Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year

Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by swalkergibson on Thursday December 19, 2013 @05:26PM (#6938393)

I hope that they are actually planning on implementing this and it is not a well-timed PR stunt to get Overstock.com in the news just in time for last minute Christmas shopping. If so, it will be a huge boon for the Bitcoin economy and could be an important catalyst for other companies to follow suit.

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by whyenot on Thursday December 19, 2013 @05:47PM (#6938525)

That is certainly possible, but the CEO mentioned 1 1/2 months ago that they were considering this move.

See this NY Times article from 10/31/2013: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/technology/bitcoin-pursues...

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by fragsworth on Thursday December 19, 2013 @06:07PM (#6938644)

What's taking them so long? It's pretty trivial to integrate something like Bitpay or Coinbase for merchant accounts.

Maybe they're negotiating a deal with one of those companies?

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by gizmo on Thursday December 19, 2013 @06:14PM (#6938687)

Not so trivial.

* Presumably they need to integrate with their backend systems for reporting, inventory and tax purposes.

* They need to integrate with their customer support system so bitcoin payments are recognized as such.

* They have to update their refund policy and other legal docs to take bitcoin payments into account

It's not just about making the right API call, you know.

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by whyenot on Thursday December 19, 2013 @06:13PM (#6938679)

From the Marketwatch article:

The project is in an early stage, with no decision yet on whether Overstock.com OSTK would work with bitcoin companies to allow bitcoin payments or create its own system. A team of six to 12 people is expected to work on bitcoin payments at the company, said Byrne.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/12/19/overstock-co...

It doesn't sound like they have quite figured out what they are doing yet.

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by Avalaxy on Thursday December 19, 2013 @05:34PM (#6938439)

Well, the CEO seems pretty convinced that bitcoin is awesome and worth trying. And he's right; why not? If you convert it to dollars with bitpay, there isn't much risk, and there's a PR bonus.

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by yapcguy on Thursday December 19, 2013 @06:08PM (#6938646)

It would be terrible cash management for Overstock to hold onto Bitcoins given the volatile swings. Better to let Bitpay shoulder the burden.

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by hmsimha on Thursday December 19, 2013 @06:11PM (#6938668)

I doubt Bitpay is shouldering the burden, more likely they're just pumping the bitcoin they receive back into one of the exchanges.

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Re:Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year by aianus on Thursday December 19, 2013 @06:51PM (#6938874)

They're shouldering the burden between the time the invoice is issued until it's paid. They eat the price change in that (potentially up to 15 minute) window.

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