I'm Andrew Lee, Co-founder & CEO of Purse, AMA!

[2drewlee]

What are the requirements to sell at your marketplace? How established do you have to be? Do you require proof of inventory? How long do you payments take to receive payment after a sale is completed in bitcoin? Do you accept competing products of two sellers or just allow one ?

We're rolling out Merchants with beta partners first. In the next month, we'll roll it out publicly so anyone will be able to sell on Purse. Unlike legacy marketplaces like eBay, Alibaba, and Etsy, people won't need bank accounts to sell online. Reputation is a key factor in how we determine the escrow terms. Established businesses will receive payments upon submitting a valid tracking ID, but businesses without reputation will have to wait until delivery confirmation. We think competition is healthy.

[x1lclem]

One more question, is Purse doing anything for Bitcoin Black Friday?

[creationlayer]

First off thanks, I'm typing this on a laptop I got a good deal on through Purse.io.

I read the piece, Bitcoin commerce is broken, and I saw the mention of smart contracts. Are you able to do such contracts on the Bitcoin Blockchain?

[2drewlee]

Hi Andrew! Just got an account to ask these! Thanks for doing this!

1. Is there any plan to do a CoinJoin for the coins you have in escrow in the future, to enhance anonymity?

2. Where do the majority of your gift card purchases originate from?

3. Are there any people in countries where the currency is heavily manipulated/destroyed, where people are using gift cards/bitcoins instead that you know of?

Thanks!

Awesome! Thanks for the questions.

I personally think Coinjoin is cool, but total anonymity isn't our focus. When I see email signatures with "Sent from my iPhone 6" or people tweeting how much they saved on Purse, I don't think total anonymity is necessary for commerce. We're focused on ease-of-use and customer satisfaction.

The overwhelming majority of gift card liquidators are in India, Indonesia, and Philippines where gift cards are issued as payment through Mechanical Turk, Amazon Affiliates, etc.

I don't have particular insight on behavior of people in currency manipulated countries, but I suppose gift cards denominated in USD could be a decent solution. If I were in Venezuela or Argentina, I'd prefer bitcoins over gift cards.

[mabeuf]

Hi Andrew.

Long time fan, built my whole PC via Purse, ~20% off. Purse gave me a reason to actually spend bitcoin when there weren't many options in the UK.

Q1: With the new 'Merchants' service, what fees will Purse take? Are they competitive with Amazon/Ebay etc?

Q2: I'd love the instant discount to come to the UK, but you've previously said that there's not enough of a market for it here apparently. Is that still the case?

[extolsmith]

Multisig, are you moving to a 2-of-3 for the marketplace, where both buyer and seller hold a key?

[2drewlee]

I'm a Purse user and I love it.

1. How is the ecosystem on Purse? What is the proportion between earners and shoppers?
2. What's the average discount rate?
3. How are you avoiding carders / fraudsters?
4. Cool for Purse Merchants, but are u not afraid of Openbazaar?

Thanks for the kind words and using Purse!

Average discount rate on Name Your Discount is 20%, and there are about 2 shoppers to 1 earner. Amazon does most of the heavy lifting in terms of fraud prevention because they accept the fiat / gift card payments. In addition, we have a reputation system, social/phone verification, limits, and escrowed transactions.

I'm a big fan of the OpenBazaar project, and I believe marketplaces using blockchain technology will be a huge market. I think the same reasons people choose where to shop or list items online will still apply for Bitcoin, including customer satisfaction, ease-of-use, and value. Anonymity while sacrificing on these features will be more valuable depending on what's being transacted.

[2drewlee]

How many staff do you have working for the support team?
also how long is the average wait time to get help from the support team?

We currently have 2 people full-time on our support team, but all of us participate. We're averaging about 6hr response time excluding weekends. We are ramping up on all fronts including support. If interested, please email careers@purse.io

[imaginary_username]

I think this has been asked by a previous post, but not answered yet: Are the merchants who sign up for Merchants going to be able to participate in the bitcoin-earners program (aka Name Your Discount)? Being able to skip Amazon's convoluted wishlist system and streamline the whole process will be a huge step forward, even if it starts small with a few merchants.

