Online electronics retailer Newegg is jumping on the cryptocurrency bandwagon and accepting Bitcoin as payment for more than 10.5 million products.
At check-out, shoppers will see a “Bitcoin” option under “Payment Methods.” After checking out, shoppers will receive a Bitcoin invoice for payment.
Through the invoice, shoppers will have a few options to complete the transaction: They can click a “Pay with Bitcoin” button if they have digital wallet software installed on their computer, scan a QR code if they have a wallet stored on a smartphone, or use a “View Address” link to send funds from a Web-hosted digital wallet.
Newegg says customers have 15 minutes to complete the payment. If the invoice expires, shoppers can try again later or select a different payment method.
But note the fine print: Products paid for with Bitcoin cannot be returned for Bitcoin or hard currency. With Bitcoin payments, Newegg is only offering gift cards for returns.
To handle the transactions, Newegg has partnered with BitPay, a firm that claims to instantly convert Bitcoin to standard currency. Newegg says it chose BitPay because of its “industry-leading reliability and scalability,” and its programming tools that allow the retailer to handle refunds and payment exceptions. BitPay says it doesn’t store any payment or personally-identifying information.
Newegg hinted in January that it would start accepting Bitcoin. It’s now one of the largest retailers to do so, with more than 25 million registered customers. Other retailers that accept Bitcoin include Overstock.com and TigerDirect, though it’s also possible to convert Bitcoin to gift cards for use at hundreds more stores.
“Newegg’s customers are among some of the earliest bitcoin miners and are enthusiastic proponents of the crypto-currency,” Soren Mills, Newegg’s chief marketing officer in North America, said in a statement. “Adopting bitcoin as a payment method is another way we’re responding to our customers’ diverse needs.”