Silk Road forums
Discussion => Off topic => Topic started by: conehead on June 24, 2012, 01:32 am
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I got the correct amount of BTC in my account and suddenly found myself to be short a few bit pennies. I thought perhaps my math was fail, so I sent some more....
The prices changed again, a couple bit pennies... It seems the pricing is based on USD instead of BTC and fluctuated automatically?
Oh the fail. Now I have to do another BTC-USD conversion =/
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Or you can wait. It's going to go up.
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I wonder if DPR could hedge the gift codes. then when you buy your BTC, load them in your account, and create a gift code right away. they could charge a fee for that, but then your gift code would always be worth the same dollar amount.
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That's a cool idea yeah.
I'm .03 off now... hopefully it comes down. I really don't want to miss out on an item that may sell out. :(
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Do u need a .3btc loan buddy? More than willing to help. Let me know asap.
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Do u need a .3btc loan buddy? More than willing to help. Let me know asap.
No thanks. It's up to a .08 deficit now but I'm going to fund the account again and next time I'll send enough so there is a buffer. haha
Newbie mistakes have to happen sooner or later or you will always be a newbie. :)
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Recently I had the right change for 1g of nose candy in my SR account but by the time I had read reviews and picked a vendor I was 0.03 BTC short, but was embarrassed to ask for a loan, lol :-[
If I fund my account I always add an extra BTC now, I love ManaFromHeaven's I deal about hedged gift codes, that way I'd be more at ease keeping bigger sums in my SR account, for those impulse buy moments ;D
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Do u need a .3btc loan buddy? More than willing to help. Let me know asap.
No thanks. It's up to a .08 deficit now but I'm going to fund the account again and next time I'll send enough so there is a buffer. haha
Newbie mistakes have to happen sooner or later or you will always be a newbie. :)
I hear that, but the community is here for you if you ever come up few cents short. Ive been helped out before and always try to pay it forward when possible. Nothing worse than being just under for an order and missing out because the vendor sells out before you can reload your btc. Safe traveling.
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I got the correct amount of BTC in my account and suddenly found myself to be short a few bit pennies. I thought perhaps my math was fail, so I sent some more....
The prices changed again, a couple bit pennies... It seems the pricing is based on USD instead of BTC and fluctuated automatically?
Oh the fail. Now I have to do another BTC-USD conversion =/
Hi Conehead,
Sorry to hear about your experience. Vendors on SR often peg their prices in Bitcoin to the USD equivalent as per MtGox e.g they can set the price of an e-book at USD 5 worth of Bitcoins. The number of actual Bitcoins will vary based on prevailing rates - the Bitcoin has been making large gains of late against the dollar but has recently dipped slightly as far as I can see (this is certain true for the BTC/GBP rate anyway).
The best way to protect yourself as far as possible against fluctuating rates is to decide what you want to order before you buy your Bitcoins and then only get as many as you need to complete the sale (make sure you include shipping costs)- as soon as your Bitcoins arrive, use them to complete the order.
I realise in this case the Bitcoin dropped before you could complete the sale but it's generally a good idea only to have as many as you need - you'll be pleased to hear that the Bitcoin seems to be a lot less volatile than it was...
V.
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I wonder if DPR could hedge the gift codes. then when you buy your BTC, load them in your account, and create a gift code right away. they could charge a fee for that, but then your gift code would always be worth the same dollar amount.
That sounds like a really good idea. Anyone know if it would be that simple?
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yeah i always load up a lil extra BTC just incase as its such a pain in the ass if you come up short....plus, once you bought what you wanted, you may have enough spare to buy a pill or 2C drug with the left over change! bonus!
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I wonder if DPR could hedge the gift codes. then when you buy your BTC, load them in your account, and create a gift code right away. they could charge a fee for that, but then your gift code would always be worth the same dollar amount.
That sounds like a really good idea. Anyone know if it would be that simple?
It's certainly possible for vendors to "hedge" their sales by paying a fee (I think around 4%) to protect against the possibility that by the time the sale is finalised (which can be weeks later) there Bitcoins will still have the same value dollar for dollar. Not sure how many of them choose this option?
You could achieve much the same thing yourself though by lodging your coins with a Bitcoin exchange like Intersango and having an open sell order which says if your Bitcoins drop below a certain value (i.e the price you originally paid for them) then they should be sold for cash. You won't make back all your money as there's a margin of around 2-3% between the bid/sell prices on any exchange but it should protect you against any significant losses. If any of you need help to do this, please by all means send me a message.
Alternatively you can do as I said above and only order as many Bitcoins as you need (or as geedog says plus 1 or 2 extra to be on the safe side) - if you place your order straight away I find it hard to believe you'd lose more than a dollar or two.
V.
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I generally don't have this same problem, as I buy my BTC only when I am ready to order, and I always buy extra, and tip the balance to the vendor, I was just suggesting the hedged gift code thing for the hundreds of .1BTC short threads that pop up any time the value drops a point at mtgox. It could just be another profit center for DPR.
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I generally don't have this same problem, as I buy my BTC only when I am ready to order, and I always buy extra, and tip the balance to the vendor, I was just suggesting the hedged gift code thing for the hundreds of .1BTC short threads that pop up any time the value drops a point at mtgox. It could just be another profit center for DPR.
Thanks Wretched, I agree this is the best way to do things as you do.
As for DPR, the prices are determined by the USD/BTC rate as per MtGox as I said - the Bitcoin isn't quite as stable as we'd like but I don't need to tell you that's more than made up for by the advantages :-)
If anyone is a little short my advice would be to find a reputable user who needs a loan themselves and offer to loan them the amount they need plus interest to make up the shortfall in your order - you're absolutely right in saying posting multiple threads asking for 0.1 BTC isn't going to help the situation!
All the best,
V.
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I appreciate the info and offers guys. I found some backups of an old wallet with some minor BTC in it so I will not have to buy them. The price CONTINUES to fall so the gap is widening. I will know in a couple hours exactly where I stand. I may have enough or I may need .01-.03 BTC.
I will always add extra from now on. I was using a BTC->USD service and was very limited on what I could buy and I had just enough before the change. haha.
I had extra in my account, but after every purchase I have always gifted the extra bit pennies to some worthy charity or other so it wasn't sitting around. I don't like bringing BTC back from SR into my hard drive/BTC addresses.
I will update. I appreciate the info though. What a great community.
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Never mind on the micro loan guys. I appreciate the offer, but as I finally got just enough BTC to cover the cost, the price changed again and I decided to order a different item instead. I think it's for the best anyway.
Next time, sending extra is a must. :)
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Jeez....
I did all sorts of research on the product I wanted to order originally, finally decided to jump, had all the trouble with transfers, then I picked some alternatives.
I didn't research the venders of the alternatives enough. Both have had / are having problems with shipping/etc and neither have marked it in transit. Bleh. I can't win.
Hopefully I'm one of the happy customers and not one of the ones standing around for months with no product or refund.
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It seems the Bitcoins has rallied since we last spoke and is now just over 4% where it was!
V.