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Comment by q1w2 | Hacker News Reader

I don't have a recommendation - I just want to make you aware of a major issue other stores have...

> We do not intend to convert to traditional currency unless needed.

This is a big risk due to cash flows. Most stores operate on a margin on merchandise that is under 10%, with a turnover on goods averaging months.

If a currency fluctuates in value more than ~10% over several months, this can easily drive an otherwise healthy business into cash flow driven bankruptcy.

Selling 100% of your goods, and then not being able to replenish that stock because the crypto you held has dropped more than 10% over a 6 month period is a disaster waiting to happen.

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I imagine whatever cryptocurrency payment system they end up implementing will still be used by a minority of customers, so most of their existing stockpiles will still most likely be held in their domestic currency.

This is also a problem when you're operating with inflationary currencies, and that's why bitcoin might be better, despite its high volatility.

Bitcoin is volatile in short-term, but long-term deflationary. Fiat currencies are stable in short-term, but long-term inflationary. It's a trade-off, and it depends on your circumstances which allocation works for you.

>but long-term deflationary

Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

True but he’s not talking about performance, he’s talking about availability, and since Bitcoin is set to a certain limit the scarcity of it will rise as people lose access to their private keys.

Deflation and scarcity are not the same thing

> This is also a problem when you're operating with inflationary currencies.

Not really, because you are continuously buying and selling, and raising your prices as you go along with inflation.

> Bitcoin is volatile in short-term, but long-term deflationary.

Long-term is not relevant for the issue I'm describing. It is a short term fluctuation that drives you into cash-flow bankruptcy.

> Most stores operate on a margin on merchandise that is under 10%

Tell that to the literally hundreds of "shops" that dropship goods for ~50x the buying price.

Okay, what's their operating margin? Since there are a lot of these stores, Amazon (or whatever marketplace) takes a cut, there are fixed costs, fraud, scams, refunds, other stochastic losses.

Sure from time to time someone finds manages to make a decent income with such an operation, but it's not because the unit economics are so great.

> If a currency fluctuates in value

This is why you want to use stablecoins. There is plenty to choose from.

So just use fiat?!

This just sounds like cash with extra steps

I don't know if there are any, but I can see value in a stablecoin representing a basket of different currencies.

That also sounds like money, except with a lack of fluctuation in exchange rates

Or less steps.

OP is asking for a way to collect money from customers to cover expenses that can be paid via crypto.

By accepting stablecoins, OP:

- Does not need to pay payment processor fees.

- Does not need to wait days to have the funds available.

- Does not have the risk of facing chargebacks

- Does not need to take the money from the bank to pay crypto.

There’s this crazy new stablecoin called the US Dollar. Nobody can trade oil without it, and you can do ACH transfers that settle in a day for a quarter.

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