Silk Road forums

Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: HiveMindMecha on June 15, 2013, 12:49 am

Title: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: HiveMindMecha on June 15, 2013, 12:49 am
Okay so I am new as you all can see and I've been looking into this whole bitcoin thing and I just can't wrap my head around it.  Do I actually have to spend over 100 dollars just to get 1 single BTC?  Because there are various products that I wish to buy that are much less than that.  Do I really need to spend that much in order to buy something cheaper?

Also I can't find out even HOW to buy BTC.  Every site i have been to confuses the hell out of me.  I would like to buy BTC with my credit card but the only site that seems to allow that is VirWox and on there where you can buy them it says I have to spend well over like 300 dollars!  This bitcoin stuff is driving me crazy!  I wish I could just use my credit card to buy things on SR but that is obviously not possible...

tl;dr If anyone would be ever so kind to explain to me an easy surefire way on how to buy BTC it would be very much appreciated.  I am from Canada as well if that makes things any more difficult...
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: sirravesalot on June 15, 2013, 01:02 am
Okay, so I'm pretty new to this too so I'm sure someone else will be a lot more insightful, but yes bitcoins really are ~$100 a coin.  When I bought mine about a week ago they were around $130, so it's pretty interesting how much its value can fluctuate in such a short span of time.  I tried getting bitcoins at first from Mtgox but they have a verification process that I didn't really want to take the time to do, nor did I want to send them copies of my ID although I'm sure you don't have to worry about your information getting leaked. 

Anyways, I decided to go to https://localbitcoins.com/ because all of their bitcoin traders are based on reviews and feedback similar to the silk road, so you know the ones you should go to.  I bought mine using this over paypal, but paypal isn't a very popular option for sellers so I ended up paying a bit more than I would have liked.  They also have traders on there that will meet up with you at a certain location, usually public, where you will trade them the cash and they'll send the bitcoins to your wallet right there.  Bank transfers and other methods are also options.   They also have limits on how many coins you have to purchase, usually you have to buy at least $100 worth but the guy I got from had a minimum of $50.  So yeah, I hope this is somewhat useful to you.  I'm sure a more experienced user can give you better advice :)
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: theotherone on June 15, 2013, 01:03 am
ok take a deep breath.  it is not as difficult as you imagine.

first of all, you can by portions of a bitcoin, you don't have to buy a whole one.
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: bodie82 on June 15, 2013, 01:05 am
It's not hard. Best think you can do, to make prices less confusing, is go into your settings from your account page and switch "display prices bitcoins" to display prices usd. Makes is so much easier so your not trying to do conversions in your head. Right now the price of bitcoins is around a 100 a coin. Cash deposit is the easiest way to go. What I did first was set up a Mt gox acct at mtgox.com(clearnet) than go to bitinstant.com. They have a option where you can do a cash deposit using money gram(walmart, cvs). Follow their easy instructions for cash into your mt gox acct. They'll email you all the info for the money gram transaction. Once you complete the money gram your cash will be in your mt gox act where you can buy bitcoins. Once you have the coin go to withdraw and copy n paste the bitcoin wallet address in your silk road act. Thats how I do it. Havent found any way to use a credit card at least that is easy
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: theotherone on June 15, 2013, 01:06 am
the easiest way, if you are in the USA is to use bitinstant.com

you can fund it with cash in any location that deals with moneygram (walmart, for example.)
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: theotherone on June 15, 2013, 01:09 am
if you download the program bitcoin-qt, you can skip mt. gox. 

just install the program, let it sync (could take 24-36 hours)

then press the receive coins button and make a new address.

you can send coins (or parts of coins) to that address from bitinstant.
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: HiveMindMecha on June 15, 2013, 01:11 am
Okay...wow... I was hoping there was a way to buy portions but couldn't find out how so I figured it wasn't possible...
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: HiveMindMecha on June 15, 2013, 01:12 am
if you download the program bitcoin-qt, you can skip mt. gox. 

just install the program, let it sync (could take 24-36 hours)

then press the receive coins button and make a new address.

you can send coins (or parts of coins) to that address from bitinstant.

Awesome, thanks.  Does it matter that I live in Canada?
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: theotherone on June 15, 2013, 01:28 am
bitcoin-qt will work just fine in canada, but apparently bitinstant does not....

but it looks like https://www.cavirtex.com could be your answer....you can deposit cash at the bank or using a bill pay feature from your bank account
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: dupersouperhigh on June 15, 2013, 01:30 am
Okay...wow... I was hoping there was a way to buy portions but couldn't find out how so I figured it wasn't possible...

Can you only spend whole dollars? Don't be silly  ;D
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: whatsmyname on June 15, 2013, 01:36 am
jump right in just search buy bitcoin with the method you want and do it.
Buying is easy. even ebay for any inflated fraction to test. if you dont want to buy a whole one at first. Not advised. Best buying at market for lowest price.

to test a transaction just tranfer what you plan to spend plus transaction and shipping  fees etc.
every time a transfer a fee is deducted.
my first time transfered and had to transfer again as it was not enough after fees for total.






Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: jedilight on June 15, 2013, 01:53 am
Have you ever tried bitinstant?
If so what address do you use to send your coins after you've purchased? Is it the one under our SR account that gets generated when we click on the link "deposit coins"?
Thanks

if you download the program bitcoin-qt, you can skip mt. gox. 

just install the program, let it sync (could take 24-36 hours)

then press the receive coins button and make a new address.

you can send coins (or parts of coins) to that address from bitinstant.
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: xtremeDetail on June 15, 2013, 02:14 am
Bitinstant was pretty easy but I've heard they've been having some issues this week. My transaction sat as pending for almost two days. Once I emailed their support though it got pushed through within a few hours so it was still faster and easier than a lot of other places.
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: Chernovy on June 15, 2013, 01:15 pm
VirWox which is part of Secondlife does alllow you to buy bitcoins from a Credit Card.  There are very little delays getting your bitcoins from VirWox, but you do need to buy whole bitcoins from VirWox. 
Title: Re: So confused about Bitcoin... help plz?
Post by: Chernovy on June 15, 2013, 11:56 pm
CampBX is a USA based bitcoin exchange that excepts dwolla and others.  You won't be anonymous buying from there, but if you bounce your coins around a few times and send it thru a mixing service you should be hidden enough.  I think it may be a better alternative for users in the US especially with this whole MTGox/Dwolla stuff going on.