Scottish CeX Rejects Pounds (Real Money), Sells Games for Bitcoins Instead - Polidicks

So the CeX near me is doing this [URL="http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/cex-glasgow-to-trial-bitcoin-for-the-three-days/0132318"]Source[/URL] [quote]The upcoming vote on Scottish independence has lead to a pioneering experiment in the Glasgow branch of CeX.[URL="http://www.retail-week.com/technology/bitcoins-replaces-pound-in-scottish-electronics-retailer/5060199.article"]Retail Week[/URL] reports that the store is for three days only accepting purchases made with digital currency Bitcoin. It will also pay out for trade-ins in the currency. Apparently it’s an effort to show how an independent Scotland would fare were it to lose the Pound. “It’s really exciting to be at the centre of such an innovative trial,” Cex commercial director David Butler said. “In our store, the staff and customers live and breathe technology so it’s only appropriate we looked at bitcoin as a way for our customers to buy and sell electronic goods. “Not only does bitcoin have a number of security and access benefits, but it is also gaining popularity amongst consumers the world over.”[/quote] [URL="http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/05/13/scottish-cex-rejects-pound-sells-games-bitcoins-instead"]of course he's kotaku's overblown sensationalist version [/URL] So what do you guys think? It's kind of pointless, but is this really something people would do in the future? I'm still under the impression that actually doing anything other than letting it stagnate and gaining a lot from that is pointless. I'm also not 100% sure they're going to refuse actual sales either.

Aren't bitcoins worth thousands right now

[QUOTE=Durrsly;44797362]Aren't bitcoins worth thousands right now[/QUOTE] Yeah, which is why I thought that's all people were actually doing with it, it's rare I hear someone actually making purchases with the currency (tbf, most sites don't actually have a bitcoin transaction system yet)

I think they are seeing it all too dark, bitcoin isn't used for anything else than drug trades or other activities you would like people not to be able to track, the everyday man has no value for this

Watch as they lose money on processing costs, as every other legit business has when working with the things.

[QUOTE=Durrsly;44797362]Aren't bitcoins worth thousands right now[/QUOTE] They're currently worth £262. [url]https://btc-e.com/[/url]

[QUOTE=Jeep-Eep;44797430]Watch as they lose money on processing costs, as every other legit business has when working with the things.[/QUOTE] I guess people shouldn't take credit cards or paypal because of processing costs

something tells me their sales are going to tank like a motherfucker

[QUOTE=RichyZ;44797370]they'll be dealing in fractions of a single bitcoin that shits going to get confusing[/QUOTE] Not really People right now just deal in mBTC (millibitcoin) and will just deal in nanobitcoin and etc etc etc

[QUOTE=Jeep-Eep;44797430]Watch as they lose money on processing costs, as every other legit business has when working with the things.[/QUOTE] Those guys at Tested bought an entire Bitcoin, which cost them over $600 at the time. A whole lot of shit went bad for them. They didn't buy priority mining or whatever, which didn't tell them how much it was when offering it, and never got their Bitcoin, but it took the money anyway. They had to call a bunch of people to finally get it sorted out, and they finally had a Bitcoin. They looked everywhere to spend some of it and bought an Ice cream cone with it or something. Then decided to cash the bitcoin in for actual cash. The bitcoin lost a lot of value in the day or two, and the charge to convert it to cash was a ludicrous amount like $40 It's just a bunch of bullshit, it would be cool if it caught on everywhere, but at the same time, it being what it is, it's just too much bloat surrounding it. Cash is easy.

[QUOTE=TheTalon;44797593]Those guys at Tested bought an entire Bitcoin, which cost them over $600 at the time. A whole lot of shit went bad for them. They didn't buy priority mining or whatever, which didn't tell them how much it was when offering it, and never got their Bitcoin, but it took the money anyway. They had to call a bunch of people to finally get it sorted out, and they finally had a Bitcoin. They looked everywhere to spend some of it and bought an Ice cream cone with it or something. Then decided to cash the bitcoin in for actual cash. The bitcoin lost a lot of value in the day or two, and the charge to convert it to cash was a ludicrous amount like $40 It's just a bunch of bullshit, it would be cool if it caught on everywhere, but at the same time, it being what it is, it's just too much bloat surrounding it. Cash is easy.[/QUOTE] Meanwhile if you just use coinbase and link your bank account, buying bitcoin takes like 2 seconds and a buttonpress and fees are 1% to convert to currency (no fees to receive) Facepunch bandwagons dictate that bitcoin is a horrible hard-to-use currency for drug dealers, but honestly, it's really not too unintuitive to use and it'll only get easier with time. Then again most of the hardware in my computer (including some bought from TigerDirect with BTC) and a good several hundred dollars in my wallet came from crypto mining profits so w/e

I think people need to start educating themselves on what Bitcoin is and how to use it, before saying stuff about how its too difficult to use, it's only used for drugs, etc.

