I don't know about residential, but I had an investor that wanted me to help build a farm right next to a natural gas power plant they were building a couple of years ago. They were talking about < $0.01 kWh due to oversupply of shale gas plays. They lost interest once BTC price crashed in 2018. The natural gas industry has pretty much bulldozed through Pennsylvania over the last decade and they've only started to build the infrastructure to actually bring the gas to market. There is so much oversupply that they are turning import terminals into LNG export terminals and halting production to control prices.

With an informal entry you don't file anything. Customs completes all the paperwork and determines classification/rate and it's immediately liquidated upon release. With a formal entry, the importer is responsible for filing the paperwork and specifying correct classification. Formal entries aren't liquidated for up to a year, which is what allows them to review your filings and then come back and charge you more if you didn't file correctly. I still wouldn't bank on it, but I'm 3/3 for customs filing and liquidating as informal entries at 2.6% when they were supposed to be 27.6%. One of them was also slightly above $2,500 and they still processed as an informal entry. This was as recent as May 2019 for a Z11.

They've been 25% since August 23, 2018. 8543.70.9960 is in Section 301 Tariff List 2. There have been no changes to List 2 tariffs. List 3 tariffs increased from 10% to 25% in May 2019 and List 4 tariffs did not increase to 25% yet. If you only order one unit at a time you may luck out with an informal entry (if below $2,500), customs classifying it wrong, and only paying 2.6%. All of my last orders through DHL were only charged 2.6% and liquidated as such. Comes down to the customs officer completing the paperwork for informal entries. Larger orders and formal entries you'll be paying the full 27.6%.

When the 921 first came out I ordered a couple from Blokforge. Those shipped late too and Blokforge blamed it on customs holding them. I liked ordering from Blokforge to support a U.S. business, but the markups for customs and doing away with credit card processing killed it for me. I've always gotten early or on time when ordering directly from manufacturer.

Initial batch for an S17 Pro 56 TH/s cost me 0.48 BTC from Bitmain, which is around $4,700 at current BTC price. This batch is actually cheaper and 0.45 BTC. It's only more expensive if you need to buy the BTC. That being said, I still wouldn't buy since first batch has been out for over 3 months and it's really not much of a price break even if you used a $300 coupon.

New location is a small house in South Carolina. Seems kind of sketch, but the guy appears to own and run an industrial services company.

And this is why Bitmain sucks. They will not send or sell individual parts for S series, T series, Z11 and R4 and make you send them the entire unit back even if you diagnose the problem yourself. I had a middle board on a Z11 fry after two weeks with stock firmware and it was well below max operating temps. Not covered by warranty due to hash board burnt. Refused to sell me a replacement unless I shipped the entire unit back.

I had a couple with the plastic standoffs that seemed broken from the factory and they used different screws. Photos on their site showed them putting them together with impact drivers.

My guess would be that it is primarily FedEx and customs discovered they classified large amounts of orders incorrectly. Other shippers either classified correctly, entries liquidated already, or they are eating it themselves. If you look at the paperwork the last guy posted, FedEx is listed as the importer of record and they certified the accuracy. Importer of record is liable for taxes and duties, but customs can go after the ultimate consignee. These letters show that customs is going after FedEx though. In return, FedEx is sending letters stating that additional duties may be charged.

The interesting thing in the last guy's situation is that FedEx received the notice from customs in April showing that a rate advance has been taken. FedEx claims they will pay it and then bill him if they receive a bill, but show no proof they actually received a bill or paid it. 19 CFR 152.2 only allows the importer of record 20 days from the date customs mailed Form 29 to dispute why the rate advance should not be taken, otherwise it's then liquidated with the new rate. These letters do not indicate whether FedEx disputed it and ultimate consignee was notified by FedEx more than 20 days after FedEx received Form 29, yet they want you to pay $75 to dispute it after they no longer can, indicating the shipment has already been liquidated, as their formal protest citation is for liquidated entries. They also list the liquidation date as 00/00/0000 probably to cause further confusion to get you to pay.

For small amounts I'd just pay, but if it was something large, I'd consider ignoring FedEx's requests. Once FedEx has already paid it and it's liquidated, customs is not coming after you. It'd be a different story if customs sent Form 29 to you directly. FedEx can try to collect from you somehow or even refuse to ship to you, but unless they showed proof they actually paid the rate advance, I wouldn't pay them a penny more. Being a large company, it's possible they could have easily worked out a deal with customs to settle all of these incorrect classifications for a lesser amount than what was actually owed and are now just trying to recoup their expenses by sending letters to customers.

Bitmain's warranty does not cover it. Fried hash boards void warranty whether overclocked or not. They also want me to send the entire unit back to confirm the board can't be repaired, which is stupid when I only need a board. Only applies to latest models (S and T series and Z11) They will not send you individual parts or let you ship them damaged parts. Guess I'll just keep it running with 2 boards and wait until they start selling replacements.

Anyone else have fried hash boards yet?

Ran mine for about 2 weeks without issue and today I arrived home to it dead. Opened it up and middle hash board was fried. Was using a Whatsminer 2200w PSU, stock firmware with frequency at 731, always ran in vertical position, and ambient temp never above 30°C. Running on two boards for now as it looks like Bitmain's warranty won't cover it and they require shipping the entire unit back for replacement parts. Middle board always ran hotter. Quickest failing gear I've owned to date.

The crazy thing is with only two hash boards it jumps up to 120KSol/sec, but it's not stable though. Boards constantly fluctuating between 30-68KSol/sec.

It is interesting that these orders are over a year old and have not been liquidated yet. They are supposed to automatically liquidate after 314 days unless customs extends the time, which they can do three times in one-year increments. That means it can take over 3 years for formal entries to liquidate. Is all of the redacted info your personal info or FedEx's? They are listed as the importer of record on the one form.