[2drewlee]

Re: Purse Merchants

1- Will this new service be available on Purse Instant or Name Your Discount, or both, or neither?
2- Won't this new service put you in direct competition (for listings/sales) with Amazon, and thus strain your relationship with them?

Thanks for the question allgoodthings1!

1. For shoppers, this new service will be similar to Instant, and new product listings will be incorporated into search results.
2. Merchants adds most value to businesses that can't list their products on Amazon (i.e. KangerTech, e-cigarette device manufacturer) or businesses that prefer bitcoins (i.e. Trezor).

[2drewlee]

First off thanks, I'm typing this on a laptop I got a good deal on through Purse.io.

I read the piece, Bitcoin commerce is broken, and I saw the mention of smart contracts. Are you able to do such contracts on the Bitcoin Blockchain?

Great to hear you saved on your laptop! There's a lot of low hanging fruit with just basic multisig escrows. In general, use cases have severely lagged development in Bitcoin 2.0 capabilities. Bitcoin's scripting capabilities are sufficient for even complex scenarios that have yet to be imagined.

[2drewlee]

One more question, is Purse doing anything for Bitcoin Black Friday?

Of course! Combined with the price surge, this is going to be a huge holiday season for Bitcoin.

[allgoodthings1]

Some time ago, I read of Purse exploring the possibility of earners using the likes of frequently flyer miles and other company cash alternatives - not just Amazon gift card balances. Any progress on that front?

[2drewlee]

Hi Andrew. Big fan of Purse, I use it at least a couple times a month.
Are you required to get a Bit-license to operate out of New York? (Since you hold bitcoin for customers)
When is the mobile app coming?

Thanks for using Purse! We don't operate in New York. We'll release mobile apps early next year.

[VanDeam]

I am a Purse user and i love it!

I have ordered couple things through Purse and everything went fine until i have received the last item (Apple Magsafe W85 power adapter)
and i have released the payment for the buyer.
The item did not work, so i sent an email to Purse support to see how we can resolve it with replacement of the item,
but as it turns out to be a frustrating thing, Purse support has forwarded me to amazon and ask to replace the item,
but amazon has asked me so the REAL buyer will contact them for a replacement.

so i have a few questions:
1. You don\t have any explanation on your website on how to resolve an issue like this, will it be added?
2. what do i do now, as i payed 50 Euro but the item doesn't work?

Thanks for doing this AMA

[2drewlee]

Some time ago, I read of Purse exploring the possibility of earners using the likes of frequently flyer miles and other company cash alternatives - not just Amazon gift card balances. Any progress on that front?

I still believe that app would be awesome, but we're taking more of a platform approach to new markets. Eventually, we'll provide all the escrow tools and payments capabilities so developers can build the frequent flyer miles app on top of our platform. If no one builds it, maybe we'll do it.

[2drewlee]

I am a Purse user and i love it!

I have ordered couple things through Purse and everything went fine until i have received the last item (Apple Magsafe W85 power adapter)
and i have released the payment for the buyer.
The item did not work, so i sent an email to Purse support to see how we can resolve it with replacement of the item,
but as it turns out to be a frustrating thing, Purse support has forwarded me to amazon and ask to replace the item,
but amazon has asked me so the REAL buyer will contact them for a replacement.

so i have a few questions:
1. You don\t have any explanation on your website on how to resolve an issue like this, will it be added?
2. what do i do now, as i payed 50 Euro but the item doesn't work?

Thanks for doing this AMA

Thanks for using Purse!

Most of the time, Amazon will replace NYD orders just like they handle any gift items, but we noticed 3rd party European orders have a different process. Please email support@purse.io, and we'll sort out the replacement.

[jimmajamma]

Andrew, thank you for the excellent service. It was a brilliant idea and I'm glad you followed through on it. I'm interested to hear and see the Merchants feature realized too. Sounds great.

I have had some minor trouble with buyers taking my order, claiming they shipped it and then eventually bailing out for various reasons. They always seem to be users with 0 reputation. I think this may be people gaming the system to give their orders higher priority by taking mine out of the queue temporarily. I was thinking there must be ways to stop this like a 3 strikes rule or perhaps requiring buyers to put up something, like some bitcoin in escrow - though that obviously presents a bootstrapping issue if they are there to buy their first bitcoin.

