ASICMiner USB group buy- orders closed, pay for extra!

[Bogart]

I'll take another 10 units, making 20 total for me.

[sgrunger]

SO THERE WE HAVE IT.

[arklan]

I'll take another 10 units, making 20 total for me.

and that is 299!!

SO THERE WE HAVE IT.

uh...

[Xian01]

I'll take another 10 units, making 20 total for me.

and that is 299!!

SO THERE WE HAVE IT.

uh...

 If you are one short, sign me up for 16 total units, and lets get this show on the road

[arklan]

I'll take another 10 units, making 20 total for me.

and that is 299!!

SO THERE WE HAVE IT.

uh...

 If you are one short, sign me up for 16 total units, and lets get this show on the road

AND DONE!

i'll contact john and friedcat and see if we can move this along any.

[Blockhead]

Don't leave me out.  I would like to order 1.

Blockhead.

[freeborn]

Any chance you can make the order for 306?   Id take 5.

[Derringer]

Mind if I try to hop on before this thing departs? I'll take 5 myself.

[arklan]

no problem boys. they said minimum 300. we're still taking orders.

we're up to 310!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjCZrDbAiz_PdE4tbDR3X3owMHNMb1NyekJGWHN4QlE&usp=sharing

[cchan]

Now it is more than 300.
When will the funds be collected and usb devices be shipped?
Time is very important. 

[arklan]

Now it is more than 300.
When will the funds be collected and usb devices be shipped?
Time is very important. 

i actually just asked this of friedcat. he said we're welcome to pay anytime, and that expected completion hasn't changed. according to the original announcement, "This is the first batch under production in quantity. Its lead-time is conservatively 15-20 days." which was may 4. so, completion (and therefore shipping, i assume) should occur during the week of may 20th.

what are group thoughts on shipping? insurance and tracking are obviously something i expect to include. but carrier? i presonally like UPS or USPS. i'm looking into what the cost would be per unit, based on a guess at weight. i'll get that posted here later.

once i confirm the earlier question regarding payment (which address and such) i'll send out the call for payment so we can be ready to have our miners shipped asap.

[ninjaboon]

Do you include free shipping to Malaysia ?

uh... while friedcat ships the whole 300 batch for free, i cannot afford to do so, even within my own country. hence the .05 btc shipping cost. as you can see from the spreadsheet, there are people in china and new zealand on the list, as well as one in london. i'll add you to the list if you REALLY want, but chances are shipping wouldn't be in your favor, and certainly not free.

I won't be ordering, thanks anyway.....

[twobits]

OK,

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket or anything.  I'm just trying to get it straight.

John gets 12 BTC for "assuming the risk of holding the escrowed Bitcoins".

   (Seems like a lot)

Especially since it really prevents none of the risk. I propose we skip this escrow.

Arklan gets 6 BTC (in kind) for assembling and posting something like 50 packages.

  (Seems like a hell of an hourly wage)

Funny things was the person who proposed this, proposed it to be given after the units got shipped.  I already posted how that fails.  Now it is even odder, that a payment that was supposed to be given after proof of shipping of the individual units, somehow is able to be used ahead of time to take the payment in units of the device?

There is a fee of .05 BTC each to cover shipping.

  (Seems low to me, but ...)

Again, nothing personal against anybody.

Yep...  and packaging.

Also, I am not sure anyone has mentioned the elephants in the room.   Firstly I am guessing there is going to be customs fees charged on these.   Those are going to need to be added in or the OP is going to take a loss on those.  Secondly, I am guessing these devices are not fcc certificated or anything else.    This gives us a risk of seizure.

Given that we still have these very real risks, I propose that we drop the meaningless escrow and the fees it adds, and have a plan to deal with the other contingencies in place as well.

[arklan]

i haven't the slightest clue how customs would treat this sort of thing coming in from china, nor how ASICMINER will label it. thus, planning the potential customs cost in is something haven't a clue how to do.

as to the reward part - you're right, it is wonky.

escrow - obviously my identity verification is already in john's hands, so, as you say, the point of the escrow may be ...less. but obviously, i'm not the one to call for dropping it. not my place. i leave it to you guys to discuss. if necessary i'll send out pm's asking for opinion on the subject.

hmm. maybe, since everyones built the escrow fee into their plan as is, if we decide to drop it, we leave the price where it's at in case of customs fees? then if any of that 2% remains i could send it back perhaps? the customs thing really throws a wrench in, since i don't know how to estimate the cost of it.

[fpgaminer]

Especially since it really prevents none of the risk. I propose we skip this escrow.

John is holding arklan's verified identity in escrow.  That has value if the fan muck spreads.  I couldn't guess as to how much John should be paid for that kind of service, but I think it is needed regardless.

[twobits]

Especially since it really prevents none of the risk. I propose we skip this escrow.

John is holding arklan's verified identity in escrow.  That has value if the fan muck spreads.  I couldn't guess as to how much John should be paid for that kind of service, but I think it is needed regardless.

He had already offered to give this out to those who asked.  It would be worth even more to me if I had it as well.  The escrow has zero value in ensuring us we get the item vs not having it, if the OP had the intent to not deliver.

[tvbcof]

John K has put a huge amount of effort into this forum and has demonstrated good judgement.  Also, he seems to have taken the job of cross-referencing the ~arklan seriously and done good work.  12 BTC is fine with me.  I'm paying for his reputation more than anything.

~arklan has been active and professional so far.  $700-ish for all this work and the shipping hassles and all that seem like, if anything, to little to me.  If ~arklan wishes to somehow discount bulk shipments for those who ordered multiple pieces, that seem fair.

I have no experience with a task like these guys are undertaking, but I bet it would be quite easy to under-estimate the amount of work.  Especially if they do a good job of dealing with the various things that will likely come up.

[Xian01]

I vote we keep with the current escrow plan, and use those funds to handle customs costs if necessary.

Lets get this order rolling !

[AForceNinja]

what are group thoughts on shipping? insurance and tracking are obviously something i expect to include. but carrier? i presonally like UPS or USPS. i'm looking into what the cost would be per unit, based on a guess at weight. i'll get that posted here later.

I would prefer USPS, as I live in a rural area in Canada, UPS would be difficult.

[arklan]

so i just did some price guessing for shipping - sending one 5 ounce package priority mail via the post office isn't even 3 dollars. where as UPS was more like 18. ...it's been a while since i've mailed a package... yeesh. postal service it is, unless someone has a very good reason as to why not. still insured, with tracking, of course.

also, does anyone have any ideas on estimating the potential customs charges? i tihkn it's dependant entirely on the declared value and what it's declared as, both things we can only guess. hmm. i'll ask the blade buyers.