Accepting Bitcoins for Digital Products & Services

[ulterios]

Hi my fellow WMS members!

Today I would like to get some opinions on accepting Bitcoins for digital products and services. I would like to know which of you have accepted Bitcoins and even paid for these things with Bitcoins. I've never accepted these as I really don't even use them myself. However, more and more people are using them and accepting them for payment.

I am considering accepting Bitcoins for selling digital products and services and just have never used Bitcoins so this is foreign ground for me so I have a few questions.


My main questions that I would like some input on are the following:

1. Have you accepted payments by Bitcoins and what is your experience with them? Good or bad?

2. If you accept them, what payment processor do you or have you used and who do you recommend?

3. Have you see an increase in sales because of accepting Bitcoins?

4. What is your personal experience in accepting Bitcoins?


All helpful information will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance

 

[Delimiter]

We accept them and use BitPay to process payments, experience has been good. I've personally made payments through Bitcoin and enjoyed the process (it's quite simple when you use a wallet like Coinbase and the seller accepts payments via Coinbase/BitPay or similar checkout systems). Annoyance occurs when a processors blockchain info is out of sync and you need to wait awhile for confirmations to come in so your service can be deployed.

As a provider they're pretty good because chargebacks don't exist in Bitcoin, fees are low, etc. They're a bit rough in that people expect that using Bitcoin allows them to be anonymous and do whatever they like - however going back to the first point, when we demand correct billing details they fix them (no way to chargeback). I think we've picked up a few sales from people we wouldn't have, but nothing super significant. We probably process 1 bitcoin order every 75-100 credit card/Paypal orders.

 

[ulterios]

Thanks for your input, it's greatly appreciated.

Annoyance occurs when a processors blockchain info is out of sync and you need to wait awhile for confirmations to come in so your service can be deployed.

This was one of my concerns, but since I have no experience in using them for this purpose I just wasn't sure. I don't think the waiting thing (even if it's brief) is something that people will like.

I think we've picked up a few sales from people we wouldn't have, but nothing super significant. We probably process 1 bitcoin order every 75-100 credit card/Paypal orders.

This was also something I was curious about. If the demand is so low then it might not be worth the trouble to even deal with.


Thanks again for your input, every bit of good information helps. :thumb:

 

[Delimiter]

This was one of my concerns, but since I have no experience in using them for this purpose I just wasn't sure. I don't think the waiting thing (even if it's brief) is something that people will like.

Only in rare cases does it take that long. My experience as a buyer has been the first confirmation comes in within about 30 seconds, which is good enough to consider the order paid to most. However, depending on the service you may have to wait 2, 4, 6, 8 hours for more confirmations (this is the seller's rules/preferences on payments).

If the demand is so low then it might not be worth the trouble to even deal with.

It's not really that much of a hassle to setup, so it could still be worth it. It really depends on what you're selling. If you're selling to a tech savvy audience you're going to get more takers.

 

[ulterios]

Thanks again for more good input, it's appreciated.

My main concern is that with using a payment processor like Paypal, the payment is basically instantly received and the buyer would get the link to download their digital product right away. Since iv'e never used Bitcoin payments as an option, I didn't know how that would work for the buyer to receive their link/purchase.

Some people are very impatient and also I didn't know how that would work as far as delivering the link/purchase.

The Bitcoin idea is just something I am looking into right now, there's no immediate plan to try to implement it. I'm basically looking for good input like yours to help decide if it's something I even want to mess with.

Thanks again for your input, it helps. :thumb:

 

[Delimiter]

Delimiter

You need to use an intermediary service like BitPay and basically this acts like a Paypal. It integrates into your cart or they have their own standalone system. So someone would click the order link, pay for the service, it should get the first confirmation in ~30 seconds, and then similar to PayPal's IPN, BitPay fires off a 'paid' notice and this releases the download/email/whatever.

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

Oh, ok. Thanks for the information. Bitcoin payments are just new to me and there is so much messed up, confusing, incorrect or otherwise useless information out there that it makes it hard to get good info.

