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Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

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Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#61
post #9

I'm on Coinbase's side. From their point of view, this story reads like "I am trying to launder money". Why not just use a payment method with a settlement period, instead of insisting on using a (new) debit card?

You're on the side of the company with crap support ghosting its customers? For your users' sake I hope you're never in charge of running a business.

Some customers are more hassle than they are worth. Clearly Coinbase has some business customers, and they have responded to this guy multiple times.

They have no obligation to keep responding to someone who isn't even a customer yet, and appears incapable of transferring money to them in a legal way that their policies support.

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#62

Meanwhile, I needed to pay folks who have fled the country, and now are located in Kazakhstan. I used... Western Union. Surprisingly, it was without any fees, I sent the exact amount in dollars from the US and they received exactly the same amount in US dollars in minutes. I don't know why Bitcoin today is something people want to use, since you can send Western Union or use other payment methods (like Wise) to almos…

My limited experience with Western Union and MoneyGram was awful. This was a decade ago, so maybe things have changed.

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#63
post #48
post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I haven't. To detail the issue, going through the banking system, there seems to be a non-zero chance that the transfer will be parked at a bank in NY. No one knows why, but everyone assumes it's because the US government decided to look at the transaction. Sometimes the money is returned, sometimes it's forwarded on... I haven't been able to talk to anyone at that bank or in the government, to tell them why I'm send…

That could be a reason to use Wise. You send money to Wise (in the same country), and they transfer money to the account in the other country. I think it works in part by assuming that they have currency in that other country, so they can avoid conversion fees. Although I have no idea if that works for Ukraine. This page has some interesting bits: https://wise.com/help/articles/2932349/guide-to-uah-transfer...

You could also consider offering your contractors payment in Euro, if they're able to setup an account that can receive it. That way you'll avoid the issues caused by exchange rate volatility, although you might still run into KYC issues due to recipient location.

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't seem correct. It's pretty simple to buy BTC on Coinbase and then transfer it to another wallet. Then you can do anything you want with it.

I hope you read the post, where he says that he can buy on his personal account but not his business account.

[deleted]

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#65
Centralized exchanges should only ever be used to convert between fiat and crypto. Once you've bought your crypto, get it the hell off the exchange.

I also had a terrible experience with Coinbase once in the past where they locked my account for no reason and wouldn't let me purchase or sell. Thankfully it self-resolved in a couple days, but left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, though I haven't had any incidents since then.

Unfortunately centralized exchanges all seem to have atrocious customer support and are a risk. Not sure what can be done as a customer other than to minimize exposure to them as much as possible. Coinbase definitely needs more serious competitors in the U.S>

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#68

Centralized exchanges should only ever be used to convert between fiat and crypto. Once you've bought your crypto, get it the hell off the exchange. I also had a terrible experience with Coinbase once in the past where they locked my account for no reason and wouldn't let me purchase or sell. Thankfully it self-resolved in a couple days, but left a pretty bad taste in my mouth, though I haven't had any incidents sinc…

Coinbase is terrible. I’ve tried signing up and they won’t let me because they’ve tagged my SSN with fraud but won’t tell me why. CS is nonexistent. But it’s okay, thanks Coinbase for helping me avoid you. Terrible company and service.

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what you're missing is that Bitcoin is still a prototype. The intent was for it to be decentralized but people are still trying to achieve that, and once it became popular, it became overrun with scams and get-rich-quick schemes.

You can critisize many things about bitcoin, but it is definitely decentralized...

Unless you use an exchange. The best way to handle payments would be direct transfer from one personal wallet to another. No exchange necessary. No red tape. Buying the Bitcoin with fiat so you can put it in your own wallet for direct transfers is the problem. You generally need a centralized exchange for that. Also, the person you transfer btc to will generally need a centralized exchange so they can convert to fiat and actually use the btc. The whole ecosystem is a mess for people who just want to use it as a way to transfer funds.

Re: Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)

#70
Given up on Coinbase long ago. As a crypto user, it literally stops working during periods of price volatility.

Kraken is my go to, but I have no idea about their business account support.

You also should use Algorand or something imo and avoid sending BTC. USDC is a good option to send dollars, if you use AVAX network it should be nearly instant.

But honestly like others said best option is likely Wise. I get paid through there from my U.S. employer, never had any issues.

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