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Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by thehodge on Monday May 20, 2013 @06:48PM (#5740669)
Someone suggested Bitcoin today, as a merchant, what would you recommend to start accepting it? a third party service?
Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by _Lemon_ on Monday May 20, 2013 @07:04PM (#5740766)
Definitely a third party service. Then place the bumper sticker "No Bitcoins on our servers" somewhere :)

I integrated MtGox and BitPay. Compared to Google Checkout (XML mania) and PayPal (documentation drama) they take about 5 seconds to implement (test is another thing entirely).

I went with MtGox in the end since it was cheaper. I was then happy to offer a 3% discount to make up for the fees users got stung with purchasing BTC. However MtGox has a number of bugs that make it a show stopper for some customers.

If you ask the right questions they will acknowledge the bugs and tell you they are working on it and need plenty of time. I would probably not use MtGox if I had known about the bugs prior to integrating.

Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by sounds on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @01:18AM (#5742031)
Just wanted to public thank you for detailing your experience as a merchant, setting up with MtGox and BitPay.

Just curious, would you give BitPay a second look?

Obligatory: I'm currently using MtGox and haven't really had the time to try BitPay, but the MtGox legal issues could be a reason to need a second option.

Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by _Lemon_ on Tuesday May 21, 2013 @04:11AM (#5742426)
Yes I would, I'd probably jump back to them. I've just not had time to sit down this year!
Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by quackerhacker on Monday May 20, 2013 @06:57PM (#5740722)
Coinbase! I'm not with YCombinator, who is invested in Coinbase, but I checked out Coinbases API and they KEY WORDING: as a merchant accepting it, you're not subjected to the volatility of Bitcoin's exchange rate, if your batch at the end of the day is $1k you can expect that.
Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by rdl on Monday May 20, 2013 @10:20PM (#5741538)
I'd personally go with Coinbase (we're going to add it shortly), since they have probably the best API.

All of the Bitcoin options suffer from a long delay between "oh, I want to use your product/service" and "can pay", if your user doesn't already have bitcoin. As long as 5 days.

What I'd recommend, if you're selling a service, is to do a 15-30 day trial AND take Bitcoin (or give someone free initial service IFF they pay with bitcoin, if you don't do demo anyway), to give them a chance to get started immediately. Unless you're shipping a physical product, losing 5 days of service if someone's bitcoin payment doesn't happen isn't a big deal, usually.

Re:Google Checkout will be retired, transition to Google Wallet by clarkm on Monday May 20, 2013 @06:57PM (#5740720)
I've heard good things about https://bitpay.com