With the holidays approaching quickly, many Bitcoin supporters may be attempting to complete their holiday shopping using only Bitcoin. Fortunately, there are many companies that now accept Bitcoin, which should make holiday shopping for supporters of the digital currency even easier than a walk in the park. Here is a short-list of few ideas.
1.Gift Cards
Perhaps the easiest and most common holiday present to buy for someone on your list is a gift card for their favorite place to shop. Gyft.com offers gift cards for over 200 retailers including Target, Amazon, Best Buy, Gamestop, and many more. They allow payment with Bitcoin, and are even currently offering a 3% discount for customers who use the new form of payment.
2. Electronics
If there is someone on your list who lives a high-tech lifestyle, Tigerdirect.com or Newegg.com is sure to have something they could use, and have recently started accepting Bitcoin. Whether they just need a new phone, or they’re a gamer always trying to have the latest games and top of the line computer parts, a variety of electronic devices and parts can be purchased from these two electronics online superstores, Furthermore, Dell is piloting digital currency.
3. Clothing/Jewelry
Whether it’s a new watch for your husband, a new dress, or a beautiful necklace for your wife Overstock.com was one of the first major online retailers to start accepting Bitcoin and has a huge variety of men’s and women’s jewelry and clothing. The massive online retailer also sells clothing, furniture, and many more potential gifts on their site. Reed’s Jewelers is a US based jewelry company that also accepts Bitcoin in their physical locations.
4. Flowers
If you want to keep things simple, yet romantic this year, 1-800-Flowers has recently added Bitcoin to their accepted payment options. Using Bitcoin to send your girlfriend or wife some flowers with a thoughtful card will prevent her from ruining her surprise with a check of the bank or credit card statement.
5. Vacation
Once you’re on a bit of a higher budget, or want to buy your significant other a present you can enjoy as well, Cheapair.com and BTCtrip.com let you book flights and hotels. Much like a new age Travelocity or Priceline accepting Bitcoin, you can now use these sites as well as a few others to book a full vacation using only Bitcoin. If you’re vacationing to New York, you could even pay your taxi cab fee with Bitcoin using NYC Yellow Taxi services.
6. Gold/Silver Coins
If there is a collector on your list then, you’re in luck, as there are several online retailers accepting Bitcoin for gold or silver collectable coins. GoldSilverBitcoin, Coinabul, and Agora Commodities all have a wide selection of gold and silver coins and bullion available for purchase with Bitcoin.
7. Homemade Crafts/projects
Nothing says personal gift like something homemade rather than mass produced and Etsy has close to 100 vendors that accept Bitcoin as payment. Purchase a homemade quilt or shirt for the person on your list who always has to unique things today, and pay with a unique new currency as well.
8. Basketball Game Tickets
Know an NBA fan that lives near the Sacremento area? The Sacremento Kings have become the first pro sports team to accept Bitcoin as payment for games and team apparel. So get the sports fan on your list a pair of tickets to a game, and even load a Bitcoin wallet on their phone up with some coin for apparel at the game so they can leave their cash at the house.
9. Tools/Home Improvement Supplies
The list of home improvement suppliers that accept Bitcoin is not as extensive as some of the others on this list, however, Bitcoinshop helps connect buyers wanting to pay in Bitcoin with retailers that accept it. Directly on the Bitcoinshop site you can find a wide variety of categories and the home improvement and tools sections contain quite a decent selection of items that can be bought for Bitcoin. So for the handyman in your life that’s in need of some new tools, head over to Bitcoinshop.us and take a look at either their home and garden or tools and hardware sections.
10. Art
If there is an art enthusiast on your list, you can find a handful of original artwork creations (among some other high dollar items) available at Bitpremier. Bitpremier is a Bitcoin only luxury marketplace that features artwork, antiques, vehicles, real estate and some other luxury items. So if your on a fairly high budget and looking for some original art for the true enthusiast that takes a lot to impress, take a look at the art available at Bitpremier.
While these ideas are better to use within the USA, there’s still plenty of room for merchants all over the world.
If you have some ideas to add a list (both USA and worldwide), please share in comments.
By Keith Andre for CEX.IO