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This is how I orange pill people slowly from now on..
4244 sats \ 31 comments \ @Jetty 3 Nov 2023 bitcoin
Hey folks, last week I went to wash my car at the car wash place nearby, and I wanted to change the card on file (Prepaid card loaded with sats from BTCco). As the clerk lady asked me for my new card, I handed her the Swiss Bitcoin Card that had handy (I did it purposefully) instead of the Prepaid card.
https://swiss-bitcoin-pay.ch/cards https://d2j6dbq0eux0bg.cloudfront.net/images/79188521/3860266329.png
She then proceed and try swiping the card, nothing works. Then she takes a closer look at the card looking for the card number, and no number is listed.. that's when she hands me the card back and goes:
  • "I'm sorry we don't accept this Bitcoin Swiss Card thing you just handed me".
To which I reply back:
  • "Oh my bad I'm sorry I handed you my Bitcoin card, let me hand you my debit card"
(not even 5 secs later she goes)
  • "But...what's this Bitcoin thing anyway? How does that work? I've never heard of it before, is it like money for real?"
(Lady, I'm SO glad you asked)
Then I explained very briefly how it works, and that it's indeed real money, and merchants accept it no problem, then I invited her to my Meetup to learn more if she wants which she agreed.
What fascinates me in this whole story is not the fact that she was interested right there, is the fact that no matter how you look at this, she did inspect that card thoroughly and got some brief experience with Bitcoin against her will lol
After this being a success, I promise to do this absolutely EVERYWHERE I go from now on and I think everyone should too if possible. Let's win these normies at their own game.
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434 sats \ 3 replies \ @quark 3 Nov 2023
very good :) Can I copy your method? :D "oh so sorry I'm so used to use this Bitcoin card everywhere, you must be the only place that doesn't accept this card right? so strange. Anyway here is the old debit card. Let me see if I can find it. I hope it still works" :D
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41 sats \ 0 replies \ @Jetty OP 3 Nov 2023
You’re a genius. 🥹
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220 sats \ 1 reply \ @cryotosensei 3 Nov 2023
I love your reverse psychology!
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10 sats \ 0 replies \ @southside263 4 Nov 2023
only place😂
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121 sats \ 0 replies \ @AfroBitcoin 4 Nov 2023
Damn, there could be a reality tv show or youtube channek based on this concept alone. Way to go!!!
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121 sats \ 6 replies \ @2bithits 3 Nov 2023
Mmm, she might see that as bitcoin doesn't work.
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51 sats \ 5 replies \ @aoeu 4 Nov 2023
Sounds like it worked well in your case; but I’d be worried about that too. The fact that it didn’t work seamlessly (like using a traditional debit or credit card would) might make certain people think that bitcoin doesn’t work or would not be as easy to implement. Glad it worked well in this case!
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @Jetty OP 5 Nov 2023
Y’all scaring me. Do y’all know how Bitcoin works?
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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @aoeu 5 Nov 2023
What/who is your comment referring to?
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121 sats \ 2 replies \ @Jetty OP 6 Nov 2023
Maybe I missed your point, apologies. I think you're speaking from a normie's perspective, like the card that I'm showing to them doesn't "work" per se.
At the end of the day, it needs to be explained to anyone curious enough to ask. I play on the fact that the card looks almost unreal but yet, my intentions were very real to pay for it.
Think about it..who even does that? lol I could have pushed further [like @quark 's idea in the comments above] and insisted for them to try my Bitcoin card again and then after I had enough laugh of this situation, I'd ask them "Does your terminal even supports the Bitcoin technology?" and as they'd say no, I'd go "Oh wooooooooow that's crazy".
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100 sats \ 1 reply \ @aoeu 6 Nov 2023
Haha. I like playing dumb and being flabbergasted that they don't accept bitcoin yet. It could have fun doing that for sure and can see that technique working for some people.
I guess I was speaking from a normie perspective in the sense that I was thinking about how a non-bitcoiner might view it; not how I view it. The non-bitcoiner in the US might see how the bitcoin card did not work in their standard POS terminal and think "stop slowing things down, why didn't they just use their standard credit card because that works seamlessly already."
The fact that the bitcoin card requires a update to their POS or an additional step for their employees could be a turnoff. You and I know that with the correct setup, the process on Lightning would be even faster, easier, cheaper, and more secure from fraud for a merchant to use. I just don't want the merchant's first exposure to bitcoin to be how it doesn't work yet with how they accept other payment methods.
