The Ultimate Bitcoin Black Friday Guide

Maybe Bitcoin Black Friday is the extravaganza for you. Last year was huge. In fact, it was the “most popular day in the history of Bitcoin commerce.” BitPay broke records, the official website BitcoinBlackFriday.com pulled in 100,000 unique visitors, and even Ashton Kutcher participated.
Maybe Bitcoin Black Friday is the extravaganza for you. Last year was huge. In fact, it was the “most popular day in the history of Bitcoin commerce.” BitPay broke records, the official website BitcoinBlackFriday.com pulled in 100,000 unique visitors, and even Ashton Kutcher participated.

Want to enjoy lavish Black Friday discounts with Bitcoin without the lines, camping out for several days, and the risk of violence?

Maybe Bitcoin Black Friday is the extravaganza for you. Last year was huge. In fact, it was the “most popular day in the history of Bitcoin commerce.” BitPay broke records, the official website BitcoinBlackFriday.com pulled in 100,000 unique visitors, and even Ashton Kutcher participated.

You can check out a nicely compiled infograph of last year's figures here.

Thus, expectations are high for 2014. From Newegg electronics to bear calendars, there's plenty to choose from. Here's a guide to the best deals for Bitcoin.

BitcoinBlackFriday.com

The official Bitcoin Black Friday made its debut a couple years ago. Rumors are swirling that a coalition of 1,200 merchants will be participating, which is twice as many as last year and 24 times more than the year before.

“We’re really excited for this year’s event because it has all the opportunity to be much bigger than last year’s event” says Jon Holmquist, the founder of Bitcoin Friday, ”Even though the Bitcoin prices might be lower than last year, the quantity and caliber of merchants participating this year has improved greatly. Consumers should be able to do most, if not all, of their holiday shopping with Bitcoin this year.”

Cruise over to BitcoinBlackFriday.com to participate. They've already launched a preview of the items for sale. A mix of merchants big and small, international and local, are eager to offer discounts for Bitcoin users.

Holmquist told CNBC that they have special things planned for this year:

"We have two things planned. First is the ability to instantly purchase Bitcoin with your credit card: a small amount, like US$25 worth. For most people, that's not too much of a risk. And we're also going to have a section [of the site] where you can purchase something for a small amount of money."

Mixed Tees

Mixed Tees, the company with witty graphic tees fueled by artists, will sell T-shirts for as low as US$5. Those purchasing with Bitcoin and participating in the Thunderclap campaign will get an extra 10% off.

Unique Bitcoin wallets

Bitcoin storage is getting creative. With Cryptoart, bitcoins can be stored in some fancy limited edition pieces. It's reminiscent of the classic store-a-fortune-behind-a-painting trick, though you can skip digging a hole in your wall to fill a cumbersome safe.

All Cryptoart is 50% off for the big day. In addition, the art retailer will give away 100 paintings.

Woodwallets: If you are picturing wallets made of wood, you have the right idea. They're rock-solid and water proof cards. All products will be 50% off.

Newegg

Newegg is also participating for the first time since they got onboard the Bitcoin merchant bandwagon.

Bitcoin Black Friday starts in full on November 28, but NewEgg has kicked off the Bitcoin shopping event by offering fourteen deals at discounts past those you can get by paying with a credit card. If you use Bitcoin you can get an Xbox One Console bundle for only US$299.99. Additionally most of the deals going live on Friday are now viewable on the Bitcoin Black Friday website. The table below lists some of the hot deals currently available to Bitcoin users.

Black Friday Preview from BitPay

Today, BitPay posted a sneak preview of its merchants that are offering great Bitcoin Black Friday deals for BTC shoppers. Here’s a few of the many BitPay merchants (list excludes merchants already mentioned) with sales on Bitcoin Black Friday:

  • SchiffGold is listing 1-Oz silver bars for only 79 cents over spot, in addition to lowering their minimum order and offering free shipping for their Bitcoin customers.

