Newest update -
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2474532.msg42630173#msg42630173I have 2Pac factory seconds available again, at $16. Laura's also back in treatment so she'll be getting $10 of every sale and the rest is basically the value of usable parts were I to strip them and recycle the rest. Not even looking to recover cost on these, just utility and donation.
So probably a lot of you are familiar by now with my
2Pac USB stick miner.
I closed general sales in June because I was finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with both communication and manufacture. Bulk sales are still accepted and resellers are taking a whole lot of the load off my back. Between that and improved infrastructure, the weekly output of 2Pacs from my "factory" has more than doubled.
For anyone wondering, non-bulk "individual" sales accounted for roughly 15% of early-batch sales, while communication for individual sales (plus aborted order requests) accounted for roughly 95% of communication. So by offloading those sales to resellers, my overall sales volume was basically unchanged but I was able to reduce my "wading through emails" time down to a fraction of the total.
So some of you guys also noticed that in the past I've sold "factory seconds" 2Pacs. A stock stick has to pass bench testing before final assembly and then a two-step test at no higher than 1.26V before shipping; a "seconds" stick will have failed testing (due to HW errors and/or instability) at stock voltage but will have passed at no higher than 1.40V on the dial. This reduces the baseline efficiency and overclockability but, as far as I can tell, they're still fully functional.
I started selling them in part because I had a lot stacking up - earlier batches of chips weren't as good as what I'm using now so I had up to 10% failures, most of which became seconds. The numbers are better now, but they still stack up, and I like at least getting some of the parts cost back. The other and more significant reason is, all profits from the sale of 2Pac seconds goes to
a particular GoFundMe account.
The beneficiary (Laura) is a friend I've known for going on 12 years who's been going through some rough times and is in treatment for an eating disorder. Which ain't cheap, even with insurance. Inpatient treatment kinda keeps you from having a job, and her folks are both teachers (don't even get me started on how undervalued educators are these days) so the whole family could use some help.
So, I'm going to use this thread as a central gathering place for all the as-of-yet scattered and varied information about 2Pac Seconds sales.
I sell them for more than, but not less than, $32 $16 apiece plus shipping. I say "more than" because anything extra you pay will go straight to the fund. Any
$32 $16 sale automatically puts $10 in donation, but you're more than welcome to add more to it if you want.
In order to help her out even more, Laura will be taking on the job of "sales rep" and handling customer communication for small orders. We're going to start off with 2Pac Seconds as something simple to iron out the kinks. So instead of contacting me for purchasing, you'll contact her. Which is probably good because she's a lot nicer than I am.
I take PayPal and BTC. Shipping is $10 for any order within the US. Know before you buy that you are buying something DISCOUNTED and NOT AS GOOD AS STOCK and with LIMITED SUPPORT. Supply is limited.
To place an order: Email to sales at GekkoScience.com:
0) that you specifically want 2Pac Seconds
1) desired quantity
2) expected payment amount (don't forget to add shipping)
3) preferred payment method (BTC or PayPal)
4) shipping address
Also, I have Rohs-compliant sticks but they're all bitshopper-branded and marked with his WEEE registration so I can't really sell them to other people. Bitshopper's okay with them being put in general circulation as seconds outside Europe but not within Europe because he could get in trouble with WEEE reporting. Which means I can't sell seconds sticks in Europe without breaking some rule or other.
2Pac Seconds sales to date have donated: well over $6215
