Virgin's first time: How I did it

[Summertime_fun]

The promise of an easy crypto payment evaporated the moment I engaged the vendor. I’d warned them: "Crypto novice here. I need hand-holding." I envisioned a seamless, step-by-step tutorial. Instead? Radio silence. It wasn't clear the vendor knew enough English to help, even if the desire existed.

With the vendor a dead-end, I pivoted to the digital gurus: YouTube and AI. After hours of video tutorials, I laid out my predicament to Gemini, which delivered a set of supremely confident, gospel-like instructions. The first commandment: "Thou shalt only proceed on thy Android phone".

Next, the wallet hunt. Exodus came highly recommended—the "easiest wallet to use," according to forum whispers. The download was instant. The letdown, immediate. The sleek app on my screen bore little resemblance to the outdated versions glowing in the YouTube guides, injecting a shot of pure anxiety into an otherwise "straight forward" process. Just as I was poised to fund it, Gemini intervened with a brilliant, fee-avoiding suggestion: use Google Wallet and link a debit card. I complied. The result? A furious, futile battle. Google Wallet and Google Pay flatly refused to talk to Exodus, resulting in a rage-quit and the swift installation of a new combatant: Coinbase.

A fresh start meant new YouTube primers. Coinbase seemed deceptively simple. Except that it wasn't Coinbase anymore—it had become Base. After downloading "Base," I finally achieved a small victory: successfully funding the wallet with $300 straight from my bank. It worked! After a day or two of clearing time, I was ready for the final transaction.

The target: $282 in USDC. The vendor sent the weapon: a QR code specifying USDC via Solana (sol). For several agonizing days, the Base wallet rejected it, spitting out the same cryptic pop-up: "the QR was not recognizable". I tried a million different times and in a million different ways, feeling like I was wrestling a digital ghost. Then, without a word of explanation, the vendor sent a new QR code. This one was for USDC via Ethereum. Bang! The transfer went through immediately. The relief was immense.

The money was successfully delivered. Victory tasted sweet—until the vendor delivered the punchline. The products I wanted from the US warehouse were suddenly out of stock. They would ship from China instead, promising arrival in ten days or less. After that whole crypto odyssey? I gave the green light. Stay tuned for the update!

This is very similar to my experience, only I have not got to vendor order yet and I've been reading everything in this forum for over 3 weeks now

 

[mtomm]

Which vendor are you working with that allows Venmo?

Amino Lair

 

[ChicagoFit]

Found this thread while looking for info on Crypto. I know it’s old, but this had me rolling!!

Well then you will appreciate my continued adventure with great arousal. It is true. I lost my virginity. Then, I discovered using crypto was like a penis: Sometimes up. Sometimes down. Never hard forever. After a little break, I just reviewed how I did it and everything worked as planned.

 

[Scarroll]

I am so frustrated; now thinking of sticking with US web-based sellers, at 3x the cost of overseas. And unfortunately, I don't know anyone personally that can help me, even for a fee, to get this all set up for me.

This is where I'm at. I've done so much reading on this, downloaded so many apps, spent so much time trying to navigate them (I can't even figure out discord or telegram at all, let alone coinbase or exodus or the dozens of others I've wasted so much time and headspace on) and no one I know personally has any clue about any of this stuff either (well, discord maybe, but the channels they use seem to be so different?) I don't get how people figure this out, I'm feeling so incompetent. Reading and researching is not helping me, with the amount of time I've spent doing that I should have a PhD in this stuff, but I feel more lost now than 6 months ago!

 

[ladyj779]

I have a bunch of humanities degrees and talk about stories for a living and I figured it out. Anyone can figure it out, I promise.

I just use the Exodus wallet. Sometimes loading via moonpay is wildly glitchy, but I've never been completely let down.

 

[laansasa]

Update. I am ready to throw my computer, phone and anything else used to buy crypto against a wall. I have spent dozens of hours and many days waiting for various exchanges to fix the many hurdles i have run up against (analogy purposeful, as I have so far been unable to jump over the hurdles). Plus, came to discover that most emailed support msgs don't allow replies. Only way to communicate is via online chat, which for me, has not resolved anything. It is maddening.

Finally was able to buy USDT, only for that exchange to refuse to let me transfer to my wallet. Support chat was escalated, but I have been waiting all week for the hold, or whatever it is, to be released, and the support has ghosted me. I am so frustrated; now thinking of sticking with US web-based sellers, at 3x the cost of overseas. And unfortunately, I don't know anyone personally that can help me, even for a fee, to get this all set up for me.

quallіgator has a crypto concierge. A lot of people use him to purchase and he only charges a small fee. He has great reviews. I also got a kit from one of his group buy leftovers. Don't feel trapped into buying from overpriced resellers. DM me and I can link you to him if you don't already use the quallіgator forum.

 

[laansasa]

This is where I'm at. I've done so much reading on this, downloaded so many apps, spent so much time trying to navigate them (I can't even figure out discord or telegram at all, let alone coinbase or exodus or the dozens of others I've wasted so much time and headspace on) and no one I know personally has any clue about any of this stuff either (well, discord maybe, but the channels they use seem to be so different?) I don't get how people figure this out, I'm feeling so incompetent. Reading and researching is not helping me, with the amount of time I've spent doing that I should have a PhD in this stuff, but I feel more lost now than 6 months ago!