  • BitcoinBowlPackages.com will be selling select Bitcoin Bowl ticket and hotel packages at a discounted rate of 25% off. Learn how to travel to the world’s largest Bitcoin event for less here.

  • Gyft will be listing deals for gift card buyers at BitcoinBlackFriday.com.

  • Black Country Rock Media will offer Bitcoin-exclusive mixtape sales as well 50% off of five different vinyl records when purchased with Bitcoin.

  • SurfEasy will allow Bitcoin users to protect their privacy for less with its no-log VPN service, available on Friday for 50% off.

  • Amagi Metals is providing free shipping on domestic Bitcoin orders of US$75 or more with code “BBF2014.”

  • Fangamer will reward bitcoin purchases of its gaming-themed apparel and merchandise with gift cards of up to US$50 as well as free or discounted shipping.

  • Silver Gold Bull will be taking 1% off of the price all products and providing Bitcoin shoppers free shipping for orders over US$250.

  • Soundwallet, which allows Bitcoin users to record their private keys on vinyl, is offering 25% off of its unique storage solution for shoppers using the code “Bitcoin.”

More deals to keep in mind

Purse.io – buy discounted Amazon products with a workaround

Purse.io offers big savings on Amazon products—the average savings is 17%. “Finally, a reason to use Bitcoin,” is Purse.io's slogan. It's confusing, but all you have to do is put the link to the Amazon product in Purse.io, and wait to see if it'll go through. Making cheaper stuff a reality is definitely a reason to use it.

- Purse.io price comparison for BTC shoppers

Signed Bitcoin book

CNBC's Brian Kelly, once a Bitcoin skeptic, is launching a new book about Bitcoin: “The Bitcoin Big Bang: How Alternative Currencies Are About to Change the World.” If you purchase the book with Bitcoin on his website, Kelley will personally sign the copy.

Beepi cars

Beepi is a car marketplace that accepts Bitcoin. In case you missed it, you can now buy cars with the digital currency. From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, all Bitcoin purchases are 10% off.

The North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami

TNABC will be coming to Miami January 16-18, 2015. This year it is also joining Black Friday festivities and is offering a 2 for 1 deal on tickets, which you can acquire here.

eGifter gift cards

Gift cards are a pretty solid holiday gift for people running out of ideas. eGifter is giving Bitcoin users 7X points for every dollar through Cyber Monday. Users can redeem points for gift cards in the future. 100 points is equivalent to US$1 in savings. You can buy gift cards to Target, Old Navy, and Chili's, among many others.

And there may be others. While Overstock is not participating in the official Bitcoin Black Friday, users can still use BTC to partake in the same deals as everyone else. Remember that Overstock will also take 4% of proceeds and send them to digital currency non-profits.

Discounted Bitcoin trading services

A few companies are reducing fees for Bitcoin payment and trading services.

BitQuick offers fast BTC trades and, like last year, is offering some fee reductions for the event. Normally they charge 2% to BTC buyers, but Friday the fee will be reduced to just 1%. They'll also give customers US$10 for free similarly to the campaigns held by Circle and Coinbase.

Moreover, the derivatives platform BTC.sx is reducing trading fees by 20% and reducing daily interest charges on leveraged positions by 50%. Happy trading.

Additionally, Coinbase is waiving 1% buyback fees until Sunday for orders made with their merchants.

Happy Shopping...and Donating

Many are excited to see if this year's BTC sales volume will exceed last year's. So far, it certainly seems like Bitcoin is picking up momentum in the run up to the event. Just comparing the trading volume on Locatlbitcoins.com is a cause for excitement for any Bitcoin enthusiast.

Expect some surprises as well such as Dogecoin Black Friday?

Finally, if your altruistic side gets the better of you while you’re shopping, consider donating to these Bitcoin-accepting non-profits as posted on BitPay’s blog:

If you know of any other big Black Friday deals, drop us an email at [email protected]or mention them in the comments section below!


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