[ANN] CHASING CASASCIUS : Limited Print Book with + Casascius Gold Bar Raffle

[owlcatz]

With customer fulfillment now ongoing with people receiving their books, stay tuned for details on how the raffle for the Casascius Gold Bar will proceed, it will be a separate thread, most likely in a raffle thread

That's great But... Did you miss the thread about everyone feeling ripped off so far? Can you actually explain wtf you are selling so I don't get ripped off too?

Thanks!?

[photonresearch]

With customer fulfillment now ongoing with people receiving their books, stay tuned for details on how the raffle for the Casascius Gold Bar will proceed, it will be a separate thread, most likely in a raffle thread

That's great But... Did you miss the thread about everyone feeling ripped off so far? Can you actually explain wtf you are selling so I don't get ripped off too?

Thanks!?

I saw a fairly objective review of both sections of the book without giving too much away, I see some people noticed the Kialara easter eggs

The motivations of our buyers are across a broad spectrum - such as the crypto art enthusiasts, those more interested in the gold bar raffle, those interested in this new product in the space, and more - and those motivations are completely in line with our desire to launch this project and raffle going into the halving

[owlcatz]

With customer fulfillment now ongoing with people receiving their books, stay tuned for details on how the raffle for the Casascius Gold Bar will proceed, it will be a separate thread, most likely in a raffle thread

That's great But... Did you miss the thread about everyone feeling ripped off so far? Can you actually explain wtf you are selling so I don't get ripped off too?

Thanks!?

I saw a fairly objective review of both sections of the book without giving too much away, I see some people noticed the Kialara easter eggs

The motivations of our buyers are across a broad spectrum - such as the crypto art enthusiasts, those more interersted in the gold bar raffle, those interested in this new product in the space, and more - and those motivations are completely in line with our desire to launch this project and raffle going into the halving

Ok. fair enough. Can you send me a vouch PDF copy, or are you just racking up BTC for free like most scammers here?  
I wont leak it, I'm just curious as to what the f I'm really buying hardcopy .. thanks.

Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me.

[casascius]

I confirm I received my book!

[photonresearch]

Woohoo! This right here,

I confirm I received my book!

This means a lot to me

[elianite]

Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me.

Why does everyone on this forum think everything is a scam? Who would go to the effort of creating a 'fake' book, if the real thing can sell for $150?
One might question whether the book is worth $150, but surely it is not 'fake'.
Nobody would question this in the 'real world'..

[photonresearch]

Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me.

Why does everyone on this forum think everything is a scam? Who would go to the effort of creating a 'fake' book, if the real thing can sell for $150?
One might question whether the book is worth $150, but surely it is not 'fake'.
Nobody would question this in the 'real world'..

Thank you Elianite its alright, every community has its nuances.

The Chinese bitcoin community found out about this project on its own for example and has a completely different standard of legitimacy, just like how here the lack of escrow turned out to be "the thing" at one point. Speaking of which we are willing to accept bitcoin escrow at this point, but the orders are coming through the site and with url referrals from facebook and other networks.

Being able to engage with the whole world like this makes it all seem a lot smaller and more accessible, so I'm very glad to bring this project to market!

[TookDk]

Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me.

Why does everyone on this forum think everything is a scam? Who would go to the effort of creating a 'fake' book, if the real thing can sell for $150?
One might question whether the book is worth $150, but surely it is not 'fake'.
Nobody would question this in the 'real world'..

I know that there are some mixed opinions about this product, this i just my view on things:

I agree with Elias that is not a SCAM per se, the word scam is sort of miss used in the bitcoin community.
What I hear, is that some of the people that have bought the book say that they don't think it was worth $150.
My definition of scam is that a person try to trick another person, most commonly by receive bitcoins for a product that is never delivered or is completely different that described.
It is not my place to say if the book is worth $150 or not, since i don't have a physical copy (yet), but calling scam is a bit misplaced (imo).
But it is definitely legit that the buyers say that the product does not live up their expectation or that it is too expensive, its their right to feel that way.

I agree $150 is a lot for a book, no doubt about that, it is also the price that has hold me back so far for not getting the book.
But for me was it clear from OP that the book would not a novel or a encyclopedia on casascius, I see it more as a collectible in the form of a very unusual/obscure crypto related product,
I fully respect that the buyers have a different opinion than mine, this is just my view of the product.

If someone have bought the book and feel that it does not live up to their exception and is not worth $150, then could an idea be to put it up for sale in the marketplace or make an auction.
If the book come up for auction then will I most likely bid on it.

