John K. is a busy man. He's helped put BTC escrow on the map and every BTC escrow service owes a debt to him. We're lucky to have him!

Alas, he's but one man and there's all kinds of BTC deals going on all over this new digital marketplace. I'm exploring the option of providing my own escrow services just for Group Buys. Please PM me if you're interested in having me coordinate an escrow for your Group Buy. I find the nature & dynamic of GBs to be fascinating and a completely logical response for some wily miners to hedge their bets against runaway network difficulty and to spread/hedge their purchases with strong bets among various manufacturers and Group Buys.

I promised my miner's co-op that I wouldn't consider coordinating other Group Buys to focus on ours, but that shouldn't stop me from trying to help others coordinate their Group Buys - as long as it doesn't detract from my job as GB Coordinator / Miner Admin for the co-op. Of which, I've offered co-admin rights to the other largest share owner in the co-op in the unfortunate event that I'm hurt or incapacitated so that the show, or in this case, the miner payments, can go on.

Since I'm a man of many hats, and I'm a natural at organizing projects, online and offline, being a Group Buy Escrow Coordinator sounds like something I'd like to try and it seems like a niche I can fill that would be beneficial here.

Please read below if you'd like to have me escrow a Group Buy for you. This would involve having me serve as a neutral 3rd party and arbiter that would handle all requisition funds in an escrow wallet for the group, as well as ordering and shipping details to a group approved hosting or colocation facility.

LOL! You guys make me laugh.  

Ytterbium, any one that's primarily invested in things like Labcoin, AM, Ice Drill etc. would fall under supporting/buying the mfgs., so that would be the latter category.

Let's just be honest. It's a huge risk to sell BTC over PP.

There is nothing to stop someone from doing a chargeback attempt after they have several confirmed transactions on the BTC that they don't intend to pay for. PP will side with the buyer because that's their MO -when it's convenient & doesn't cost them $.

Basically, just be super, super cautious if you're *still* going to attempt this, even with all the horror stories for both buyers & sellers. I've done it before, just yesterday in fact (yeah, I know. What a hypocrite!), but it was in the confines of an Escrowed GB where a chargeback doesn't really anyone good; in fact, it could work out better for a co-op as many members are eager to snatch free/reserve shares & fraud on the seller side (that'd be me, in this case) would've essentially stopped the GB in its tracks.

I was publicly *discouraging* others to do this type of PP/BTC direct payment method (esp. this method! Sending BTC to an email address is basically non-reversible for all intents.

Hi,

I have a few questions of behalf of our "little mining co-op that could":

1. Please give us more info on the Miner Protection Program. Anything you can share is appreciated but a lot of us have put our faith in your statements and incurred fees and lost opportunity costs so that we could put BTC/$ towards helping your launch and ordering our own B1 units. Some of us risk cold nights on the couch if we look stupid (well, stupider than usual) to our significant others.
2. Is this Mid Tower rack mountable - as in integrated or add-on sliding rails? If you're serious about this being a commercial device, it needs to be rackmountable & slideable so that it doesn't need special considerations - like the non-elegant platform method.
3. Any update on the shipping zip code for outbound shipments? As a Group Buy coordinator let's just say this is useful info.  
4. What kind of upgradeability, if any, will the stock B1 units have by themselves? Can we double capacity? Do we need to buy bare PC modules? I say this because we all have to be honest about the brutal Darwinian nature of Moore's Law applied to ASIC manufacturing, Satoshi's elegant algorithms, and the marketplace.
5. Also, what type/wattage PSU do we need to do to overclock these sweet lil babies?

Cheers & I wish you all well. A lot of us want to support domestic BTC mining machine manufacturing and I, for one, took the step from dithering on several mfgs. to going to full blown organizer mode to be part of a low cost GB on your B1 launch.

< bump >

From a PM received from someone close to the project (well, closer then you & I), I didn't ask permission to use their name so you can use your imagination as I have several people at HF or related to HF I've attempted to contact on our behalf for various matters related to due diligence and pre-planning:

"i actually don't know what shipping code the units will originate from.  not sure they do either as i think they're still deciding who to go with."

So there you go. That's where it stands as far as Shipping Zip Code ATM. No other thread has this info ATM AFAIK.

