Gyft is now offering shoppers the opportunity to buy Dell products for bitcoins.
Neither Gyft nor Dell need much of an introduction: Michael Dell’s empire remains one of the biggest PC makers in the market, while Gyft allows users to buy mobile gift cards that can be redeemed in several major merchants in the US.
Dell offers free five to seven day shipping and the usual Gyft discounts seem to apply. You can collect points by using Gyft cards and save up to 3% per purchase.
It doesn’t sound like much, bit it adds up if you are planning a big purchase like a pricey 4K/UHD monitor. Of course, Dell still sells tons of relatively cheap gear, ranging from tablets and laptops to high-end desktop PCs, printers and some consumer electronics.
Gyft merchants
In addition to Dell, there are plenty of other merchants willing to accept Gyft cards. You can use them to shop at Amazon, Nike, Sears, GameStop, Target, Sears and many smaller e-commerce sites.
Needless to say, the vast majority of these merchants do not accept bitcoin, so gift cards are a practical way to spending your hard-earned coins indirectly.
So, why single out Dell? Most crypto fans also happen to be tech enthusiasts, and although Dell isn’t exactly an enthusiast brand, it does have an interesting range of products for connoisseurs, such as huge high-end monitors for designers and Alienware laptops and rigs for gamers.
There are a number of similar schemes around, which essentially allow consumers to shop for all sorts of things via gift cards bought for bitcoins.
While this method isn’t as elegant or simple as a standard bitcoin transaction, it’s an interesting alternative – moreover, in many cases it is the only alternative.
Bitcoin is still far from being a mainstream form of payment, so intermediaries like Gyft can make quite a difference.