Overstock, which began taking bitcoin in January and posted $1 million in sales two months later, is so enamored with the currency that it plans to offer employee bonuses in bitcoin too.
Judd Bagley, a rep for Overstock, says the company is trying to figure out how to offer bitcoin bonuses by the end of the year. If an employee opts for such a bonus, they'll get a premium over what they'd get if they take cash instead, he said.
Bagley added that Overstock's bitcoin sales just recently eclipsed $2 million. "We experienced an initial surge, there was a lot of excitement," he said. "It settled into something a little more predictable." Bitcoin sales account for about a 0.25% of the average day's sales, he says. Overstock posted revenues of $673.7 million in the first half of 2014.
On the upside, such sales require little work on Overstock's part. The transactions are handled by Coinbase, which bases its calculations on the price of Bitcoin at the moment in which the sale occurs. The company is looking to handle the transactions directly at some point.
[seealso slug="bitcoin-currency"]
Overstock also offered some stats on bitcoin use so far. Overstock's top bitcoin sales, adjusted for population include the following:
New Hampshire
Utah
Washington
Colorado
Oregon
The following items are the most-purchased via bitcoin:
Sheets
Headphones
Cases & Holders
Cables & Tools
A/V Cables
Mattresses
Fashion Sunglasses
Tablet PCs
LCD Monitors
Vacuum Cleaners
BONUS: What Is Bitcoin and How Does It Work?