I Buy Steem - can we bypass the exchanges?

I buy steem. Regularly.

I believe in the power of the power-up.

But buying steem in the UK is not easy.

My usual route is to send fiat (pounds sterling) from my bank account to buy bitcoin at Blockchain.info.

Then I send the bitcoin to steemit via Blocktrades.us.

This process is cumbersome, involves ever increasing fees and takes an uncertain amount of time.

Added to this my first bank blocked transactions to Blockchain.info, so I had to swap to a second bank. That too has issues around re-verification every so often.

I am also presently limited to transactions of £200 with Blockchain.info.

If the process was easier I would buy more steem.

Is there an obvious way to make this much simpler?

There are always people wanting to sell steem.

Maybe the answer is to connect the buyer (me) with the sellers directly.

There are of course issues with direct transactions - trust, exchange rates, fees, anonymity etc. But these can all be overcome.

I have made a few peer-to-peer steem purchases so far. They have all worked just fine. I want to do more.

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This is my playbook for direct peer-to-peer steem purchases :

1. Generally I only deal in pounds sterling (but I am open to other options if the mechanics can be worked out).

2. I take the steem / US dollar exchange rate from CoinMarketCap.com, and then the US dollar to sterling exchange rate from the BBC. I do not see a need for any transaction or exchange fees.

3. I can pay by BACS, PayPal, or Amazon Gift Cards. Or even in cash if you are coming to the first Wales meetup in the new year.

4. Communication about transactions is generally by Discord or email.

5. I usually buy small quantities, say up to £50, to begin with. But may buy more once I get to know the seller.

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If anyone in the UK has steem to sell please let me know in a comment below or via Discord @pennsif#9921

Let's push decentralisation a little bit further, and take a side-step round the exhanges.

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You might also be interested in some of my other posts :

• Vive la révolution - steem is here (or why I haven't been so excited for over 20 years)

• [FICTION CONTEST] Christmas Day in 2050 - Announcement of Winners

• SteemRadio - schedule of all the steemit radio shows - week beginning 25 December 2017

• Personal Mentoring Statement from @pennsif : now accepting up to 5 minnows who would like a mentor to help them on their steemit journey

• [CONTEST] MSP Waves Radio : Pennsif on Air with Globocop : What happened in 1964? - 500 SP delegation to be won

• Homesteaders & Preppers on steemit - heading towards 300 by the new year? v11 [23 Dec '17]

• 888 Followers - Time for a Festive Season Giveaway for all my followers

• Steemit coming alive in Wales - First meetup taking place on Saturday 10 February 2018 in Lampeter

• The Steem is Rising - 2018 is going to be a good, good year - are you feeling the buzz?

• SteemCommerce - Businesses accepting payment in steem (v 1 @ 15 December 2017)

• I Believe in Steem - Five things I can do to help steemit grow

• SteemTowns - connecting the virtual with the reality - would it be possible?

[ graphic by @pennsif ]