@OP
Another thing that has come to question: How will the raffle will be done, can you share some more specific details? How will it be provable fair?

[coin@coin]

The other point is the company behind the site, there is no info about the team, who they are, where they are based and the company name itself doesn't even have a website.
Is the company a registered company? CC Ltd (Creation Company Ltd). If registered, in which country?

Sorry but that doesn't trigger my confidence, hence why I'm also refraining from getting the book apart from the price.

And yes more info about the raffle and how it will work would be good. Which version of the Casascius BTC Bar will be up for grabs?

I see Mike Caldwell himself got a copy of the book? At least we know one copy is out.

[TookDk]

... Which version of the Casascius BTC Bar will be up for grabs?

Looking at the pictures, then is it the casascius bearer bar...

[owlcatz]

Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me.

Why does everyone on this forum think everything is a scam? Who would go to the effort of creating a 'fake' book, if the real thing can sell for $150?
One might question whether the book is worth $150, but surely it is not 'fake'.
Nobody would question this in the 'real world'..

Thank you Elianite its alright, every community has its nuances.

The Chinese bitcoin community found out about this project on its own for example and has a completely different standard of legitimacy, just like how here the lack of escrow turned out to be "the thing" at one point. Speaking of which we are willing to accept bitcoin escrow at this point, but the orders are coming through the site and with url referrals from facebook and other networks.

Being able to engage with the whole world like this makes it all seem a lot smaller and more accessible, so I'm very glad to bring this project to market!

I apologize. Took is correct, I should not have used "scam" - maybe "rip-off" would have been more appropriate, my bad.

Points that I have noted in conversation with photonresearch directly:

1. The initial presentation seemed sketchy- Mike Caldwell himself was the first to post about it. Coincidence? I don't know.
2. Photonresearch is hiding his domain information, there is no valid business reasons for that, unless you are just stupid and want to pay your domain registrar free money.
3. Elianite, I know your real name - THis guy, he could be josh garza for all anyone knows? (Yeah I know he's probably not, but you get the point).
4. Bitcon only sales? No... I don't buy books with bitcoin, I'd rather use paypal or amazon like the "real world".

That's all I'm going to say on it. Hopefully a copy makes its way to auction and I will bid as well.

Cheers!

[photonresearch]

Edit - Just seems like a scam. If not, prove it with me.

Why does everyone on this forum think everything is a scam? Who would go to the effort of creating a 'fake' book, if the real thing can sell for $150?
One might question whether the book is worth $150, but surely it is not 'fake'.
Nobody would question this in the 'real world'..

Thank you Elianite its alright, every community has its nuances.

The Chinese bitcoin community found out about this project on its own for example and has a completely different standard of legitimacy, just like how here the lack of escrow turned out to be "the thing" at one point. Speaking of which we are willing to accept bitcoin escrow at this point, but the orders are coming through the site and with url referrals from facebook and other networks.

Being able to engage with the whole world like this makes it all seem a lot smaller and more accessible, so I'm very glad to bring this project to market!

I apologize. Took is correct, I should not have used "scam" - maybe "rip-off" would have been more appropriate, my bad.

Points that I have noted in conversation with photonresearch directly:

1. The initial presentation seemed sketchy- Mike Caldwell himself was the first to post about it. Coincidence? I don't know.
2. Photonresearch is hiding his domain information, there is no valid business reasons for that, unless you are just stupid and want to pay your domain registrar free money.
3. Elianite, I know your real name - THis guy, he could be josh garza for all anyone knows? (Yeah I know he's probably not, but you get the point).
4. Bitcon only sales? No... I don't buy books with bitcoin, I'd rather use paypal or amazon like the "real world".

That's all I'm going to say on it. Hopefully a copy makes its way to auction and I will bid as well.

Cheers!

If the litecoin community found out I was making bitcoin books I'd have bigger problems than getting spam to my company's PO Box from every SEO marketer  

Hyperbole but I think the point is clear

We also accept credit cards and alipay

[photonresearch]

Sorry but that doesn't trigger my confidence, hence why I'm also refraining from getting the book apart from the price.

Because understanding where ASICMiner was, where Activeminings incorporation documents were filed and who its managing member was... Same goes for Butterfly Labs, and KNC .... Did any of that actually help ensure customers would get anything?

