My number one piece of advice for a new user who want to purchase their first Bitcoins would be to use Localbitcoins.com if possible.
At first this may sounds a little backwards as Localbitcoins is a P2P platform so you might think it would be more complicated but I have found the complete opposite and I’ll explain why…
I tried to guide my friends through purchasing Bitcoins through a number of reputable companies such as coinbase and bitstamp but they had numerous problems.
As they are large companies dealing with potentially thousands of new customers a day the verification process can take time. You have to submit forms and wait for a response potentially for days or even weeks!
If you hit a problem you have to submit a support ticket, which again is another waiting game.
My friends had problems submitting forms getting address verified and again getting support is very time consuming
Can be a frustrating and confusing process for new users
Benefits of Localbitcoins for New Users
The difference with Localbitcoins is once you start a trade with a seller you open up a live chat session with them. The seller will talk though everything with you there and then. They will verify your ID, address and all other details while you talk to them in an informal conversation. I have found many sellers on Localbitcoins to be very patient and helpful to new users and all of my friends are now setup and regularly buying from Localbitcoins (LB).
This has really helped me in advising my friends as I can guide them to a number of different sellers on LB and know once they are signed up and start a trade I can leave them with the seller who will guide them through everything.
This also give them the possibility of going from a brand new user with no verification to being verified with a seller and have buying limits of over $10k in less then 15 minutes. Try and do that with any of the big companies! …and also see if they will give you a personal adviser to guide you through the whole process!