Coinspeaker
News
  • Business
    • Deals
    • Investors
    • IPO
    • Startups
    • Wall Street
  • Markets
    • Bonds
    • Commodities & Futures
    • Currencies
    • Funds & ETFs
    • Indices
    • Stocks
  • Crypto
    • Blockchain
    • Bitcoin
    • Binance
    • Ethereum
    • XRP
    • Altcoins
    • Token Sales
  • Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Big Data
    • Cloud Computing
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming
    • Internet of Things
    • Mobile
    • Social Media
    • Transportation
    • VR and AR
  • FinTech
  • Personal Finance
  • Topics
  • Work It
  • Press Releases
Guides
  • Investing
    • Bonds Guides
    • Commodities & Futures Guides
    • Currencies Guides
    • Funds & ETFs Guides
    • Indices Guides
    • Stocks Guides
    • Forex Guides
  • Crypto
    • Altcoins Guides
    • Bitcoin Guides
    • Ethereum Guides
    • XRP Guides
    • Blockchain Guides
    • Token Sales Guides
  • FinTech
  • Tech
  • Glossary
Tools
  • Coins
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • XRP (XRP)
    • Tether (TUSD)
    • EOS (EOS)
    • Binance (BNB)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tron (TRX)
  • Token Sales
    • ICO List
    • STO List
    • IEO List
  • Organizations
  • Persons
  • Events
COMPANY
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Partners
  • Careers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Social
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Telegram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS Feed

© 2014 - 2022 COINSPEAKER MEDIA LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

About Contact Advertise
Coinspeaker
  • Business
    • Deals
    • Investors
    • IPO
    • Startups
    • Wall Street
  • Markets
    • Bonds
    • Commodities & Futures
    • Currencies
    • Funds & ETFs
    • Indices
    • Stocks
  • Crypto
    • Altcoins News
    • Bitcoin News
    • Blockchain News
    • Binance News
    • Ethereum News
    • Token Sales News
    • XRP News
  • Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Big Data
    • Cloud Computing
    • Cybersecurity
    • Gaming
    • Internet of Things
    • Mobile
    • Social Media
    • Transportation
    • VR & AR
  • FinTech
  • Personal finance
  • Guides
    • Crypto
    • FinTech
    • Investing
    • Personal Finance Guides
    • Technology
  • Tools
    • Coins
    • ICO List
    • IEO List
    • STO List
    • Organizations
    • Persons
    • Events
Bitcoin (BTC)
1 BTC = ... USD
    US Dollar (USD)
    1 USD = ... BTC
      1 BTC = ... USD
      Share result
      Go to the converter page

      Shopping Online with Virtual Currencies [Infographic]

      Jun 25 2015 · 06:27 UTC | Updated Jun 25 2015 · 21:29
      by Zhanna Lyasota · 3 min read

      The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s customer protection agency that works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace, warns customers about the risks of paying online via Bitcoin.

      Digital currencies like Bitcoin can be a fast way to pay online, however, paying via digital currencies comes with risk.

      The FTC has received hundreds of complaints involving Bitcoins and other digital currencies. The two most common problems are the following: online merchants who don’t deliver the product on time or at all and merchants who give refunds in store credit, rather than currency.

      As we all know, the Bitcoin value goes up and down — sometimes sharply — depending on demand. Besides, payments made with virtual currencies aren’t reversible and don’t have the same legal protections as some traditional payment methods.

      The FTC recommends to always check out the seller’s reputation, his location and how to contact him in case of problems. Besides, a customer should find out whether the payment will go directly to the seller, or through a payment processor, which may offer additional protections.

      The only way to get a refund is through the seller or payment processor, so it’s important to choose companies you trust. That is why a customer should preliminary find out all the information possible on the refund and return policies. The value of Bitcoin changes constantly so the seller should tell a customer before the purchase what exchange rate will be used for refunds. To refund a credit card purchase, the merchant usually credits the account. However, since customers can change their digital wallet accounts, a seller can’t always send Bitcoins back to the wallet it came from.

      A customer should read the seller’s privacy policy to find out what other information might be collected and shared. If the seller uses a payment processor, one should check its privacy policy as well. A recent FTC report found that many shopping applications had privacy policies that included broad rights to collect, use, and share data.

      However, not only online customers may encounter problems with digital currencies, but online merchants as well.

      For instance, Overstock’s latest earnings report showed that the company’s digital currency investments declined significantly during the first quarter of 2015. The losses added up to $117,000, which is a disappointing performance for investors.