Also, it would seem like if they don't post a tracking number in some reasonable time, prime items usually ship same or next day, then maybe it should raise a flag, at least warning the buyer that the contract will be cancelled if they don't post evidence that the item has indeed been ordered. Generally when I ask for the buyer to post tracking info if they don't then the order inevitably fails. I don't think I've ever even gotten a response with a justification for the lack of tracking info so it would seem like a pretty good predictor of gaming.

Any ideas how to help avoid this situation? It's the only thing keeping me from using Purse.io more as it can significantly delay the order time.

Perhaps higher level spenders can choose what level buyers they allow to take their order?

Thanks!

[2drewlee]

Hey Andrew,

Great work on this! Just one question: How helpful do you think your ability to offer discounted Amazon products to users will be for the success of your marketplace? Do you see this as a key tool in fighting against eBay's network effect?

Also, for anyone else, I was able to ask Andrew a few questions about the upcoming platform yesterday. Article was just published here: http://coinjournal.net/purse-to-launch- ... penbazaar/

Hi Kyle,

Thanks for writing about Purse and all that you do for Bitcoin!

Offering the best deals on the internet was critical for seeding the consumer network . Businesses are signing up for Merchants to sell to the largest consumer userbase for Bitcoin.

[2drewlee]

Hi Andrew.

Long time fan, built my whole PC via Purse, ~20% off. Purse gave me a reason to actually spend bitcoin when there weren't many options in the UK.

Q1: With the new 'Merchants' service, what fees will Purse take? Are they competitive with Amazon/Ebay etc?

Q2: I'd love the instant discount to come to the UK, but you've previously said that there's not enough of a market for it here apparently. Is that still the case?

Completely agreed with the lack of reason to spend bitcoins. A Bitcoin button at checkout does not compete well with credit card on file.

Yes, we charge 0-2% depending on reputation. Legacy marketplaces rates: Etsy (3.5%), eBay (4%), and Amazon (10-15%).

[2drewlee]

Andrew, thank you for the excellent service. It was a brilliant idea and I'm glad you followed through on it. I'm interested to hear and see the Merchants feature realized too. Sounds great.

I have had some minor trouble with buyers taking my order, claiming they shipped it and then eventually bailing out for various reasons. They always seem to be users with 0 reputation. I think this may be people gaming the system to give their orders higher priority by taking mine out of the queue temporarily. I was thinking there must be ways to stop this like a 3 strikes rule or perhaps requiring buyers to put up something, like some bitcoin in escrow - though that obviously presents a bootstrapping issue if they are there to buy their first bitcoin.

Also, it would seem like if they don't post a tracking number in some reasonable time, prime items usually ship same or next day, then maybe it should raise a flag, at least warning the buyer that the contract will be cancelled if they don't post evidence that the item has indeed been ordered. Generally when I ask for the buyer to post tracking info if they don't then the order inevitably fails. I don't think I've ever even gotten a response with a justification for the lack of tracking info so it would seem like a pretty good predictor of gaming.

Any ideas how to help avoid this situation? It's the only thing keeping me from using Purse.io more as it can significantly delay the order time.

Perhaps higher level spenders can choose what level buyers they allow to take their order?

Thanks!

Thanks for using Purse! As you've noticed, reputation is already a huge component on Purse today, and we'll continue to make improvements to order tracking and reputation.

[BTCIntern]

Hi Andrew,

just dropping by to say hi,
hope you guys are doing good.

You think you might resume services in Germany in the future, either purse or merchants?

thanks
(vnnkl )

[LISAM]

Which digital currency (litecoin,dogecoin, peercoin etc) do you think will be the biggest competitor to bitcoin in 5 years

[2drewlee]

Hi Andrew,

just dropping by to say hi,
hope you guys are doing good.

You think you might resume services in Germany in the future, either purse or merchants?

thanks
(vnnkl )

Great to hear from you. We'll launch Merchants globally by the end of the year.

[2drewlee]

Which digital currency (litecoin,dogecoin, peercoin etc) do you think will be the biggest competitor to bitcoin in 5 years

Purse is coin agnostic, and we accept multiple coins through an integration with Shapeshift.
Personally, I think Bitcoin has too much momentum behind it to be displaced as the dominant digital currency.