Quick sidenote: I asked the place we take our dog to get groomed if she ever thought about taking bitcoin and she said "absolutely not." I asked her why and she said, "isn't the founder of that getting charged in court right now?" She thought that SBF had something to do with bitcoin. I corrected her and will soon show her how easy it would be to accept bitcoin via a process like OpenNode or Ibex. She'll need to convert to fiat, unfortunately, but at least she'd still accept bitcoin and save money versus what the credit card processing fees are costing her.
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30 sats \ 0 replies \ @Jetty OP 9 Nov 2023
I think you're onto something:
She'll need to convert to fiat, unfortunately, but at least she'd still accept bitcoin and save money versus what the credit card processing fees are costing her.
Maybe all a normie just wants is to save money on fees (assuming they're a merchant), and ease of use if they're a user. We should just focus on that and let the rest flow imo. haha maybe I'm speaking to myself but I like what you did there. Cause once your normie is sold, we all know he'll never get back to fiat [alone].
On another note, maybe OP'ing people starts when you successfully make a normie use Bitcoin even a little and get of zero. We're thinking too hard. We need to let them get rekt a little, talk about privacy a little but not too much. Let them reel into it themselves. The best way to learn is through fire honestly, assuming most people don't want to read their way out of an Orwellian future... [I'm just thinking out loud here]
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222 sats \ 0 replies \ @jeff 4 Nov 2023
"Do you accept Bitcoin, YET?"
Not ironically, not sarcastically, just emphatically adding "yet", like its inevitable and strange that they dont.
That subtle "yet", makes them think for a split second.
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221 sats \ 0 replies \ @cryotosensei 3 Nov 2023
I think regardless of whether you orange pill her or not, you humanised a typically mundane interaction and made her workday more memorable/bearable.
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20 sats \ 2 replies \ @chovyfubar 3 Nov 2023
i'm yellling pilling people on nostr
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @southside263 4 Nov 2023
lol
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @GlobalThreat 4 Nov 2023
i meant "yellow-pilling"
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @c137Heather 4 Nov 2023
Brilliant! Can't wait to try this by "accidentally" grabbing a Sats card. I'm not sure I have one that is blatantly Bitcoiny enough.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bitcoiner1 3 Nov 2023
Great way to Orange pill
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @ryu 3 Nov 2023
Absolutely genius.
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @BlokchainB 3 Nov 2023
Lol love it 🤣
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @bitcoin_rationalist 3 Nov 2023
Brilliant
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @chovyfubar 3 Nov 2023
nice
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100 sats \ 0 replies \ @saltykate 5 Nov 2023
Or just straight up ask if Bitcoin is form of payment this is how credit card 💳 companies (that are not MC and V) used to advertise how to penetrate the cc market - do you accept_______?
Give example of other merchants accepting nearby if possible
Normalize acceptance!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @aoeu 4 Nov 2023
I’ve started doing something similar when someone says that I can pay with Venmo. Those people I ask if they take bitcoin because my thought is they want the Venmo payment specifically because it might be easier to handle it like undeclared cash.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @duvel 4 Nov 2023
Amazing!
What reliable Bitcoin debit cards are available in Europe?
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @muteness11 4 Nov 2023
Love the story .... that is maybe her 1st touch point with Bitcoin .... a couple of more touch points (especially during bull market, price being THE signal) and she might go down the rabbit hole
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @JReeCoin 3 Nov 2023
That was pilling!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @BitcoinIsTheFuture 3 Nov 2023
Win, win!
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @MattInTech 4 Nov 2023 freebie
That's, indeed, a pretty clever strategy. I already try to show my orange Bitcoin-themed iPhone cover as much as possible when paying with Apple Pay (I know, I know... I can't pay in sats everywhere unfortunately), but I will definitely replicate your strategy with the card. Thanks for the tip mate, happy orangepilling!
100 sats \ 0 replies \ @jennann 4 Nov 2023
It's always surprising when a simple transaction turns into an opportunity to educate someone about something as innovative as Bitcoin.
Your story reminds me of a similar experience I had not too long ago. I was at a local electronics store to buy a new headset, and while at the checkout, I casually pulled out my phone to pay with a digital wallet. The cashier was puzzled because they had just started accepting digital payments and weren't quite familiar with the process. As I held my phone near the payment terminal, I noticed their curiosity peak when the transaction went through without any physical cards being involved.
With a mix of confusion and intrigue, the cashier asked, "Did you just pay with your phone? How does that even work?" I chuckled and said, "Yes, it's through a digital wallet linked to my bank account. It's like having a debit card, but on your phone—you just tap and go."
The cashier was fascinated by the idea and mentioned they had heard about Apple Pay and Google Wallet but had never seen them used before. I took a moment to explain how the technology works and the convenience it offers. They were quite impressed and even joked about how they need to catch up with the times.
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