What could that mean?

This could be an oxymoron but what's the cheapest real estate in the Bay Area? Oakland? If it's there, hopefully they have air filters in place if it's anywhere near Oaksterdam!

UPDATE: Not much of one, just my last contact with John yesterday:

"Re: DZ HF/CT GB, x shares
« Sent to: filharvey, DyslexicZombei  on: August 17, 2013, 01:51:57 AM »
 Reply to AllReply to All Reply with quoteQuote ReplyReply Remove this messageDelete  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Quote from: filharvey on August 17, 2013, 01:35:28 AM

Purchase of 1 share.

Transaction ID 9f5f7ed3fee0caffe984488d78120e58cc40725c16e32be14f1e7b17e86eed7f


CC'ed to him just in case - thanks! "

BTW, everyone please welcome our previously Anon. final member of the co-op! They've finally let him out of newbie jail. He may have essentially drew the rookie version of a Royal Flush in a high stakes game. I know I was eyeing 1 or 2 more shares myself after I finished contacting everyone waiting for reserve shares.

Thanks again and Welcome Aboard!

Hahhah! Let's all switch our BTC for that instead!     It's. not. too. laaaaate...

Update: Follow up to PM previously requesting completion of order w/ shipping to colo facility. Email below:

"Hi John,

Please go ahead and contact HashFast at your convenience on behalf of the miner co-op I started. We're all itching to finish our payment so that we can secure our place in the outbound shipment. It appears that my first GB is a success!

Thank you very much! I've been raving about your services if you haven't noticed:

 https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=274722.0

I would like to reserve the right to update the colo location to another facility if the quote requests & discussions I have convince me to switch regions. I will let you know, well before they ship the Baby Jet, so that the eventual location ends up in a commercial host facility that you're aware of. I'll also publicly let the group know of any shipping location change (which will not be near me anyway ).

Thanks again!

SumYunGuy / DZ"

By the way, can anyone tell me who has the cheapest real estate near HashFast's shipping location? Just wondering... Would be handy for a GB coordinator to know if you do. I mean I could dig around but if someone knew off the top of their head that'd be nice.

<bump>

Hello to my fellow co-op miners from my first Group Buy I organized. Thanks gents! We did it!

Survey wise:
- No real changes. If there were a shift in the percentages that could tell us about buyer sentiment from our sample size.
- Interesting, we've had a couple more resellers vote. Canary? SSB? Is that one of you? 

BTW, here's my PhotoBucket page which I haven't visited in eons:

http://s286.photobucket.com/user/SurfSkateKauai/library/?sort=3&page=1

As you can see, the waves on Kauai can get heavy. It also has all my Ops pics in one place. I just uploaded a screencap of our OPEN Case #. I know Reddit loves Imgur (ermagerd) but the bugginess I see there just irritates me to no end. Anyhoo, someone left you guys a message below:

UPDATE: http://s286.photobucket.com/user/SurfSkateKauai/media/HashFastCase235.png.html?sort=3&o=0

UPDATE: Still working on getting a # of different colo quotes, but I have a placeholder Company location in our order, for the "winning" colocation host that's near some very high Bandwidth and also near where my own brother lives if they're unresponsive. He's a Police LT. who's survived a tour in Kosovo & 2 in the 'Stan. If this 'winning' colo host survives the horrible winnowing process I put them through when I make any major buy/sell then we're lucky he's there. If they're professionally unresponsive for whatever reason & we need someone to make sure they go & hit the darn reset button for us, I got you covered!

Corp. quote request approved, here's one example email below:
==========================================================================

"Thank you very much for submitting a quote request through our service, the request has now been approved and sent to the providers in our index living up to your requirements.
 We wish you the best of luck and hope that you find a provider through our service. When you reach a conclusion, please share it with us via the following URL:"

==========================================================================
I'll update John/HF if I'm convinced by one of their many competitors to switch sites - which I'm hesitant to do when they're so busy (mistakes can happen grr) - and also so that there's no confusion on HF's part, unless it gets us a DC that's closer to the shipping site at similar pricing.

While we're waiting here's the bitcoin miner version of elevator music: Wondering how the rest of your fellow miners are approaching the Gold Rush?