[gasull]

1) In the US, bitcoin is considered a property, so when you exchange Bitcoin for a good or service you need to do accounting for your taxes. Does Purse.io have any features that help with this accounting? (Last time I checked, it didn't)

2) Since the EU ruled that bitcoin can be used as cash and is exempt of VAT tax, is Purse.io going to focus on that market?

3) Congrats on the new marketplace project. Have you considered integrating Purse.io marketplace with OpenBazaar? It could just offer every vendor an OpenBazaar address with some addons for things like accounting, easy online store building, etc.

Thank you.

[jimmajamma]

Andrew, thank you for the excellent service. It was a brilliant idea and I'm glad you followed through on it. I'm interested to hear and see the Merchants feature realized too. Sounds great.

I have had some minor trouble with buyers taking my order, claiming they shipped it and then eventually bailing out for various reasons. They always seem to be users with 0 reputation. I think this may be people gaming the system to give their orders higher priority by taking mine out of the queue temporarily. I was thinking there must be ways to stop this like a 3 strikes rule or perhaps requiring buyers to put up something, like some bitcoin in escrow - though that obviously presents a bootstrapping issue if they are there to buy their first bitcoin.

Also, it would seem like if they don't post a tracking number in some reasonable time, prime items usually ship same or next day, then maybe it should raise a flag, at least warning the buyer that the contract will be cancelled if they don't post evidence that the item has indeed been ordered. Generally when I ask for the buyer to post tracking info if they don't then the order inevitably fails. I don't think I've ever even gotten a response with a justification for the lack of tracking info so it would seem like a pretty good predictor of gaming.

Any ideas how to help avoid this situation? It's the only thing keeping me from using Purse.io more as it can significantly delay the order time.

Perhaps higher level spenders can choose what level buyers they allow to take their order?

Thanks!

Thanks for using Purse! As you've noticed, reputation is already a huge component on Purse today, and we'll continue to make improvements to order tracking and reputation.

No offense but you didn't really address my questions in any substantive way. Your answer feels a bit like spin.

While reputation currently is a component I don't think I'd characterize it as "huge" in that i cannot seem to choose who gets to place my order which is what the first part of my post was about. This question was meant to present a problem that is affecting me and I imagine others that are using your service. If you can address or solve this problem you can materially improve your service and therefore get more users/revenue.

I'd like to use Purse for many purchases for the holidays but if I have to tend to my order all the time as I have on a few occasions in the past, or cannot count on delivery within a reasonable window I won't be able to use it.

I was expecting something along the lines of "we've witnessed specifically what you're experiencing and have plans that will address it in part/whole", "our statistics show that only happens 2% of the time so perhaps you've had a streak of bad luck", "we're adding a feature to allow a spender to choose the level of the buyer who fulfills their order" etc.

[2drewlee]

1) In the US, bitcoin is considered a property, so when you exchange Bitcoin for a good or service you need to do accounting for your taxes. Does Purse.io have any features that help with this accounting? (Last time I checked, it didn't)

2) Since the EU ruled that bitcoin can be used as cash and is exempt of VAT tax, is Purse.io going to focus on that market?

3) Congrats on the new marketplace project. Have you considered integrating Purse.io marketplace with OpenBazaar? It could just offer every vendor an OpenBazaar address with some addons for things like accounting, easy online store building, etc.

Thank you.

Hi gasull,

Great to hear from you, and thanks for the questions! You can easily track tax liabilities if you link your Coinbase account to Purse and Libratax.

EU ruling does make Europe more attractive.

We'll explore opportunities to work with OpenBazaar when it launches.

[OgNasty]

Any plans to allow the purchasing of used items from Amazon through Purse?

[2drewlee]

No offense but you didn't really address my questions in any substantive way. Your answer feels a bit like spin.

Let me take another stab at the answer. 0 reputation users are challenging because our service needs to be usable for them to build up reputation without causing delays like you experienced. There are a few ways we mitigate these events now:
1. Users with low reputation are restricted from low discount rates. If you set a discount rate at or below 10%, your order is matched with a VIP earner.
2. Users who cancel orders to hedge or speculate on Bitcoin price are banned from our system altogether.
3. We improved our order tracking to get real-time updates on orders. If we detect cancellation on Amazon, we usually cancel the orders the same day.

Many of the practices above were recently implemented, and we have many more in store. We'll continue to improve our service and experience.