
Overstock.com Will Start Taking Bitcoin Next Year - Avalaxy
http://www.businessinsider.com/overstockcom-will-take-bitcoin-next-year-2013-12
======
swalkergibson
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.

~~~
whyenot
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...](http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/technology/bitcoin-pursues-the-
mainstream.html)

~~~
fragsworth
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?

~~~
gizmo
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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juliangoldsmith
Another source, since the source in the OP isn't working for me:
[http://www.businessinsider.com/overstockcom-will-take-
bitcoi...](http://www.businessinsider.com/overstockcom-will-take-bitcoin-next-
year-2013-12)

~~~
dustyneuron
Thanks. I checked later, and was up again for me, so I could archive the
original:
[https://web.archive.org/web/20131219231638/http://newsbtc.co...](https://web.archive.org/web/20131219231638/http://newsbtc.com/2013/12/19/overstock-
com-begin-accepting-bitcoin-2nd-half-2014/)

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nivla
How does a merchant go by accepting Bitcoins? Is the price conversion based on
the last trade? Average of the day/week/month? Are the Bitcoins going to be
converted to $ right way or at certain intervals?

Given the high volatility of bitcoins, there is no way to predict if a
transaction will net profit or loss. How do they account for this?

~~~
malandrew
Hedging via insurance, futures, put/call options, etc. The same way companies
that deal in commodities like grains and metals handle this sort of risks. I'm
sure people like the Winklevi are more than happy to offer this sort of
service.

~~~
foobarqux
Your going to have to pay a lot of money to someone to take on btc volatility.

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ChikkaChiChi
Based on my companies performance metrics from our Overstock offerings, they
are willing to try anything at this point to stop the bleeding.

Overstock was absolutely murdered after a Google update. They went from being
a solid source of revenue from our multi-channel division to being virtually
non-existent.

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eclw
it coin pumping site pumps bit coin. Now, that is news.