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=272565.0

Just in case you didn't catch it. You're listed as PAID & CONFIRMED. Thank you and (officially) Welcome Aboard!

<This is the part where if the beer toast icon on the Surfer Mag board was imported here, it would've definitely been used>

By the way, the PPK mentioned on that board is a famous surfing legend known for his limitless Aloha, and who Duke Kahanamoku (and Tom Blake) used to call: "Boy."

As in: "Hey Boy! Go get my board!"

He also annually hosts the world famous annual Andy/Bruce Irons Keiki Classic out of Hanalei Bay where every keiki gets a trophy and every keiki walks home with an armful of goods (and often boards).

==========================================================================

FINAL UPDATE: DyslexicZombei's HashFast/CoinTerra Miner Co-op Official Share Distribution [Copy already sent to John K.]

ID / # of shares (out of 40) / Pay Status

DZ / 8 / PAID
Anon. / 8 / PAID
jungle_dave / 2 / PAID (via PP)
kaz911 / 2 / PAID (via PP)
milkbottlec / 2 / PAID (via direct PP; please don't try this at home)
hannibal42 / 1 / PAID
trout / 2 / PAID
Hektek / 1 / PAID
phillipma1957 / 1 / PAID
abuelau / 2 / PAID
BeepBeep2 / 1 / PAID
filharvey / 1/ PAID
Adamln / 1 / PAID
Anon. / 4 / PAID
Anon. newbie! FTW / 4 / PAID

I believe this to be true to the best of my knowledge. Please PM me IMMEDIATELY if you see something amiss as far as your particular share of the co-op's miner.

Thank you for the offer! I haven't soldered anything in the last 6 month or so but it's like riding a bike. To me: welders, trying to weld 2 materials of different thicknesses - they have my respect because it's hard to keep that bead going!

This really is the future, I don't have a Robo housemaid (yet) like in the Jetsons but I've got several now. In the future, futurists believe that we'll all have herds and fleets of micro-, mini-, and even large robots doing our work *for* us, benefitting *us*. I currently have a 3D printer (a single purpose robot for all intents), robo massage chair, a CNC mill, CNC lathe, wireless router (which is essentially an Application Specific invisible robot that quickly routs packets for you), a laptop, tablets, & a smartphone that can access the world's knowledge (but often takes pics of cats), not to mention 20% of this robotic miner that we just placed an order for together (because miner co-ops also seem to be the future). I know we're all impatient for the wonders of the future but...we're already there!

Folks like us, we're just ahead of the curve, is all.

Yeah, sounds like my time to shine. However, I know the drill. Not mah first rodeo. Reminds me of ops: whole lotta excitement & hurry up, then...nothing but thumb twiddling & guessing which missile port the SM-3 is going to come out of. Some guys (and a few women) so bored, they're taking pool bets with crudely drawn grids.

Gentlemen, thank you. It's been an honor and a pleasure to work with the 14 of you (15 including John K.). I truly and really couldn't have done it without you. I had about 1/3rd BTC assets on hand but no way to get the rest (short of CCs. Blech) before HF ran out. I know our wives and significant others are probably scratching their head or even sighing about it but I have a very strong feeling that they'll be very happy with your foresight in a few short years, eheh.

We're all paid up and this puppy's CLOSED! I'll update John w/ the latest share ownerships & post it here.

To the 60.6BTC goal we were all striving for, I now say: "AMF!"

BTW, if you would like your miner payouts to go to a different wallet address then please PM me when you get an opportunity. 2 miners have contacted me for this, so far. Some miners choose this method to help keep track of their coins mined in this way.

Alright, this is the actual final update of night:

cypherdoc says this will be a Mid Tower Form Factor. Also, word is: if they have to send chips, supposedly we'll be able to build systems easily & cheaply! Building systems. building systems...hey anyone know a guy that can build a server?      

Last update of the night, 1:20 AM HST here. PM to John requesting completion of OPEN order already sent to HashFast:

Hi John,

FYI: My epic (well at least to me) first quest to co-ordinate a GB purchase here with your help is almost complete!

https://blockchain.info/address/1KWAtXU2tNEUGpB7ksi4fEumJeXqZDCfdA?sort=1

We still have 1 share outstanding but I think we have enough BTC to order now as a trial run on HashFast using BitPay showed 59.19-ish BTC about 2 hours ago including Early Morning AM Overnight Air. I expect 1 more payment which is intended to help secure our hosting contract.

