Clueless about making a crypto purchase safely

[Wallydog]

A vendor I want to buy from only takes crypto, and I have zero clue where to begin. MoonPay crossed my mind, but I can't even figure that out (take a guess at my age). Emmy over at ERP was another option I was thinking about. Where do I start? Thanks.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Emmy has been reliable for me — multiple transactions, zero problems.

Are you beginning with no crypto at all, or do you already hold some?

 

[Wallydog]

Mr. Blonde said:

Emmy has been reliable for me — multiple transactions, zero problems.

Are you beginning with no crypto at all, or do you already hold some?

Starting from zero. I don't know the first thing about buying crypto, moving it around, or whatever the process is to get it to work.

 

[BNLFL]

I'm in the same situation, so I'll keep an eye on this thread. I'm not looking to purchase a huge amount, but the cost of kits is too tempting to pass up.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

 

[BNLFL]

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

They accept Alipay — what is that exactly?

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

BNLFL said:

I'm in the same situation, so I'll keep an eye on this thread. I'm not looking to purchase a huge amount, but the cost of kits is too tempting to pass up.

Yeah, I just picked up another 289 worth of Reta at 600mg, and my tirz runs super cheap as well — when I buy in bulk it's roughly 150 for 600mg. My stockpiles are absurd. Plus there are flash deals popping up now and then. If you share your progress over in the crypto forum, people on here will guide you. I used to be fine with Paypal as well, right up until I wasn't.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

BNLFL said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

They accept Alipay — what is that exactly?

To me it comes across as something along the lines of

• PayPal
  
• Venmo
  
• Cash App

Except the Chinese equivalent!

Honestly, I'm not sure, because once I got the hang of Crypto ( thanks once more @foxgirl, wherever you may be! ) I simply use USDC, which is a stable coin and accepted by the majority of vendors.

 

[Wallydog]

Gr33dyOctopus said:

BNLFL said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

They accept Alipay — what is that exactly?

To me it comes across as something along the lines of

• PayPal
  
• Venmo
  
• Cash App

Except the Chinese equivalent!

Honestly, I'm not sure, because once I got the hang of Crypto ( thanks once more @foxgirl, wherever you may be! ) I simply use USDC, which is a stable coin and accepted by the majority of vendors.

Alright then, looks like we're heading to the crypto forum!

 

[BNLFL]

Gr33dyOctopus said:

BNLFL said:

I'm in the same situation, so I'll keep an eye on this thread. I'm not looking to purchase a huge amount, but the cost of kits is too tempting to pass up.

Yeah, I just picked up another 289 worth of Reta at 600mg, and my tirz runs super cheap as well — when I buy in bulk it's roughly 150 for 600mg. My stockpiles are absurd. Plus there are flash deals popping up now and then. If you share your progress over in the crypto forum, people on here will guide you. I used to be fine with Paypal as well, right up until I wasn't.

Honestly, grabbing a handful of 30-60mg Reta kits sounds good to me. I did take a quick look over in that area, though I haven't really given it much attention. My bad for jumping in on your thread, OP.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

Wallydog said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

BNLFL said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

They accept Alipay — what is that exactly?

To me it comes across as something along the lines of

• PayPal
  
• Venmo
  
• Cash App

Except the Chinese equivalent!

Honestly, I'm not sure, because once I got the hang of Crypto ( thanks once more @foxgirl, wherever you may be! ) I simply use USDC, which is a stable coin and accepted by the majority of vendors.

Alright then, looks like we're heading to the crypto forum!

A few months back, I was in your shoes — you've got this

 

[Wallydog]

"Like an octopus rummaging through a shipwreck, I poke at every peptide I find, snatch whatever glitters, and just pray I never jab myself with the wrong tentacle."

Those of you who are fellow cephalopods likely already know this tale, but for anyone who doesn't: someone once set up a kind of experiment to find out how an octopus would react when 9 crabs — a top-tier snack for them — were dropped into its tank. It seized 8, one per arm. Then it kept releasing one so it could go after the 9th, again and again. Honestly, it borders on octopus cruelty.

 

[Mr. Blonde]

Agreed with Gr33dy.

exodus was what I grabbed. After that I bought usdc on sol, plus a bit of sol to cover transaction fees. venmo was my payment method, I believe. Credit cards and other options work too. The initial attempt is the hardest part. After you've got it all configured, it's actually quite straightforward.