      Seems that the losses are due to the fact that the company is still holding some of its assets in Bitcoin, and that the digital currency’s volatile nature brought down the company’s value. However, if this is the case, the company may see a major increase in future reports.

      According to Overstock, its losses appeared from investment in Altcoins, which performed poorly. Those investments have all been shuffled with the company’s Bitcoin holdings and are said to be much of the reason for the decline.

      For your information, Overstock has been a major proponent for digital currencies. Last year the company’s CEO Patrick Byrne said that the company had brought in $1.6 million in Bitcoin sales. The online merchant was also one of the first major companies to begin accepting Bitcoin payments back in 2014 when markets were still very apprehensive about the digital currency.

      Shopping Online with Virtual Currencies [Infographic]
      Zhanna Lyasota
      Author Zhanna Lyasota

      Zhanna has a background working for an American multinational food and beverage company as well as at a number of translation agencies serving similar top multinational corporations. She enjoys discovering new cultures as well as learning new languages. She is also a lover of all things fabric and floral ,especially if they are design-related. Zhanna is a graduate of Belarusian State Economic University with a major in Intercultural Business Communications.

      Share:
      Created with Sketch.
      Subscribe to our telegram channel. Join

      Related Articles

      By John K. Kumi May 26th, 2022
      Bitcoin News, Cryptocurrency news, News JPMorgan Believes Bitcoin Is 28% Undervalued
      By John K. Kumi May 26th, 2022

      The Bitcoin price is 60% down from its all-time high of $69,000. The crypto market cap is also down to $1.3 trillion from $3 trillion.

      By Andy Watson May 26th, 2022
      Bitcoin News, Cryptocurrency news, News Bitcoin Breaks Below Bear Flag and Sounds the Alarm
      By Andy Watson May 26th, 2022

      Even though it is decentralized, Bitcoin is still subject to the influence of macroeconomic variables in the same way as other assets.

      By Steve Muchoki May 25th, 2022
      Bitcoin News, Cryptocurrency news, Market News, News Bitcoin Price on Historical Drop, Indicators Predicts Much Dips, Stock Market Continues to Bleed
      By Steve Muchoki May 25th, 2022

      Bitcoin price has in the past year shown increased correlation with the traditional stock market. However, as data shows, the asset has held better during the recent sell-off.

      Bitsgap
      Top Cryptocurrencies
      • Bitcoin Icon Bitcoin BTC $29 018 -2.83%
      • Ethereum Icon Ethereum ETH $1 766 -9.39%
      • BNB Icon BNB BNB $302 -8.04%
      • XRP Icon XRP XRP $0.40 -2.25%
      • Cardano Icon Cardano ADA $0.47 -8.94%
      View All
      Top news
      Snap Forewarns of Bleak Financial Report for Current Quarter, Sends S&P 500, Nasdaq Lower
      Snap Forewarns of Bleak Financial Report for Current Quarter, Sends S&P 500, Nasdaq Lower

      May 25th, 2022

      Crypto Businesses Establish Dominance along Commercial Strip in Davos
      Crypto Businesses Establish Dominance along Commercial Strip in Davos

      May 24th, 2022

      US Tech Giants Amazon, Google, Meta Could Benefit from War in Ukraine, Says Media Guru
      US Tech Giants Amazon, Google, Meta Could Benefit from War in Ukraine, Says Media Guru

      May 23rd, 2022

      European Stocks Decline Following Sustained Inflation Fears
      European Stocks Decline Following Sustained Inflation Fears

      May 19th, 2022

      Tesla Moved Out of S&P 500 ESG Index, Elon Musk Lashes Out as Exxon Tops Chart
      Tesla Moved Out of S&P 500 ESG Index, Elon Musk Lashes Out as Exxon Tops Chart

      May 19th, 2022

      News
      • Business
      • Markets
      • Crypto
      • Blockchain
      • FinTech
      • Technology
      Featured Sections
      • Coins
      • IEO List
      • STO List
      • ICO List
      • Organizations
      • Persons
      • Events
      • Guides
      • Glossary
      Featured Links
      • Story of the day
      • Editor's Choice
      • Videos
      • Infographics
      • Work It
      • Press Releases
      Guides
      • Crypto
      • Investing
      • Financial technology
      • Tech
      • Glossary
      Connect with us
      • Facebook
      • Twitter
      • Instagram
      • Telegram
      • LinkedIn
      • Pinterest
      • RSS Feed
      About us
      • About
      • Contact
      • Careers
      • Advertise
      • Partners
      • Sitemap
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms and Conditions

      Copyright © 2014 - 2022 Coinspeaker Ltd. All rights reserved.

      Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Coinspeaker Ltd. is prohibited.