Checking out OpenBazaar and Peerhub - Pros and Cons
My Steemgig is now on Peerhub and OpenBazaar
As you may know, I have a Steemgig running for creating cool banners for social media. I wanted to see for myself how OpenBazaar and Peerhub work, so I decided to put my Steemgig on there as well. Although I haven't had any customers yet, I'd like to point out some of the pros and cons of both platforms that I have experienced so far.
1. OpenBazaar
Link to my product: ob://QmWNcLW5DyLH3maqhjXKKRd6BnTpcYeLPwMvqs9utVRRuN/store/i-make-social-media-banners
OpenBazaar is an online marketplace where you can basically buy and sell anything with Bitcoin. It is pretty much like the SilkRoad, but not on the dark web.
The pros of this platform is that it allows for very specified product descriptions. It allows for headings, lists and images, and basically functions like any other text editor such as MS Word or Markdown. OpenBazaar also uses tags and categories, so others can find your product more easily.
The con of OpenBazaar is that it only allows payments in Bitcoin. The principle of this is great, but it also makes transactions more expensive. Namely, the transaction fees for Bitcoin are currently very high, which is a problem for cheaper products. For my product, which only costs $5 USD, this makes it way more expensive for customers.
However, OpenBazaar does have Shapeshift integrated. This means that you can fill your wallet with other coins. The only downside of this is that shapeshifting BTC costs a fair bit because of the high transaction fees.
2. Peerhub
Link to my product: https://www.peerhub.com/items/7910
Peerhub is another online marketplace. The difference with OpenBazaar is that Peerhub allows transactions in Steem dollars, fiat currency (PayPal) and even cash.
The pros of this platform is that it appeals to the Steem community by accepting Steem dollars. This creates an incentive for Steemians to use Peerhub above other platforms. Moreover, Steem dollars have very low transaction fees, which makes it more appealing to buy and sell smaller products and services, like my Steemit banners.
The one con that I've experienced on Peerhub so far is the opposite of OpenBazaar. Namely, the possibilities for describing your product are a bit limited. The description only allows plain text. No headings, lists, or images. Also, you can only include one image, which has to be 750x750 pixels. My banners that I usually make for steemit are wider than that, so I can't show off my work on Peerhub itself. Instead, I have to link to my Steemgig post, but Peerhub doesn't allow for links in the product description either.
Which one to use?
Both, obviously. It all comes down to personal preferences. However, if you want to purchase a banner, I'd suggest using Peerhub or contact me directly on Steemit.chat (same username). I wouldn't recommend paying with Bitcoin at the moment, because it's so expensive.
What are your experiences with OpenBazaar and Peerhub? I'd love to hear your opinions! Please let me know in the comments.
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I really wish they both took Steem natively. I'm not so much a fan of Steem Dollars.
Other than that, I'm thrilled that these markets are maturing. Thanks for your take on them.
I don't really understand why Steem dollars exist in the first place, actually. Sure, it's handy, but I don't see how Steem cannot work without it. I need to do some more research on that.
Thanks for reading!
OpenBazaar devs currently are in the process of having altcoins directly integrated without Shapeshift.
I could not find any way to contact you @diggndeeper.com, after I stumbled upon this post. We are running a charity bot @thehumanbot , you can see details on how or what kind if charity is being done as part of this initiative to make this place better. We are in need of those people who do not use their votes, and can help us by either voting the posts that @thehumanbot upvote, or provide their posting key to be used.
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I believe open bazaar is working on making payments available in other coins... in fact I'm pretty sure you can pay with any currency that shapeshift supports, the seller just receives bitcoin. I wonder who pays the fee then, i would assume its like you said where the buyer pays the fee...
I believe you can fill your OpenBazaar wallet with other coins through Shapeshift. So yes, this means that the buyer ends up paying more because of the Shapeshift fee. But there should also be a fee for buying the product itself, because the BTC gets transferred from one address to another.
Thanks for reading!
That makes sense. I'm enjoying your posts! Keep it up!
Glad to hear that! Thanks!
My hope is that steemit.com will integrate updates that allow us to more easily offer services here instead. That's perhaps asking for too much?
I'm still toying with the idea, as one example, of making a resume post. Then in our signatures we can link back to that post for anyone interested. That turns steemit.com into a type of LinkedIn for those wanting to do it.
We could do something similar for the services we offer. Make a post with your services, then have a link to that post in your signature? I know you already do that for your services, but most people are are not. They should. :)
That would be a great change for Steemit. I'd love to see a LinkedIn-type function for steemit with the possibility to remain anonymous. Not sure how that will work out though. I guess you'd just have to rely on the reputation of the user then.
We'd need two accounts. The idea of taking ZeroHedge's user base has already come up multiple times. There's no reason to stay there anymore. People there can come here, create anonymous accounts, and do the same thing without all of the annoying ads. I'm not anonymous here, but I could create the many year old anonymous account I have on ZeroHedge however. It would definitely help to have two accounts. I wonder if Steemit Inc. would support the idea though? They seem to be very particular about duplicate accounts.
It wouldn't make sense to be against multiple accounts. That's like being against having two different Bitcoin addresses.
That's true. As long as they are not being used to scam or spam, they shouldn't be a problem.
Haha, nen Belg :-)
Thanks for the info, i truly like how these direct markets are growing and peerhub is surely my favourite because of Steem acceptance. I think it is great to link back to a Steemit post. Steem, steem, steem, i am clearly a bit fanatic :-)
Groetjes, we volgen de Belgen
Hi neighbor! :) Thanks for reading!
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STOPhot topic, i want to know more about similar projects, can anyone tell me which platform does have to most users ?
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