Amazon Shopping (Image credit: Aurelijus Valeiša, via Flickr)
Yusho Liu, co-founder of CoinHako.com, dishes out the dirt on how to save money at the world’s largest online retail store.
Let’s get real. Amazon is a wonderland of everything I’ve ever wanted to buy — or didn’t know I needed until they suggested it. With a huge selection of goods being sold at competitive pricing — not to mention, their remarkable 2-day delivery — it was my go-to place for everything during my time in Silicon Valley — except for my sneakers.
So while I was in Silicon Valley attending Boost VC’s accelerator program, I chanced upon this dubious(initially) site that was offering 20% off Amazon — www.purse.io
Purse.io is a San Francisco based startup. Their investors include prominent members in the Bitcoin ecosystem, as well as several well known Silicon Valley funds.
As seen in the screenshot, Purse.io allows holders of Bitcoin to exchange Amazon credits with gift card owners through Purse’s escrow platform. I followed up with some due diligence to check the legitimacy of their platform and decided to give this a shot. I ordered a bottle of fish oil. Sure enough, I received my omega 3 caps and saved about a buck doing so.
Fast forward 3 months and I’m back in sunny Singapore settling down, where I’m busy getting operations started for my own startup — CoinHako. We make Bitcoin easy and accessible.
“Not having 2-day shipping stinks. I know. But maybe learning to save significantly on your Amazon purchases when in Singapore will make it stink less.”
1. Pick your items and place them in your wishlist
I’m sure you’ve been itching to get that latest book on pandas playing chess with gremlins right — because Amazon is Amazin.
2. Sign up for an account at Purse.io
It doesn’t take you more than 30 seconds for this step.
3. Import your Amazon Wishlist into Purse.io
Click on “Spend BTC” and import your wishlist by pasting the URL directly into the field. Click “Import” and a pop up box will appear as shown below. Follow the steps and click “Done”
4. Pick your discount and note down the total amount of Bitcoin (mBTC) required to make the purchase.
It seems like Purse has tiered the discounts based on total spending. This simply means that the more you order via Purse, the more discounts you get.. (UP TO 50%) This should be largely beneficial to people who conduct Mass Orders.
Remember to note down the amount of milli-Bitcoin you will have to purchase. In this case, 503 mBTC = 0.503 BTC
Do note that my receiving address is in Dayton, OH, which is my freight forwarder’s office. The major players in Singapore are Borderlinx, Vpost, Comgateway, 65daigou etc.
5. Create an account at your freight forwarder.
This will give you a local US address to ship to. If you are not too certain on how to use these services, there are instructions on their website.
6. Buy sufficient Bitcoin and place your order.
If you have a Singaporean bank account, head over to CoinHako.com and purchase just enough bitcoins for the purchase. I personally recommend buying a little more in case the price fluctuates. If you do not know how to purchase Bitcoin, please head over here.
Once the coins are in your wallet, send the coins out to YOUR designated wallet address.
7. Wait for transaction to be completed.
It will typically take about 30minutes for the transaction to be confirmed by the network. Once that is done, just wait till it arrives at your transit facility.
Now that you have completed your transaction for 0.503 BTC….
Let’s see how much money Purse & Bitcoin can save YOU.
1. Cost via Mastercard
Based on Amazon’s rates, the total for both items:
USD163 = SGD231.03
2. Cost via Bitcoin @ 20% discount
0.503 BTC @ CoinHako’s rates:
~SGD180
Smart Nation Shopping, this is.
Imagine saving up to $200 for a $1000 purchase.
