Making cryptocurrencies more useful in everyday life remains one of the major hurdles for this industry. Considering how Bitcoin is not accepted as an official payment method for most products and services, it is only normal alternative solutions need to be explored. Alagoria aims to become a top service in this regard, although it remains to be seen how successful the venture will be. Users are advised to conduct their own research prior to entrusting their money to third-party service providers.
The Alagoria Concept
Older Bitcoin users have seen many services come and gone over the past decade. Any platform trying to make it easier for consumers to spend Bitcoin for everyday shopping has seen its fair share of struggles. Not necessarily because the idea isn’t solid, but rather because not everyone is interested in spending their Bitcoin or altcoin holdings. Especially when the markets turn bearish, the desire to spend cryptocurrency becomes increasingly rare.
The big question is whether services like Alagoria can change that narrative. Their business model is similar to Purse, as the team aims to offer a decent discount on items purchased. Whereas Purse tries to cater to Amazon users, Alagoria targets Home Depot and Walmart customers. An interesting decision, which may find some traction as more time progresses. A 10% discount is nothing to sneeze at, even if it just pertains to two major chains in the United States.
How Does it Work?
Using Alagoria seems to be straightforward. The platform lets users buy anything from Walmart or Home Depot. Users need to copy the product URL onto the website, or simply browse the products listed on the main page. By completing the checkout process and making the cryptocurrency payment, the team will then place the same order on the retailer’s own website. Users will be notified regarding the shipment of their order and receive a tracking number if available.
On paper, this might not seem viable to offer customers a 10% discount. To counter that concern, the Alagoria team actively buys up discounted gift cards from either Walmart or Home Depot. Where those cards are sourced from, has not been confirmed at this time. This business model is similar to the Fold app, which also offers discounts because they buy discounted gift cards for Starbucks purchases. Depending on the availability of discounted gift cards, the Alagoria team might struggle to offer its services at certain times.
Supported Currencies and Regions
As one would come to expect, the Alagoria service primarily caters to customers in the United States. Walmart and Home Depot are US-based chains, and they will not ship their goods overseas. While the Alagoria team recommends international clients to use a package forward service, it remains to be seen if anyone decides to look into that option for just a 10% discount. Those savings will often be offset by paying for a package forwarder.
In terms of supported cryptocurrencies, users have four different options to choose from. Bitcoin is the main payment option, although Alagoria also supports Litecoin, ZCash, and Bitcoin Cash. A solid selection of currencies which can effectively be expanded upon in the future if the service proves to be a success. The service itself also has a lot of TrustPilot reviews for users to check out. All of those are either “great’, or “excellent”. Interestingly enough, previous reviews mention “Amazon purchases” and “Monero payments”, neither of which are seemingly available at the time of writing.
Disclaimer: This is not trading or investment advice. The above article is for entertainment and education purposes only. Please do your own research before purchasing or investing into any cryptocurrency.
