may eventually go the way of WU and MG and render themselves impossible for us to use.

Thanks again! This was exactly what I was looking for when I started the "Explain it like I'm 5" thread! 

 

[CandiVanChampion]

ABRA which supplies you your own wallet. It can do two things:

1. Uses SIMPLEX for debit/credit charges. It charge is 4%.

Verification: post a picture of your DL or State ID one of the front, one of the back. You upload two pictures. It is really easy. (I learned computer before the selfie shit)

If you use it again they will hold your money for two days while you upload them a selfie. The selfie must contain:

1) a picture of you

2) holding the card you used to purchase 

3) in the pic you must show the first four and last four digits

OR

2. Using you bank account. You give them access to your bank account. (I did it last year and had no problems at all). You specify how much you wish to transfer to Bitcoin. It then takes two days for your Bitcoin to show up. When it show up it is transferred to your wallet. 

 

[Alfapharm]

@Jesse

CashApp charges (as a client of mine posted in this thread) like 0.5 to 1 % and it works with credit/debit cards from 18 US banks.

Posting here again the list:

[SIZE=17pt]1/ Chase[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]2/ Bank of America [/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]3/ Wells Fargo[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]4/ Citi[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]5/ US Bank[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]6/ Capitol One[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]7/ PNC[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]8/ USAA[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]9/ TD Bank[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]10/ Suntrust[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]11/ Regions[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]12/ Navy Federal[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]13/ BB&T[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]14/ Chime[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]15/ Charles Schwab[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]16/ Fidelity[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]17/ Citizens Bank[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]18/ Huntington[/SIZE]

 

[scrtlvrby]

@Jesse

CashApp charges (as a client of mine posted in this thread) like 0.5 to 1 % and it works with credit/debit cards from 18 US banks.

Posting here again the list:

[SIZE=17pt]1/ Chase[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]2/ Bank of America [/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]3/ Wells Fargo[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]4/ Citi[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]5/ US Bank[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]6/ Capitol One[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]7/ PNC[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]8/ USAA[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]9/ TD Bank[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]10/ Suntrust[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]11/ Regions[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]12/ Navy Federal[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]13/ BB&T[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]14/ Chime[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]15/ Charles Schwab[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]16/ Fidelity[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]17/ Citizens Bank[/SIZE]

[SIZE=17pt]18/ Huntington[/SIZE]

I will have to try this method next time.  I was checking fees yesterday using several different payment types and the average fee was 25%

 

[Alfapharm]

@scrtlvrby

You don’t have to choose extremely expensive ways to buy Bitcoins. Why should you?

Even at a Bitcoin ATM which is an expensive way to buy Bitcoins, you should not pay more than 8%. 

At www.licalbitcoins.com you can find multiple ways and percentages to buy Bitcoins frommultiple vendors. You can choose high rated ones who offer good price and buy from them.

lLocalbitcoins.com serves as escrow to protect both buyers and sellers. 

 

[Lemmyhellcat]

I’m a newbie with bitcoins etc, it’s pretty easy thru local bitcoins its a easy to navigate site.

 

[Fenrir]

@scrtlvrby

You don’t have to choose extremely expensive ways to buy Bitcoins. Why should you?

Even at a Bitcoin ATM which is an expensive way to buy Bitcoins, you should not pay more than 8%. 

At www.licalbitcoins.com you can find multiple ways and percentages to buy Bitcoins frommultiple vendors. You can choose high rated ones who offer good price and buy from them.

lLocalbitcoins.com serves as escrow to protect both buyers and sellers. 

You can pay with gift cards on local bit and face-to-face meets. Never tried those methods though. Using bacs transfer is reliable and cheaper then CC.

 

[scrtlvrby]

@scrtlvrby

You don’t have to choose extremely expensive ways to buy Bitcoins. Why should you?

Even at a Bitcoin ATM which is an expensive way to buy Bitcoins, you should not pay more than 8%. 

At www.licalbitcoins.com you can find multiple ways and percentages to buy Bitcoins frommultiple vendors. You can choose high rated ones who offer good price and buy from them.

lLocalbitcoins.com serves as escrow to protect both buyers and sellers. 

I didn't choose expensive ways!  I probably checked a dozen different payment methods and the average mark-up was 25,%.  I should mention that was on Paxful.

A Bitcoin ATM?  Lol,....never seen one in my life.  I suppose they are probably in cities but small towns like mine do not have them. 

I appreciate your advice, though!  Thank you

 

[automagic]

Anyone try wall of coins?

 

[scrtlvrby]

Anyone try wall of coins?

Is it like the wall of sound?

 

[mark6699331]

I took said advice and finally found a bigger player did hoops ceo. and low % or for fast 3% Took little effort but finallly done! NOw finally can do my overdo donation. I've learned tons of do's and dont's once ive had couple succesfull donations, I'd be glad to help others puzzled like I was . Peace. Thanks A

 

[mackp]

good info on BTC here.. Easier than i expected.

 

[scrtlvrby]

good info on BTC here.. Easier than i expected.

Agreed, this site caused me to learn and use Bitcoin for the 1st time and subsequent times.  After doing it, I was like oh that's it?  Well, hell that wasn't so bad

 

[Kelakarekrew]

Many of the change counters at grocery stores and the like are now also selling btc. Don't convert change to btc or you'll pay fees on the change and the btc. Those machines and the ATMs often get you for ~10%. That sucks but for some it is only option. localbitcoins is a crap shoot, usually I see very bad rates listed and there are stories of larger sellers getting busted in stings.
I opened a Cap 1 acct just for linking to Gemini, no anonymity but I can handle that in other ways once I get the btc. Or at least significantly reduce risk of tracking, it's difficult to hide smaller amounts if someone really wanted to track you down. BTC is only psuedo-anonymous, but that's enough for most of us.

 

[Alfapharm]

CashApp with it’s only 0.5 to 1 % fee seems to be a great way of buying Bitcoins. It also accepts credit and debit cards from 18 major US banks and is really fast and easy.

 

[Sherrytwelve]

I'm pretty happy with Coinbase. Easy to use, reasonable rates. 

 

[Alfapharm]

@Sherrytwelve

I'm pretty happy with Coinbase. Easy to use, reasonable rates. 

But my clients are complaining that Coinbase reguraly holds their Bitcoins from 5 days to 2 weeks.

 

[Sherrytwelve]

@Sherrytwelve

But my clients are complaining that Coinbase reguraly holds their Bitcoins from 5 days to 2 weeks.

Oh, interesting. That is good to know. I still have CashApp, think I will stick to that. 

 

[Jesse]

@Sherrytwelve

But my clients are complaining that Coinbase reguraly holds their Bitcoins from 5 days to 2 weeks.

I think that happens the first time and it's just a few hours after that. At least, that's been my own experience so far.