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Buying And Selling? Try Using Bitcoin Escrow to Protect Yourself

By Tex Freitag

Not everybody is looking to scam you out of money, but if you’ve been selling products or services online, then you likely have been burned before.

You uphold your end of the bargain and expect others to do the same. Most times they do, but it only takes that one time that they don’t that changes how you do business. It’s like when you lend money to a friend and never get it back to know that you shouldn’t lend him anymore.

Luckily you can use an escrow service to make sure everybody stays honest. The best ones are bitcoin escrow services. Why? In this article, I will go over all the benefits of using bitcoin escrow to protect yourself.

Why do you need it?

Using any escrow service is essential since you don’t have to trust the person on the other end of the purchase to do the right thing. And they don’t have to worry about you, either.

Putting the money into a third party makes trust a non-factor. If the agreement isn’t met to the satisfaction of both parties, then there is no money exchanging hands.

For example, if a freelancer writes an ebook for a client he has to trust that when he is finished that the client will pay him and not just take the book and disappear. With an escrow service, the work doesn’t start until the money has been deposited.

Then when he sends the transcript to the client, the client can’t refuse to pay. If he refuses to issue a release of the funds, it is no benefit to him. He doesn’t have the money. If he is not satisfied with the work, then it helps him get recourse to get money back or have the writer fulfill the requirements to his satisfaction.

Why use Bitcoin?

The process is almost exactly the same except the buyer has to buy some bitcoin. This is safer than using cash as there is less chance of a breach in the bank since it is on the blockchain. Just make sure you are using one of the best bitcoin wallet so you don’t risk losing your coins.

Once the coins are deposited, there is far more security involved since the transaction has been verified in the blockchain and can’t be changed.

Another benefit is that it is almost instant. When using a traditional escrow service, it can take days or even longer for the money to clear. Then it has to clear when being withdrawn into your own bank account.

When going from wallet to wallet in bitcoin it happens in minutes.

At this point you can either keep the coins in your wallet and use them to make payments for other goods. Or, you can hold onto them and let them grow. This is another huge advantage as your funds don’t budge when you use a traditional bank for escrow. Though, there is the risk that they will lose value, too.

Photo Credit: stock photo

February 12, 2020

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