Please check your email for order details when you get a chance, and thank you once again for working with me/us on this!

Aloha!

Raja! I have you down for 2 shares Paid (will check confirmation shortly). If it confirms shortly, I can tell John to "release the hounds!" Also adding you the "Future DZ GB shortlist". Thanks!

I believe that leaves 1 share unpaid but that won't stop us from getting the order we already have in, paid up.

Update: 1 confirmation. Let me get a few more confirmations & I'll PM John to order & ship it to our colocation facility!

Hey Aussie!

Sorry! However, I'll add you to the reserve list (you'd actually be behind BeepBeep2) if any shares free up. 3 shares have payment pending.

Edit: The person who bought the last 4 shares is anonymous & can't quite post to this forum quite yet. Not sure if they intend to stay anonymous, but for now they are.

Yes, I'm sorry about that. In his/her defense, this could be his/her first ASIC miner purchase of any sort.

Would you like to be contacted if/when I set up any Group Buys in the near future? I have a short list of people I'm contacting first if I set something up next month or so. Please PM me if you were happy w/ the quality of my service to the co-op for this GB & would be interested in other GBs I may set up in the near future. My niche is laser focus, out of box thinking to get 'er done (like the ebay instasales & PayPal payments) & rock bottom prices combined with 30 some years of IT experience, 21 years of system building, 12+ years of Tier I/II IT support, 12+ years of pro IT design experience of IT hardware & networks, and a sense for the relative & rapidly changing values of hardware & technologies. I've resold over $3K worth of electronics on ebay in the last month alone.

OT: BTW, believe it or not, I actually won the First National Internet Football Championship & $10,000 on Dec. 31, 1997 & tickets to the Rose Bowl (which I resold for $400 ea). I went to Disneyland & Magic Mountain with my longtime PC gaming buddy since my fiancée couldn't make it due to not being able to get off from work. The tourney which was called "The Quest for the Best" was sponsored by ABC sports & it was coded by Disney Software when they still had a software div. They flew us up, gave us a car & spending money, then put us up at the Ritz. I won 87-56 & I believe I invented a new play that was soon seen in the pros the very next preseason (hmm coincidence?). As an amateur American football historian with an understanding & love of strategy & gamesmanship, I was surprised to see it & wondered if some coach did a little offseason PC gaming since my play set I designed took off in online competition use soon after.

I split the money with the loser of the final game held outside the Rose Bowl the day before the game. We split it in a pre-arranged 60/40 split in a gentleman's contract that was notarized (loser would have gotten nothing from ABC/Disney!). The other finalist had just survived a recent car crash & wasn't working ATM so I'm glad I was able to help him out and I wonder how he's doing today. The game I won, beating each and every challenger, was called ABC Sports College Football on PC FWIW. I even had a shot at another $10K & trip to the SB if they hadn't patched the NFL Pro version of the game to nerf my play  (I talked to the producer (Doug Watson IIRC?) & they had to nerf the game badly because my play set, while completely legal in football, was too dominant.)

Anyway, back to GBs: One gentleman has already contacted me with intentions to have me co-ordinate a GB in Sept. & has already promised 20 shares out of 40, for a GB that I'm not even seriously considering doing quite yet!

I would only do this 2nd GB in the near term, if I'm confident it wouldn't take any focus away from giving the proper attn. to this particular co-op's ASIC miner we've all worked so hard for. We've all worked hard in our various jobs and investments to get this co-op going so we can start mining at the multi-hundred GH or higher speeds that we need to compete for our share of coins mined.

Wow! We might have a winner for those last 4 shares (helps to be a night owl I guess). Looks like there's an unofficial transaction from:

https://blockchain.info/tx/18b361f8d1afd22371af8c7f7c6e3669e804168e4c5a9631ebfc6621c53aa9b3
 
to the escrow account for what appears to be the last 4 shares. Will wait for multiple confirmations & PMs from .

Received & thank you! I'm putting you down for a "soft reserve" for 2 more shares, for 4 total.