I'm old but relatively tech savvy. It took me 3 days to figure it all out. I felt so dumb. My boyfriend is a super smart engineer and even he looked over and said "oof! you're on your own with this one". You'll get it. It is confusing but take it a step at a time. Where are you stuck now? I can try to help.

 

[Good-Heart6425]

I'm old but relatively tech savvy. It took me 3 days to figure it all out. I felt so dumb. My boyfriend is an engineer andnsuper smart and even he looked over and said "oof! you're on your own with this one". You'll get it. It is confusing but take it a step at a time. Where are you stuck now? I can try to help.

Yes, please. My crypto pace has taken months to get this far. Here’s where I’m stuck today: I need to send test crypto amount to vendor; I have only non crypto $ in kraken exchange and an empty exodus wallet. Using desktop websites, not my phone. What’s my next sequence?

 

[laansasa]

Yes, please. My crypto pace has taken months to get this far. Here’s where I’m stuck today: I need to send test crypto amount to vendor; I have only non crypto $ in kraken exchange and an empty exodus wallet. Using desktop websites, not my phone. What’s my next sequence?

I don't have kraken, I use coinbase. Can you buy crypto with your other money in kraken? Make sure you buy what you need (USDC-Solana, USDT-Etherium, etc.) I made the mistake of buying ERC (because a vendor said I needed that) and then had no idea how to convert it to USDT.

In coinbase, I had to make sure I was buying USDC Solana so it wouldn't need converting later.

 

[paisleyfan]

I don't have kraken, I use coinbase. Can you buy crypto with your other money in kraken? Make sure you buy what you need (USDC-Solana, USDT-Etherium, etc.) I made the mistake of buying ERC (because a vendor said I needed that) and then had no idea how to convert it to USDT.

In coinbase, I had to make sure I was buying USDC Solana so it wouldn't need converting later.

when you say you had to make sure you were buying USDC Solana on coinbase, how did you make sure of that? When I go to buy USDC on coinbase, it doesn't give me a "Solana" option. Or are you referring to how you send it?

 

[paisleyfan]

Does this video help?

View: https://youtu.be/W2hgOGE_Ev8?si=MmvWPyQO_sgRijXo

 

[laansasa]

when you say you had to make sure you were buying USDC Solana on coinbase, how did you make sure of that? When I go to buy USDC on coinbase, it doesn't give me a "Solana" option. Or are you referring to how you send it?

I circled the 2. USDC on Solana is the blue circle, you get $100, 200 or whatever amount you need of that one.

The White with teal and purple is SOL, you only need like $2 for "gas" or fees. Once you have those 2 on coinbase, you send to your Exodus wallet address. To do that, go to the Exodus app and select "receive". It iwll.give you your solana address to receive. You copy paste it and go back to Coinbase and send it to yourself to the address you copied.

Let me know if that makes sense.

 

[paisleyfan]

I circled the 2. USDC on Solana is the blue circle, you get $100, 200 or whatever amount you need of that one.

The White with teal and purple is SOL, you only need like $2 for "gas" or fees. Once you have those 2 on coinbase, you send to your Exodus wallet address. To do that, go to the Exodus app and select "receive". It iwll.give you your solana address to receive. You copy paste it and go back to Coinbase and send it to yourself to the address you copied.

Let me know if that makes sense.

Much appreciate your reply on this. I believe it's starting to make sense... I've done some poking around. I just expected coinbase to have USDC with a tiny (SOL) or (ETH) under it, like other exchanges. So is the network always SOL for the USDC on Coinbase? or am I mistaken?

Another question, if I may. W hy is it that crypto needs to be transfered out to Exodus? I understand that Exodus is a secure wallet, but can't Coinbase transfer funds to the vendor just as well? Why transfer out to a wallet?

 

[laansasa]

Much appreciate your reply on this. I believe it's starting to make sense... I've done some poking around. I just expected coinbase to have USDC with a tiny (SOL) or (ETH) under it, like other exchanges. So is the network always SOL for the USDC on Coinbase? or am I mistaken?

Another question, if I may. W hy is it that crypto needs to be transfered out to Exodus? I understand that Exodus is a secure wallet, but can't Coinbase transfer funds to the vendor just as well? Why transfer out to a wallet?

You're welcome. I think you can buy USDC on either Sol or Eth. I know I did but I never used Eth since all my vendors take Sol. In Exodus I saw I had $10 in USDC split $5 each way between Sol and Eth. I made a lot of small trial transactions buying and sending myself but never really used Eth. I think I also got $5 of USDT on Eth to test it in case I needed it for a vendor who didn't take Sol.

 

[Vriende]

Another question, if I may. W hy is it that crypto needs to be transfered out to Exodus? I understand that Exodus is a secure wallet, but can't Coinbase transfer funds to the vendor just as well? Why transfer out to a wallet?

Coinbase is an exchange. There needs to be a stop between Coinbase and your vendor.

ZippityDooDah gives a good description of why here --

[archived internal link]

read more of that thread to understand more.

 

[paisleyfan]

Coinbase is an exchange. There needs to be a stop between Coinbase and your vendor.

ZippityDooDah gives a good description of why here --

[archived internal link]

read more of that thread to understand more.

AHA! These are the answers I seek! Thank you so much!