Bitcoin buying from ICE3X

[saor]

Would really appreciate some help with this:

I want to order something online and pay with bitcoins. I've converted GBP to BTC using preev.com and logged in to my account at ICE3X. In the BUY section, there's this screen:



What I don't quite understand is the second entry field - the 'How much per Bitcoins (price)' field. If I just need x amount of BTC, then surely I'm just going to pay whatever the current market value per BTC is? What's the point of that second option?

 

[Neverwhere]

I'm not positive, but I believe you're buying from an exchange.. so when you place your order, you specify how much you'd like to pay per coin, and the order is listed.. then if a seller comes along, and places a sell order that matches your price - the exchange will execute a deal?

 

[Neverwhere]

So if bitcoin is currently worth R5600 a coin, and you place a buy order for R5000 a coin, it's likely your order won't get filled.. but if the value of bitcoin drops over time, your order might get filled (depending on how long a pending order can sit in the system?). I have only traded bitcoin like twice.. so I could be wrong about all this.

 

[Jack_Hammond]

Correct, you are basically "bidding" for the bitcoin at a certain price. The exchange will fill out (more or less) the current market price in that field, but you are free to choose another value. If you go lower, it may take some time to fill your order (if at all depending on how low you go). If you go higher, your order would be filled immediately, but you would be overpaying.

It would be a good idea to under bid a little when buying, to get better value for money, but it depends on how urgently you need to get bitcoins.

 

[saor]

Thanks. So if I need them asap then I'd just use the current going rate. Then I could also buy a few extra at a lower rate and have the purchase pending until the price drops to the rate I specified.

 

[saor]

Ended up using BitX.co.za as I found it a lot more more user-friendly. Had my account approved by about 14:00 this afternoon, transfered funds into my BitX account via EFT which cleared about an hour later. Bought some bitcoins and did my first transaction. I realize some people say it's a bit more expensive to use BitX vs say ICE3X but...for a beginner who just wants to make the occasional payment with a system that includes a bitcoin wallet, has quick turnaround times on support questions and is easy to use - BitX is pretty cool.