Thanks for the information and your replies, it's appreciated.

 

[EpicGlobalWeb]

Do it do it do it!!!! I also used bitpay before or just bitcoin core.You can easily get cash or gold for bitcoins so you never lose out. And the value is not going down any time soon. The dollar index cannot realistically recover from 2007 and the money supply of bitcoin is not nearly as volatile as it used to be with only 5 million or so unmined coins left. Not to mention the "tax" benefits.

Good luck to anyone trying to audit your income lol!



Just a note if you use bitcoin core as your desktop wallet, it literally takes weeks to download the entire block chain and sync it. And I don't recommend an online service as your main one.

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

Thanks for your input.

The main issue that I have is that i've never thought about using Bitcoin as a form of payment to accept. It's all new to me and since I don't know much about Bitcoin in general, it's all new and a learning experience.

I'm trying to figure out if it's worth the trouble to set it up, especially if I won't get many sales just because of that. Right now I am in the research phase, trying to see if it's a good idea or not.

The information you guys are providing can help me decide if I want to try it or not. Any information, good or bad, is helpful right now.

Thanks again for your input, it's appreciated.

 

[EpicGlobalWeb]

Right now, the only payment processor I can recommend for Bitcoin is Stripe and BitPay. For BitPay you will need to verify your business heavily. Stripe verification is less strenuous. It is easier to set up for Bitcoin than any other form of payment.

However if you use the Bitcoin Core Wallet, you don't actually need a payment processor. Stripe and Bitpay just make it more "e-commercy" and pretty for you while offering another layer of security. But they aren't necessarily needed. You can simply receive bitcoins via wallet without a bank or a processor - this is their main advantage. Here are some details for you:

[URLnofo]https://stripe.com/bitcoin[/URLnofo]
[URLnofo]https://bitpay.com/[/URLnofo]

BitPay converts them into cash for you in your bank. But Stripe is (in my opinion) the best processor for Bitcoins there is.

Again, I can't stress this enough - you don't need a bank or processor for Bitcoins. You don't even need an identity (very popular in the Dark Net lol).

 

[ulterios]

Right now, the only payment processor I can recommend for Bitcoin is Stripe and BitPay. For BitPay you will need to verify your business heavily. Stripe verification is less strenuous. It is easier to set up for Bitcoin than any other form of payment.

Great to know, thanks for the additional information.

However if you use the Bitcoin Core Wallet, you don't actually need a payment processor. Stripe and Bitpay just make it more "e-commercy" and pretty for you while offering another layer of security. But they aren't necessarily needed. You can simply receive bitcoins via wallet without a bank or a processor - this is their main advantage. Here are some details for you:

[URLnofo]https://stripe.com/bitcoin[/URLnofo]
[URLnofo]https://bitpay.com/[/URLnofo]

Great, i'll add these to my list of things to check out. By the way, I love that word "e-commercy"! That's going to have to be added to my vocabulary, since I love the sound and usage. I'm a sucker for new words (at least new to me). :yahoo:

BitPay converts them into cash for you in your bank. But Stripe is (in my opinion) the best processor for Bitcoins there is.

Again, I can't stress this enough - you don't need a bank or processor for Bitcoins. You don't even need an identity (very popular in the Dark Net lol).

Thanks again for the info, this help a lot. :thumb:

 

[Developer]

@Ulterios, be sure to let us know if you do try it out and how it
all goes for you. I am actually thinking about trying out bitcoins
as well. IF I do, I will let you know how it goes as well...

 

[ulterios]

ulterios

I surely will. Right now I am in the research phase but I will update what I find out.

I am the type of person who hates having missed sales because of not accepting a payment form that potential buyers would want/need. I just need to find out more info, maybe do some testing to see how it's used and then decide if it should be a fixture for my sites.

I've been thinking about it for a while, just need to actually get something done. Since this isn't a major need right now I have time dedicated to more important things but with the input here, that'll make getting something done easier.

Lots of good info and input here helps me out.