For payment, the vendor sends either a Qr or a lengthy code. You simply send the funds to whatever they provide, then present the "receipt" as verification.

you can do this!

 

[FarmgirlRebel]

BNLFL said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

They accept Alipay — what is that exactly?

Alipay and Wise pay are the two I've tried...they're both super straightforward. I'd love it if more vendors accepted them. I've held crypto before, but I've never actually bought anything with it, and honestly that part feels scary to me, not sure why...lol.

 

[BNLFL]

FarmgirlRebel said:

BNLFL said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

They accept Alipay — what is that exactly?

Alipay and Wise pay are the two I've tried...they're both super straightforward. I'd love it if more vendors accepted them. I've held crypto before, but I've never actually bought anything with it, and honestly that part feels scary to me, not sure why...lol.

Appreciate it — those don't seem too hard. After glancing at a few of those crypto options, I just said nope to myself.

 

[RetCurious]

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

Is there any recent testing available for ERP?

The reta COAs that the vendor claims are "real time" appear to date back to September.


Janoshik Analytical


Could they still be shipping from a batch that is 5 months old?

I also don't notice any private testing of them over at STG.

 

[Gr33dyOctopus]

RetCurious said:

Gr33dyOctopus said:

From what I know, HPT accepts PayPal, and they're a solid vendor. As for ERP, that's the vendor I like best (big ups to Linda!), though I'm not sure they accept anything besides crypto.

Truthfully, whatever advice you get is already sitting in the crypto threads on here. To put it as plainly as possible: grab an Exodus Wallet, buy USDC SOL, then forward it to the vendor. The tricky part is everything in the middle, so you don't end up with the wrong coin or watch your funds vanish into nowhere.

Begin with vendors who take Paypal.

Is there any recent testing available for ERP?

The reta COAs that the vendor claims are "real time" appear to date back to September.


Janoshik Analytical


Could they still be shipping from a batch that is 5 months old?

I also don't notice any private testing of them over at STG.

Nope — the 3 items I got from them came with Janoshik flyers dated late September, then November and December.

Honestly, I'm not bothered about that. I don't assume most of these vendors carry new stock or recent tests, and even when they do, there's no way to know if those results are legit. On top of that, ERP runs a packed Discord and Telegram, the exact things I'm looking for are in demand and probably moving in large amounts.

The main reason I'm sticking around is the low-priced Reta.

 

[Dos-Dox]

Wallydog said:

A vendor I want to buy from only takes crypto, and I have zero clue where to begin. MoonPay crossed my mind, but I can't even figure that out (take a guess at my age). Emmy over at ERP was another option I was thinking about. Where do I start? Thanks.

Head over to Crypto Corner and begin reading there — that's where you start.

 

[OregonSunshine]

I used to feel nervous about USDT-Sol, Ethereum, and similar coins. Straight BTC, though, turned out to be far simpler than I had imagined. A few vendors won’t take plain BTC, but my impression is that the majority will. Open an Exodus account, buy BTC there with a debit card, and it landed in my wallet in roughly 15 minutes. No hassle at all. After that, complete the order, grab the BTC wallet address from the vendor, and send the funds. Processing usually takes 20-30 minutes. When it finishes, a receipt appears, and you can forward that to the vendor as proof you paid.

A few things to keep in mind:

Chase Bank, Wells Fargo, and maybe other large banks are strongly opposed to anything BTC-related and will stop every transaction attempt that involves BTC. They might also put a temporary freeze on your account after you try. If buying BTC keeps hitting a wall, consider using an account at another bank.

BTC’s value has been swinging up and down a lot recently. I wouldn’t leave much more than what you need in your wallet.

 

[randompersonrandom]

On that note... there's a guide from @peptideusername covering the PYUSD method: purchase PYUSD inside PayPal, transfer it into your Exodus wallet, then use Jupiter to convert it into USDC or USDT on Sol. That covers everything I do with crypto. But I spotted that PYUSD can also be bought through Venmo. I had a few hundred dollars sitting in my Venmo balance, so I picked up 10 dollars' worth of PYUSD there and moved it to my wallet. The process required a face and DL scan, and from what I gather a human review step means it takes a few days. Still, I've never come across anyone who uses Venmo for the PYUSD thing. Not sure whether that's because there's a reason you shouldn't, or simply because most people are already set up with PayPal.