Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: ydqwzxkh on March 15, 2013, 04:00 pm
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Hi,
sorry for a trivial question, but I failed to find out so far, and I'm not sure if http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/wiki/index.php?title=Buyer%27s_Guide&oldid=388#Escrow answers it:
When an item's price is tied to USD, at which point does it stop fluctuating and become fixed in BTC? When the order is first placed, when the vendor accepts it, or when I finalise it?
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I agree
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Bump in case threads in this board tend not to resurface once they fall.
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i'm curious, too
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I'm going to kill myself..
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JUST KIDDING!
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To my knowledge....
The prices become fixed in btc when you place the order.
HOWEVER, the question comes back up if a refund is placed. Vendors can "hedge" a payment, meaning that even if the price of btc fluctuates, your order is priced and paid with the btc-usd value, at the time the order was placed. Hedging becomes important if there is a refund situation. In a hedged refund, you will receive the amount of btc that currently values the same as the usd price you paid. You may receive less or more btc, but it will be the same usd amount.
In an UNhedged refund, the usd amount was NOT saved into the transaction. So, regardless of the usd value, regardless of current btc value, if you paid 2 btc, you receive 2 btc.
Hedged orders are benefcial all the way around when the btc market is fluctuating dramatically, especially in a downward trend. It protects you from loosing money. Unhedged can be beneficial when prices are going up, because your 2btc will be worth more than they were last week.
Unfortunately, that is something solely up to the vendor's discretion, so all you can really do is look at the market and decide if its worth a risk working with someone who is not hedging their orders. I personally dont see it as a huge issue right now, and could care less. But it makes the whole process slightly more complex..