Cryptocurrency users are often forced to convert their coins to fiat in order to purchase items from leading retailers and ecommerce platforms such as Walmart and Home Depot, Amazon, Aliexpress, and Ebay. The hesitation of these merchants to embrace crypto payments has created a niche that’s being occupied by online businesses that are bridging the gap. They take care of your order, arrange the shipping and are willing to accept your electronic cash.
Also read: Latin America and Turkey Have the Most Cryptocurrency Users, Poll Shows
Purchase Items From Walmart and Home Depot, Pay With Coins via Alagoria
Using cryptocurrencies for online purchases is by design easier and cheaper than traditional payment methods. Wider adoption is needed, however, to take full advantage of the benefits that come with crypto payments. Many well-established retailers are still reluctant to add them to their payment options but that doesn’t mean you can’t shop from their platforms using your digital coins.
Last week, news.Bitcoin.com told you about Alagoria, a platform that gives you the opportunity to purchase products sold online by two major U.S. retailers, Walmart and Home Depot. To order an item from them and pay with crypto, you need to find it on their websites and copy the link to its page. When you paste the URL into the search bar on Alegoria.com, it will check the latest price and availability and calculate the sales tax and shipping cost.
Then you can add the product to your shopping cart where you’ll see its original price, the estimated sales tax, the shipping charge and the total you have to pay in U.S. dollars. To proceed you need to log in to your account and to create one you must provide a valid email address and a password. At checkout, you can choose to pay with one of four major cryptocurrencies. The platform currently accepts bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), litecoin (LTC), and zcash (ZEC).
One of the most attractive features of Alagoria is the special guarantee they offer which takes into account the irreversibility of cryptocurrency transactions. All customers shopping with the platform are covered for damages or costs that might occur as a result of their purchases through Alagoria for up to $10,000. They can also return an item during the 30 days of its original delivery date. Items that arrive damaged or incorrect are eligible for 100% free returns while you’ll have to pay for the shipping back to the retailer for those that are returned for other reasons.
Buy Products From Amazon and Book Flights on Expedia With Bitcoin Superstore
Alagoria currently ships only to customers based in the U.S. Fortunately, there are other alternatives for the global market. Bitcoin Superstore is one of them. Its operator is based in Florida but it delivers to over 50 countries worldwide and accepts about a dozen cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin cash (BCH). You can use the platform to buy from Amazon and many other online retailers. You can also book flights and hotels on Expedia or Priceline and even order grocery deliveries or pickup from Amazon Prime Now and Walmart Grocery Pickup.
The best part is that no signup is required and Bitcoin Superstore promises a quick checkout with digital currencies that should take only around three minutes. The website has a feature called Purchase Now which works similarly to Alagoria – you have to submit the URL of a product you are interested in – but the main difference is that you need to manually enter the price, including the shipping cost, and make sure the item is not restricted before placing an order.
After you add a product to the shopping cart, Bitcoin Superstore will calculate the applicable sales tax. When you proceed to checkout, you’ll be taken to a page where you are required to provide your name and shipping address, phone number and email address. You’ll also be prompted to choose the cryptocurrency you want to pay with. The platform currently supports BCH, BTC, DASH, DGB, ETH, LTC, TRX, XVG, VIA, ZEC, XMR, XRP, and NANO. The fiat total will be converted to the crypto of your choice. Ordering a pair of men’s shoes from Amazon priced at $107 with shipping to Europe will cost you approximately 0.265 BCH at the time of writing.
Bitcoin Superstore doesn’t stop there. The website sells a great variety of gift cards, offered by merchants from various sectors, which you can buy with cryptocurrency. For convenience, they are listed by categories such as Apparel, Automotive, Electronics, Restaurants, Retail, Travel, and TV & Music. The platform can also help you with many suggestions on how to spend your digital coins that are published in a section called Live on Crypto. You’ll find information on how to order from Ebay, Alibaba, and Apple and receive booking support when you want to rent accommodation from Airbnb using crypto.
Order Merchandise From Aliexpress, Spend Your Crypto Through Olodolo
Olodolo is a website that specializes in delivering products you can purchase with cryptocurrency from Aliexpress. You don’t have to register or create an account to use it. The platform works similarly to Alagoria and Bitcoin Superstore. Simply paste an Aliexpress link or a product ID into its search bar and Olodolo will find the relevant offer. Then you have to select a desired quantity and a country to ship to and you’ll be provided with several shipping methods to choose from.
Proceeding to checkout will take to the Coinpayments website, a POS provider that facilitates crypto payments. There you’ll be required to share your shipping information including name, address, email, and phone number. The price of the item and the total with shipping cost and tax are displayed in U.S. dollars. You’ll be able to make the payment in one of three supported cryptocurrencies – bitcoin core, litecoin and ethereum. Choose the coin you are planning to pay with before completing the checkout.
And if you prefer ordering from Ebay, an online marketplace called Forra can help you place an order and pay with cryptocurrencies. The Ebay-listed items on its website are priced in U.S. dollars but the platform currently accepts bitcoin cash (BCH), bitcoin core (BTC), ethereum (ETH) and litecoin (LTC). It uses an escrow system and the services of crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini to complete the transactions. It charges a 3% fee on each purchase.
Beside the reposted Ebay ads, Forra has a section with its own listings. Other features include the “Cheaper than Amazon” section as well as an option allowing buyers to file a request for a particular item they want to purchase with coins. Forra now offers products from many different sellers in categories such as Computers, Software, Books, Tools, Home Products, Clothing, and Video Games. Its founder Patrick Manfra recently told news.Bitcoin.com they have users not only from the United States but other countries as well.
Platforms like the ones mentioned in this article can be very useful for the global crypto community but there are also websites focusing on countries where large portions of the population remain unbanked and many small businesses find traditional banking services too expensive. Depot.co.ke is one such example – it offers a wide range of products on the Kenyan market, from books to computers, and imports items sold on Amazon, Alibaba or Aliexpress. The platform accepts payments in bitcoin cash, the popularity of which is growing in countries like Kenya because of its low cost and fast transactions.
For more ideas about various products you can purchase with your bitcoin cash (BCH), check out the Spend Bitcoin Cash page developed by Bitcoin.com. You can use it to shop online or to order gift cards for major retailers and service providers listed in categories such as Electronics, Sports and Outdoors, Home and Garden, and Travel and Lodging.
Have you used any of these websites? Do you know other platforms that offer similar services? Tell us in the comments section below.
Disclaimer: Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to third party companies or any of their affiliates or services. Bitcoin.com is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any third party content, goods or services mentioned in this article.
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