While most Bitcoin enthusiasts are aware of being able to spend their Bitcoins on electronics, furniture, or clothes at sites like tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, and overstock.com, there are quite a few other companies offering some more unusual products and services for the digital currency. From online dating to Church donations and even paying for oddly flavored candy or plastic surgery, there is sure to be a place where you can spend your Bitcoins to get something you’ve been looking for.
The Church of St. John the Evangelist
If you attend a weekly Church service and have ever found yourself reaching for the money you had planned to offer as donation, only to find that you’ve forgotten it at home, you may soon be able to rid yourself of the guilt that same afternoon rather than the following week. The Church of St. John the Evangelist, located in Goshen, New York, is the first in the world to accept donations in Bitcoin and may set a trend for others to follow. The address used for donations has received over three Bitcoins so far, quite a generous amount equating to over a thousand US dollars at the current price.
OkCupid
Need help finding that special someone but don’t have a credit or debit card to pay for premium services from online dating companies? OkCupid proudly refers to itself as the “best dating site on Earth” and has been called “The Google of online dating” by The Boston Globe. While OkCupid is a free dating site, they also have a premium plan that removes ads and allows anonymous usage, which they began accepting Bitcoin to pay for some time last year.
Pizzaforcoins
Pizzaforcoins allows users to order from local pizza delivery restaurants using Bitcoin. It is currently offering it’s services to the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia, and includes Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa John’s as options to order from (provided your address is within their delivery range.) Their goal, as displayed on their home page, is to “make it cheaper to order with btc than with any other currency.”
Lollyphile
If you have a sweet tooth for unusually flavored candies and a Bitcoin wallet with some money to spend, than Lollyphile might be just what you’re looking for. Specializing in unique flavored lollipops, Lollyphile started as a company making wine, beer, and spirits flavored lollipops. With flavors like merlot red wine, IPA beer, and bourbon they certainly have a wide selection of candies that you’ve probably never experienced before. If you thought those were the strangest flavored lollipops available for purchase then you’d be very wrong. Lollyphile also offers maple bacon, chocolate bacon, blue cheese, wasabi ginger, and even breast milk flavored lollipops on their site.
Vanity Cosmetic Surgery
For those wanting to have a plastic surgery operation performed and have the Bitcoin to spare, soon The Vanity Cosmetic Surgery Center in south Florida will be accepting Bitcoin for their operations. The largest cosmetic surgery center in Florida has officially announced that it will be accepting Bitcoin for it’s services starting in November. The cosmetic center offers a full range of cosmetic surgical operations as well as non-surgical operations like laser hair removal and botox injection.
While these are just a few examples of the many companies accepting Bitcoin for a wide range of products and services, they certainly are leading the digital currency technology forward by accepting it. As these companies continue to successfully accept Bitcoins, others are sure to follow, provided they don’t encounter problems accepting and securing their payments.
By Keith Andre for CEX.IO