I wonder how long until the first merchant to take the money and run? Alice buys something from Bob, Bob sends a tracking number for a rock in a box and chuckles his way to the bank.
Or vice versa, of course, Alice buys something, Bob ships it, Alice never pays.
I'm not clear whether customers will be comfortable paying in advance. There's zero way to recover your money, unlike credit cards or bank transactions.
BTC in and of itself has no answer for the situation of not trusting the merchant. However, merchants typically do business with many customers, don't need anonymity, and have an interest in maintaining good reputations. None of these conditions obtain for the customer in the general case, and this asymmetry explains why all merchants that take BTC are paid before delivery.
Comments
I wonder how long until the first merchant to take the money and run? Alice buys something from Bob, Bob sends a tracking number for a rock in a box and chuckles his way to the bank.
Or vice versa, of course, Alice buys something, Bob ships it, Alice never pays.
How would the second scenario occur with BTC? The start of the process is Alice paying.
I'm not clear whether customers will be comfortable paying in advance. There's zero way to recover your money, unlike credit cards or bank transactions.
BTC in and of itself has no answer for the situation of not trusting the merchant. However, merchants typically do business with many customers, don't need anonymity, and have an interest in maintaining good reputations. None of these conditions obtain for the customer in the general case, and this asymmetry explains why all merchants that take BTC are paid before delivery.
Those who need to use a credit card, will.