Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: tshark87 on February 15, 2012, 06:16 am

Title: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: tshark87 on February 15, 2012, 06:16 am
What is the cheapest way to get bitcoins? im in California. get-bitcoins.com website isnt working, I heard you could just drop money into a Chase bank account. Is there any similar methods like this where I can walk into a bank, deposit cash and then receive bitcoins in my account to use here? 

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: CrunchyFrog on February 15, 2012, 06:50 am
Quote from: tshark87
...get-bitcoins.com website isnt working...
Did you mean get-bitcoin.com -- rather than get-bitcoinS.com -- by chance?  It looks as if get-bitcoin.com is functional at the moment.

Quote from: tshark87
...I heard you could just drop money into a Chase bank account...
GetBitcoin can accept cash deposits by mail to their office or in person at Chase and Bank of America branch offices.
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: tshark87 on February 17, 2012, 10:44 am
Thanks crunchy, got it to work now.  What type of transaction fee do that take?
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: One Violet on February 17, 2012, 12:39 pm
There's a vendor on SR that takes Chase cash deposits with no fees. I forgot the name but he's an exchanger, you'll probably find him if you search SR.
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: CrunchyFrog on February 18, 2012, 03:33 am
Quote from: tshark87
What type of transaction fee do that take?
5% for purchasing BTC from them (+3% if using prepaid card), 3% for selling BTC to them.
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: Wonderland on February 18, 2012, 03:59 am
You can find lots of info here in the forums. There are quite a few threads with steps listed, one of which is from me. Before I did anything at all I read the forums for a couple hours every day and found that there are lots of different methods, different security techniques, different websites to use.. all have their own advantages and disadvantages.. So I think its best to do alot of reading before you start.... Don't just jump in and go for the 1st method you read about. It's important to make an INFORMED decision that will be the safest for you and your situation. Don't get impatient and make a mistake that might come back to bite you.. or put you in jail. Be smart and be safe!
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: tehjiggy3 on February 18, 2012, 04:11 am
I agree with what Wonderland said. Take your time, do your research and then choose which method works best for you. Another option for direct bank deposits is bitinstant.com.  They charge a 4.5 percent to 5% fee. You can deposit at Chase Bank, but the coins don't go to your SR wallet. They send you a redeemable code for use on MtGox (BTC exchange) , but you can use other exchanges as well. Just another option for deposits. I still would recommend reading up on options and choosing which one is best for you.

As a sidenote, nothing against the BTC vendors, but you will definitely pay more through them than you would just taking the time to get the coins for yourself. Then again, I guess you are paying for the convienience of doing nothing?
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: One Violet on February 18, 2012, 03:38 pm
As a sidenote, nothing against the BTC vendors, but you will definitely pay more through them than you would just taking the time to get the coins for yourself. Then again, I guess you are paying for the convienience of doing nothing?
What about those vendors who charge no fees? There are some regular vendors who exchange without a fee as it's the cheapest way for them to liquidate. Or do you think they shouldn't be trusted? I'm trying to make an exchange deal with a vendor (not an exchanger) who doesn't charge a fee, but reading this has given me second thoughts.
Title: Re: Cheapest way to get bitcoins
Post by: tehjiggy3 on February 18, 2012, 08:38 pm
Buying from a vendor who is trying to liquidate their BTC is different. They may or may not charge any fees and they will probably give you a fair price. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Make sure it is a reputable vendor tho.

As for the exchangers who don't charge fees. From what I've noticed, if they don't charge fees, then their price per BTC is a bit higher than market value. Keep in mind they wouldn't be providing this service if they didn't stand to make some kind of profit. I still think that, while it might take a bit longer, and be more of a process, its cheaper to just get your BTC yourself through an exchange or even get-bitcoin as some people have said. I was going to use a BTC vendor, explained to him what I wanted and he actually was nice enough to tell me that it would be cheaper for me to use the exchange and get my own coins. I thought that was awesome. So that's exactly what I did.