But yes this is a registered entity, if something goes wrong any sleuth could find out any of that extra information in 5 minutes, let alone a regulator (but really, contact me if you don't get what you ordered or something) payment processors and our suppliers know who we are

For consumer confidence, and understanding which qualifiers have actual consequences, the only thing that matters is customer fulfillment, and we're actively moving forward with the project!

[photonresearch]

RAFFLE NEWS

We will be using the hashCode of the block 420,000 hash, to seed into a PRNG from a range of 1 - 5000, the owner of the order which contains that book wins the gold bar (in most cases 1 order = 1 book, but in the group buys blocks of books are sold in sequence)

It will use the toshi.io API to get the block hash, if block 420,000 is orphaned, we will use the block hash from the longest chain when consensus is re-established by the network

A system with the same architecture should be able to return the same resulting number between 1 and 5000, which would make this provably fair by the industry's standards

Let me know what you guys think, this is the opportunity to discuss alterations to the raffle format

[photonresearch]

RAFFLE NEWS

We will be using the hashCode of the block 420,000 hash, to seed into a PRNG from a range of 1 - 5000, the owner of the order which contains that book wins the gold bar (in most cases 1 order = 1 book, but in the group buys blocks of books are sold in sequence)

It will use the toshi.io API to get the block hash, if block 420,000 is orphaned, we will use the block hash from the longest chain when consensus is re-established by the network

A system with the same architecture should be able to return the same resulting number between 1 and 5000, which would make this provably fair by the industry's standards

Let me know what you guys think, this is the opportunity to discuss alterations to the raffle format

Will all ticket numbers (1-5000) be included even if associated book numbers have not been sold?
Will we be shown how many tickets are being entered into this raffle?

thanks

First to clarify: each book is one entry into the raffle, of which there are 5,000.

There is also an associated counterparty token, of which there are 5,000. We encountered limitations with our printer in our ambitious quest to bind these to the book physically. So this will be done with the cooperation of purchasers, a counterparty token sent to all their addresses. (and I would like that if an after market forms, subsequent purchasers get the token sent to them)

As such I can see that there won't be transparency on whether all 5,000 have been purchased, like if this was on Kickstarter or used a single bitcoin payment address

So the answer to your question is:
a) yes
b) yes, it is 5,000

What I can do is put a Google Doc up with 5,000 bitcoin addresses (each of which will have a counterparty token sent to it), beforehand, which allows for everyone to know their position in the raffle. If their position is the number generated at block 420,000, then they'll know they won. I have their physical address and we will reach out to them regarding delivery of the gold plated bar.

The address you designate for receipt of the counterparty token will be the one in the shared spreadsheet

[photonresearch]

R3 CEV buying

and the domain referrer stats are pretty interesting, people coming in from facebook and slack, decent click through rate

[Lincoln6Echo]

R3 CEV buying

and the domain referrer stats are pretty interesting, people coming in from facebook and slack, decent click through rate

Of course those R3 clowns are buying. The book mentions the word ''blockchain''.

An Exclusive Photo Book about one Block Explorer's quest to sync with the blockchain.

Baaam instant buy with 'murican Express Platinum.

Good thing: They will likley get the content of the book. Unlike what the innovation of an open blockchain is.

[monkeynuts]

https://blockchain.info/tx/403aaeccc1ac7b129f641ff0b77620adf51f6370f802b985e501e0e832d90b99

Couldnt stop myself.

Paying for the book rather than the chance of a bar. Expecting an unsold book number to have more chance at winning the raffle than all of the sold books.

Curious to know what then happens ? How will it be transparent that someone (legit) gets the bar. The winning book may never be sold .... the bar should be awarded no matter how many books are sold

[photonresearch]

R3 CEV buying

and the domain referrer stats are pretty interesting, people coming in from facebook and slack, decent click through rate

Of course those R3 clowns are buying. The book mentions the word ''blockchain''.

An Exclusive Photo Book about one Block Explorer's quest to sync with the blockchain.

Baaam instant buy with 'murican Express Platinum.

Good thing: They will likley get the content of the book. Unlike what the innovation of an open blockchain is.

hahaha its kind of a trojan horse in that regard, and I think they - and many others - will appreciate it, I consider it quite educational and way more interesting than watching a guy in a suit drone on at a finance conference.

The book uses some terms incorrectly and contains a glossary about the differences between the story and reality. The main idea was that it didn't come off as contrived like a lot of other "we want you to know about bitcoin" media, but I haven't had any reviews about that yet