I am aware there are still duties and taxes on informal entries. DHL sent me the import duty/tax invoices and made me pay them before delivery. I haven't been successful in obtaining copies of the waybills or any other paperwork, but from what I've researched, the HTSUS classification for informal entries is determined by a customs officer and they complete all custom forms. Goods are immediately liquidated after payment and being released, meaning it is closed from further review and payment. There is no CBP Form 7501 required like a formal entry.

A formal entry can take up to a year for the goods to be formally liquidated after they are released. They hold your bond or cash as surety that your importation was not in violation of any U.S. laws or regulations and can recalculate duties and tax owed if they find an error or don't agree with paperwork. I can see how FedEx and other shippers would be coming back and charging people for formal entries as their own money is being held for accuracy of paperwork until liquidated. Since informal entries are immediately liquidated, no informal entry is at risk of paying additional duties/tax later if you already paid them. It's essentially on customs to classify correctly before liquidating.

I don't plan on getting any new equipment any time soon since there is lack of supply anyway, but I'll keep ordering directly as the markup U.S. re-sellers add for customs support is pretty much the same or more as ordering direct anyway if you get charged the full 27.6%. I typically only order 1 unit at a time and meet informal entry so I'll keep taking my chances with customs classifying incorrectly and liquidating upon payment. The two orders saved me a couple grand compared to if I ordered from Blokforge and I have paid their markups previously.

12.35 volts and 150 amps is what the sticker says, however it supposedly can adjust in real-time between 12-14.5V and model number suggests it's rated for 2100 watts.

It does matter what the exporter does based on agreed Incoterm. If it's DDP, then the exporter is the importer of record.

AFAIK, with DHL Express, they act as customs broker/support, importer of record, and handle all of the paperwork for you. If they are filling the paperwork out incorrectly to have lower rates then it would be a violation of the False Claims Act. They pay the fees initially under their account and invoice you before delivery. I've never had to provide any EIN/SSN or power of attorney for these orders, but they were also within threshold for informal entry. If they make a mistake, then I'd imagine they are the ones responsible as importer of record. Whether they try and then bill me again for their mistake is anyone's guess.

I thought the majority of people getting billed had correct classifications but never paid anything. Is that not the case? I'd imagine it would be more difficult to try and collect a different rate at a later date if classified incorrectly if they can't easily determine exactly what was received. Most companies charged under the FCA are from whistleblowers with insider information.


Edit:
After researching even further, the lower rate may be due to the orders meeting informal entry requirements (below $2,500), but still above de-minimis. Without having any copies of the paperwork, I'm really not sure whether DHL is filling it out or if it's a CBP agent. I'm attempting to obtain copies of waybill. I've read different information that states informal entry paperwork is filled out by customs and they classify the packages. If that's the case, it would seem customs doesn't care about charging additional tariffs on what would typically be personal use. So if you are someone who only buys a unit or two at a time and can stay within the informal entry threshold, you may only be charged the lower rate, where as the additional tariffs are primarily targeting commercial use and large orders that require formal entry.

AFAIK, the shipper is responsible for specifying the correct HS code. If they classify it incorrectly, they are responsible for the fraud. For those getting billed later by FedEx, what were the packages classified as and did you pay anything at all originally? Any pre-August/September 2018 should only be 2.6% unless FedEx is using it as a money grab. If they were classified incorrectly, they should really be going after the exporter, not the receiver, but I'd imagine it's easier to collect from the receiver in the states.

The only times I've had them send me a bill later was when they delivered without me paying anything and the last time that happened was probably 15 years ago. Both of my last orders that were 2.6% were held until I paid. I have invoices for import duty/tax being paid, but they specify no HS code. I don't know why they'd collect that amount unless Bitmain isn't classifying them under 8543.70.9960.

Just received another order from DHL with only 2.6% fees again. I don't know how it's getting by customs or what Bitmain is classifying them as. There is no indication of the HS code on any of my paperwork or invoices. My previous order had a sticker on the box that said server, so maybe Bitmain is classifying them under 8471.50 again.

Man...this brings me back to the time when I made a guy waste money on attempting to register a trademark for a name I was already using. The government is not good at vetting the information submitted. You can submit whatever you want as well as falsified documents to try and prove your first use or publication date. It essentially sticks as long as nobody challenges it. In my case, I actually filed for the trademark before I got this guy to waste his money. When he found out I had already registered first, he modified his application and created a fake flyer with a date on it before my first use date. He wasn't smart about it though because he used a well known font on the flyer that did not exist at the time he claimed.

BTW, Coin Legal Ltd owns the trademark to Bitcoin in a class for cryptocurrency and claims first use 20090112. It was registered July 27, 2018 and still living. All I can find on that company is mention of a single officer named Olof Kyros GUSTAFSSON. There are numerous others registered in other classes. Again, it means absolutely nothing other than that someone spent the money on it and nobody challenged it.

Trademarks and copyrights exist the moment it's first used or created in tangible form. The U.S. is a first to use country. Registering with the government only gives you certain legal rights. The real creator(s) wouldn't really even need to file copyrights or trademarks just due to widespread, worldwide, and well known use unless they wanted to sue people for monetary damages. They would already have common law ownership the moment they wrote the white paper, created the Bitcoin logo, etc.

I still only paid 2.6% through DHL. I edited this post because I researched further and found 8543.70.9960 listed in additional 25% June 2018 tariff list. I wasn't aware there were multiple lists and only looking at September 2018. Guess I'll wait and see if they hit me with another bill.
https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/2018-13248.pdf

My S17 Pro 53TH/s had default Antminer pools. All the boards also report the same frequency and turbo is 595.