Steemit is Powered by Blockchain Technology and uses a new Cryptocurrency to reward users who upload articles, images, commentary. It's an upcoming Social Network that rewards it's user for their contribution while it's build on top of the Steem's Blockchain

Steem is a Financial Asset that has value & is freely traded in Markets around the world, this makes Steem the incentive behind Steemit

This Post is for those interesting to know about established Markets that allow them to purchase & obtain Steem.
For many, this is a complicated process especially if you haven't gone through it before & even problematic for those who have never purchased any Cryptocurrency before.
Keep in mind that;

Steem is a Cryptocurrency
Steemit is a Social Network

So let's say your goal is to invest in Steemit because you think that there is a lot of opportunity in this platform, you would like to invest but have little to no experience whatsoever when it comes to obtaining any Cryptocurrency

Before you invest money, it's important to determine whether your Investment has potential Return on your Investment, if you feel Steemit has potential to grow as a Social Network, then you should invest in Steem

The next question to ask yourself is; Where can i buy Steem?

Buying STEEM on the Open-Market

There are severals ways to purchase Steem from different Markets, each method has it's drawbacks so I will you give a simple comparison for each one of them, so you can decide your preferred way of purchasing Steem

Every Buyer interested to purchase Steem, will evaluate;

1. Steem Selling Price (a.k.a Market Price)
2. Convenience to Initiate & Execute a Transaction

When it comes to buying Steem, everyone wants to get the best deal meaning you would like to purchase Steem as cheap as possible so you can Buy Low & Sell High without haven't to sacrifice convenience. At the end of the day, you want to be able to trade with people without putting your money at risk and also expect convenience to buy/sell in the marketplace

Since Cryptocurrencies hasn't been around for too long, many Markets will lack liquidity because of the little buyers & sellers willing to trade, however this will change over time as it get's widely more Adopted. E.g. You can already Buy Amazon/Steam/Paypal Credits Tokens from popular Convenience Stores, give the Steem Market time to become more Saturated with Users & Traders

Here are several different type of Markets to buy Steem from:

Crypto-Exchanges

• Poloniex
• Bittrex
  Online cryptocurrency exchanges are websites where you can buy, sell or exchange cryptocurrencies for another digital currency or fiat money (USD, EUR etc)
  Up's - More Active Marketplace of Buyer & Sellers, more liquidity has made price more Competitive
  Down's - The Need to Trust Cryptocurrency Exchanges Security, additional Fees charged & more time-consuming to execute transfers

Tip: Check out Coinmarketcap for the Top Steem Exchanges
Steemit How-To: Sell Steem Dollars via Poloniex [Newbie Friendly]

Decentralized Exchanges

• Blocktrades
  Added STEEM to its "instant exchange" engine, allowing users to directly buy and sell STEEM with many popular Cryptocurrencies including
  Bitcoin, BitShares, Dash, Doge, Ether, Litecoin, Nubits, Peercoin, and OPEN.USD
  Up's - Blocktrades is already integrated in your Steemit Wallet & facilities Steem/Steem Power buying via Bitcoin. It's also the fastest way to purchase Steem with Bitcoin and allows users to quickly exchange cryptocurrency without setting up an account. This website enables users to rapidly and safely purchase Cryptocurrencies without the hassles typically associated with purchasing through a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, making it safest option to purchase Steem
  Down's - Current Markey Liquidity in Decentralized Exchanges are low, so prices tend to initially be less competitive than popular Centralized Exchanges like Poloniex that have higher Steem Liquidity or a more active market of Buyers & Sellers

Tip: Check out Buying STEEM with Bitcoin through BlockTrades.us
Blocktrades, is one few Services that grant users direct access to a Decentralized Market, Steem Traders should also check out;
Bitshares - How to trade Steem through Bitshares?
Open.ledger - How to Transfer STEEM between the BitShares and Steem Networks

Peer-to-Peer

• Direct Dealings
  Find other Steemit Users willing to sell their Personal Account or Funds
  Up's - More Negotiable to come to agreement, 2 parties can set their price & allows everyone to purchase Steem
  Down's - Time consuming and Risky to deal with private Individuals directly

Tip: Only deal with someone you can Trust, you can find great deals from Users willing to sell off their Steem in Bulk. It takes time to search a seller but you occasionally get lucky when you browse through Steemit

Third-party Services

• Changelly.com
  With Changelly you directly buy Steem via a Credit Card
  Up's - Buy Steem directly with your Credit Card, Visa & Mastercard are Accepted so there is no need to buy Bitcoin, for many this is a more convenient way to directly get into the Cryptomarket without having to go through Bitcoins or Alt-coins to purchase Steem
  Down's - Slightly higher Fee's are Charged, thus prices are slightly higher than current Market Price

Tip: Use Mastecard & Visa Credit Card to directly Deposit Steem into your Steemit Account

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Comparison

Method	Security	Convenience	Price Rate	Speed
Crypto-Exchanges	Low🔓	Average	Competitive Rates✓	Average
Decentralized Exchanges Blocktrades & Bitshares, Via Open.Ledger	High🔒	Low	Average	Fast✓
Peer-to-Peer	Low🔓	Low	Varies✓	Slow
Third-party Services(Changelly)	High	High✓	Low	Fast