Bitcoin Forum

Everything I see when I search for bitcoin miner on ebay is selling for 2-10 times it's likely value... Every time I plug in anything resembling a reasonable set of values into a calculator like the one on thegenisisblock or bitcoinwisdom, and compare it with an ebay auction things don't even come close to lining up. The ONLY way I could see justifying the values placed on say a bitfury usb miner (usually $300-400 with multiple bidders over $300) is if you were going to turn around and offer the contracts that I see on ebay that often sell for 2-10 times their worth....

And then there's the 333Mh/s usb asics that sell for as much as $60 and might mine $10 worth of coin before they loose money on even at 2.5 watts...

Am I missing something or are they all just nuts? It's so universal that I begin to doubt myself... If those prices do make sense, can someone please tell me why.

Note that given the volatility lately, I hardly doubt an assumption of continued growth at 10x/month is likely ;) I've been running calculations presuming steady value (my actual expectation is a little more moderate dip in price for 1-3 weeks and then begin to rise again at a more moderate pace, but the simulators don't let you get that complicated and I haven't built a spreadsheet or written a program to do that because it seems that there is zero means to acquire any hardware at a price that even *remotely* promises to be profitable... )

 ???

You also have to consider the risk involved with Ebay. People sell at a higher cost, to make up for stolen Bitcoins and hardware due to chargebacks.

The supply/demand/risk curve is messed up on ebay.
There is a large demand: ebay is easy to access, has tons of naive users, and supports paypal.
But there is a high fraud risk: paypal payments are reversible

So prices are silly high for anything bitcoin related.

you'll buy it if you recognize a potential...if dont dont buy.

If nobody buying it the price will go down

you'll buy it if you recognize a potential...if dont dont buy.

If nobody buying it the price will go down

I bought two v2 blade at the end of October for 250 each, fast forward to the third week of November, I ended up paying 425 each for two more v2 blades. When I tried to get the seller down, he / she claimed that the price is tied to btc. I bought them, but also stated "You are getting one hell of a profit since you bought these for a fraction of what you are selling them for"

Sad part is I can get a 100 GH/s X-1 for less than the blades now.

Yes the prices on ebay are very high, it looks as good business to preorder miner at manufacturer, and when you receive it, sell on ebay (and mine in meantime)  :)

In march... don't miss this from the bottom of the description "This is a PRE-ORDER, available for dispatch at end of February 2014" use an online calculator... difficulty increases have been averaging near 25-30% and it's going to be shooting up when the new machines start firing up. Order now and there'll be a lot of folks getting online before  you.

Nothing out there is not worth much if you get it in march unless difficulty stalls out or price goes back to it's 10x/month rate of increase (both of which are unlikely imho). If you start on march one, and ignore electricity and shipping, then 100Gh in marge will get you around $350 in ~70 days, and less than $100 for all time to come after that.

Also don't miss the "minimum order 10 units" at the top... :)

Those that buy on eBay will complain about excessive prices... but those of us that sell complain of other reasons...

I sold a BFL asic for ~3k USD and those crooks over at eBay charged me $250 in final value fees... so of course things are going to cost more, especially since demand determines the price, and items are worth what people are willing to pay (which can be more or less actual value).

I'm not complaining about the price increase. I bought it because I wanted them and it is what it is. With bitcoin going back up I expect to pay the same if not a little more per blade next time.

I understand where you are comming from. My post was generally speaking, not directed towards anyone in particular  :)

As a recent Bitcoin convert (end of October 2013), I have participated in frenzy, having been intermittently fleeced along the way.
However, in the short 6 weeks or so I have been in the market, the chance of finding a square deal on eBay has plummeted.

My first forray into mining was a 24hour BFL jalapeno contract, which has not payed for itself, even with the price increase, and certainly was nowhere close to paying for itself 6 weeks ago, but it did not matter because I was a consenting adult looking to learn about mining.

Yesterday I saw contracts for 1 hour of mining at various speeds... 1 HOUR.. charging 30-50 dollars!

Indeed, you have to wonder about the possible money laundering aspect..

Dear caminilegroup,

Hi,

Thank you for your email. One thing that you are missing in your calculations is the expense side of things. Please know that eBay takes 10%, PayPal 4%, the cost of equipment $16,000 and the cost of 10 amps running at 24 hours.

I just wanted to give you the full picture and not just the revenue side of things. Also please note that we charge about a third of the price per hash rate as the closest competitor on here. Yes, we make a profit, but isn't that why we are all here on eBay?

Cheers,

George

- ca_blacklab
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From: caminilegroup
To: ca_blacklab
Subject: Other: caminilegroup sent a message about 240 GH/s Bitcoin BTC Mining Contract By The Hour ( Butterfly Labs 60 / Single ) #161166633885
Sent Date: Dec-05-13 07:06:28 PST

Dear ca_blacklab,

24 Hours is 718 dollars to you with only ~118 in mining. An hour of mining will net ~0.00710914083333 with at current price is $7 USD. You're pretty much stealing at your price.  

- caminilegroup
                  
240 GH/s Bitcoin BTC Mining Contract By The Hour  ( Butterfly Labs 60 / Single )   
240 GH/s Bitcoin BTC Mining Contract By The Hour ( Butterfly Labs 60 / Single )
Item Id:   161166633885
End time:   Jan-02-14 14:46:46 PST
Seller:
ca_blacklab (1208)
100.0% Positive Feedback
Member since Aug-08-00 in United States
Location: CA, United States
Listing Status:   This message was sent while the listing was active.

I bought 14 ASIC block Eruptors USBs for £160 GBP a few months ago, so far they have mined me 0.19055526 BTC and about 200,000 ASIC coins and 600 OSC.

Never thought they would make the ROI, just think they are cool - I make more using my GPU rigs and 6x Dell 2950 servers mining FTC/LTC/FST/RED coins! then trading for either LTC or BTC then trading on BTC-E.

Took out over $1k in the last week when BTC/LTC was high.

:)

ebay is a scammers dream.  I avoid that website at all costs.

They are not crazy. They are trying to make money, profiting from bad knowledge of people.

With the price going so high so fast I bet there is some hysteria around BTC.  You are doing the math, which is good and rational, but sometimes people aren't thinking with their head and they just want to make BTC and don't factor in electricity.  Or maybe they have "free" electricty, I don't know.  Or they might bet the price will continue to rise and that's how they're playing it instead of buying more BTC.