CeX is the worst smelling shop I think I've ever been in

[QUOTE=BigSmokeDawg;44799187]CeX is the worst smelling shop I think I've ever been in[/QUOTE] What about a fishmongers?

[QUOTE=Durrsly;44797362]Aren't bitcoins worth thousands right now[/QUOTE] You can trade bits of a coin.. Like 0.000001 of a bitcoin might be 20pence. [editline]13th May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=BigSmokeDawg;44799187]CeX is the worst smelling shop I think I've ever been in[/QUOTE] Go to the shop at a recycling centre.

Anyone who thinks bitcoins aren't "real money" doesn't understand basic economics.

[QUOTE=supersnail11;44800679]Anyone who thinks bitcoins aren't "real money" doesn't understand basic economics.[/QUOTE] Bitcoin might be money, but that is like trying to pay with gold at the grocery store,

[QUOTE=Jeep-Eep;44797430]Watch as they lose money on processing costs, as every other legit business has when working with the things.[/QUOTE] Watch as they've got more national coverage than every other games retailer which I imagine was actually the point

[QUOTE=Fatfatfatty;44800824]Bitcoin might be money, but that is like trying to pay with gold at the grocery store,[/QUOTE] But if your grocery store explicitly says "you can pay with gold here", I don't see what's wrong with that.

[QUOTE=supersnail11;44800927]But if your grocery store explicitly says "you can pay with gold here", I don't see what's wrong with that.[/QUOTE] Because imagine today you spent an ounce of gold on the equal of $300 dollars of groceries (because in this hypothetical, gold is worth $300 an ounce), and not but a few hours later that same ounce of gold has fluctuated to be worth $900 worth of groceries. Suddenly you just got ripped off and have spent what is now a month's worth of work in gold on a week's worth of groceries. This fluctuation causes hoarding of currency, which prevents the circulation of currency, the key driving force of an economy. It's called stability of a currency, and bitcoin changes value too much to be a viable currency for common trade. This fluctuation leaves people getting really fucked over and other people getting really rich for doing literally nothing but hoarding currency until the price inevitably rises due to the increasing rarity and ever growing usage of the currency. Crypto-currencies have no tangible backing to their value, a companies stock has value because the company has X profits or Y good products on release, bitcoin just fluctuates because it gets harder to obtain larges amounts of it, an artificial price increase. Gold has value in electronics and other applications as a resource, the true value of gold is pretty measurable, though it is partially artificial at the market value and not a good form of currency as such anyway.

CeX often tend to fucking fleece you if you're trading in and not careful about it.

CeX often play the loudest most obnoxious music going. Maybe it's just my local CeX but it seems company policy.

[QUOTE=draugur;44801022]Because imagine today you spent an ounce of gold on the equal of $300 dollars of groceries (because in this hypothetical, gold is worth $300 an ounce), and not but a few hours later that same ounce of gold has fluctuated to be worth $900 worth of groceries. Suddenly you just got ripped off and have spent what is now a month's worth of work in gold on a week's worth of groceries. This fluctuation causes hoarding of currency, which prevents the circulation of currency, the key driving force of an economy. It's called stability of a currency, and bitcoin changes value too much to be a viable currency for common trade. This fluctuation leaves people getting really fucked over and other people getting really rich for doing literally nothing but hoarding currency until the price inevitably rises due to the increasing rarity and ever growing usage of the currency. Crypto-currencies have no tangible backing to their value, a companies stock has value because the company has X profits or Y good products on release, bitcoin just fluctuates because it gets harder to obtain larges amounts of it, an artificial price increase. Gold has value in electronics and other applications as a resource, the true value of gold is pretty measurable, though it is partially artificial at the market value and not a good form of currency as such anyway.[/QUOTE] It doesn't have to be stable to be a real currency - just look at the Argentinian Peso. I don't see why them choosing to accept it despite those flaws is a bad thing. [editline]13th May 2014[/editline] Stocks also aren't currency.

