SRL Archive - Other

Hey guys, since PayPal is very prone/easy to do chargebacks on, I was wondering what are some good alternatives?

I know of
http://www.playerauctions.com/ (Fees of $2 + %10)
and
Western Union (Fees are kind of steep)

Both of these methods are very safe for buyers and sellers alike, the only problem is the fees which only makes them a smart choice if you are selling/buying BULK/Large $ value of stuff to make the fees sting less.

What else do you guys know of that is safe?
How do bank transfers work? :D

Bitcoin!

No fees (there is an optional minute transaction fee)
Current market is worth $10M USD

EDIT: Links:

Video Intro
Bitcoin Homepage
Text Intro
Interesting Stats

Oh Oh Oh I knew smartzkid would pop in and mention bitcoins! :p
Watched the youtube video, still don't get it.

So I 'mine' for them, wat?
How/Where can I use them to buy real things?
How/Where can I covert them to USD? And what's the exchange rate?

The exchange rate is listed on the "Interesting Stats" link above. It is currently about $1.50 USD - 1 BTC.

You can purchase bitcoins from Mt Gox, BTCex, or a number of other exchanges.

You can buy lots of things with bitcoins - a good place to start is the Bitcoin Marketplace forum.

Additionally, you can 'mine' bitcoins. Probability states that you would be extremely lucky if you mined a block (50BTC), however, you can join a pool - such as slush's - and receive bitcoins based on the amount of work your computer contributes.

If you're the daring type, you can pay into the Bitcoin Pyramid Scheme (Disclosure: referral link) and get paid when people join with your link :)

Smart, tell me what the hell is bitcoin mining lol, something you need a good computer for, but what does it mean (what does your computer do?)

When 'mining' bitcoins, your computer is computing SHA-256 hashes based on previous blocks in the bitcoin block chain.

Explanation here:
http://www.bitcoin.org/wiki/doku.php?id=block_hashing_algorithm

Now, why would I run my computer to make currency that is worth less then the power it took to make it?

You wouldn't. (unless it's winter - you could essentially use your computer as a heater)

You would purchase bitcoins from an exchange.

EDIT: For most video cards in most locations, Bitcoins are still worth more than the energy it takes to create them.