[QUOTE=supersnail11;44801076]It doesn't have to be stable to be a real currency - just look at the Argentinian Peso. I don't see why them choosing to accept it despite those flaws is a bad thing. [editline]13th May 2014[/editline] Stocks also aren't currency.[/QUOTE] Yes, the Argentinian Peso is a currency, so is Bitcoin, now please show me how Argentina is the sparkling utopia of economic boom and stability? Oh wait. Stability of currency is important to economic growth and stability, Bitcoin can't provide, sorry that your invisible internet drug money isn't going to be able to take over the world like Ron Paul promised you.

I get that you don't like Bitcoin but that doesn't make it a commodity. You can argue about its viability, but there are plenty of currencies that aren't viable. [editline]13th May 2014[/editline] [QUOTE=draugur;44801127]Yes, the Argentinian Peso is a currency, so is Bitcoin, now please show me how Argentina is the sparkling utopia of economic boom and stability? Oh wait. Stability of currency is important to economic growth and stability, Bitcoin can't provide, sorry that your invisible internet drug money isn't going to be able to take over the world like Ron Paul promised you.[/QUOTE] I'm not trying to argue that Bitcoin is viable. But it's not an imaginary currency like so many people seem to think.

[QUOTE=supersnail11;44801128]I get that you don't like Bitcoin but that doesn't make it a commodity. You can argue about its viability, but there are plenty of currencies that aren't viable.[/QUOTE] I never said it was a commodity though. I don't know what you're smoking here but I specifically have said it is a currency many times. A shit currency, arguably one of the worst possible ones for anyone to adopt, but it is still a currency. An economy on a scale larger than the tor black market and internet investors is about all Bitcoin can handle, and as we have seen, that's not even really stable enough for people to be able to handle the currency without it switching hands really fast to minimize losses on a purchase. A country powered by bitcoin would be completely fucked.

[QUOTE=Drsalvador;44801042]CeX often tend to fucking fleece you if you're trading in and not careful about it.[/QUOTE] Usually I fleece them. They pay way higher than I could get on ebay.

[QUOTE=draugur;44801138]I never said it was a commodity though. I don't know what you're smoking here but I specifically have said it is a currency many times. A shit currency, arguably one of the worst possible ones for anyone to adopt, but it is still a currency.[/QUOTE] Because you apparently think this is dumb: [quote]Anyone who thinks bitcoins aren't "real money" doesn't understand basic economics.[/quote] ... and that it's bad for CeX to be accepting bitcoins because no one accepts them.

[QUOTE=supersnail11;44801165]Because you apparently think this is dumb: ... and that it's bad for CeX to be accepting bitcoins because no one accepts them.[/QUOTE] Well "real money" is a subjective term and [i]I[/i] define real money as a currency that is stable enough to be practical for common trade. I.E. the Euro, Pound and Dollar for example, they are about stable in worth and don't fluctuate in any really large degree for no real reason. Bitcoin, such as gold, is not a "real currency" because it is not viable for common trade, it cannot hold a stable enough value to do such a thing. Basically my point is this, if you wouldn't carry them in your wallet as physical currency to do things with on a daily basis, they aren't a "real currency." Bitcoins are an investment currency. I'm not an economist, I don't know how you'd go about making cryptos a more stable currency, or if you even can, but that's a requirement they'll have to meet if they want to be "real currency."

[QUOTE=draugur;44801220]Well "real money" is a subjective term and [i]I[/i] define real money as a currency that is stable enough to be practical for common trade. I.E. the Euro, Pound and Dollar for example, they are about stable in worth and don't fluctuate in any really large degree for no real reason. Bitcoin, such as gold, is not a "real currency" because it is not viable for common trade, it cannot hold a stable enough value to do such a thing. Basically my point is this, if you wouldn't carry them in your wallet as physical currency to do things with on a daily basis, they aren't a "real currency." Bitcoins are an investment currency.[/QUOTE] So why is it bad that CeX accepts Bitcoin? Sure, to you it might not make economic sense, but I don't know why it's bad.