DO NOT JOIN ANY GROUP BUY !! Beware Don't Join any Group Buy!!

[chalidore]

I have had several positive group buy experiences getting block erupters.
I wish BFL shipped as fast as Canary and Friedcat.

[nowywbitcoinowymswiecie]

Ive been robbed (and many other ppl) by "vdragon" during GB so I agree - be cautious buyers. Use escorow, known sellers and try to get proof of identity before make BTC transfer. Thats my 2C

[HellDiverUK]

Ive been robbed (and many other ppl) by "vdragon" during GB so I agree - be cautious buyers. Use escorow, known sellers and try to get proof of identity before make BTC transfer. Thats my 2C

So was I, but I've participated in a GB since with positive results.  The vdragon one, on hindsight, was an obvious scam from day one.  No-one picked it up.    Thankfully I only lost about BTC1.7.

[demzie]

Avalon Chips are 2 Months Late ?? hahahaha strong dope?

[Swimmer63]

They Will Not Deliver
They Will Not Deliver on Time
You may only get your product 3 to 4 months later
Avalon Chips are 2 Months Late
Bitfury Chip will be late
Buttertfly Chips will be very late !!

So Please Stay Clear of Group Buy.

Yada, Yada, Yada.   And we should believe you because.....?  Because you are eve and just recently joined the forum?

[forevernoob]

Ive been robbed (and many other ppl) by "vdragon" during GB so I agree - be cautious buyers. Use escorow, known sellers and try to get proof of identity before make BTC transfer. Thats my 2C

So was I, but I've participated in a GB since with positive results.  The vdragon one, on hindsight, was an obvious scam from day one.  No-one picked it up.    Thankfully I only lost about BTC1.7.

This "vdragon" guy? Was he considered "trusted"? Can you link his thread?

I find it interesting that most of the group buys don't offer escrow. I see people sending over 10BTC to random community members without blinking.
I would like to know how people think. What makes you trust a member etc..

[HellDiverUK]

vdragon had been about a while, but turns out the account had either been sold or stolen. 

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252180.0
...then...
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=262566.0

[forevernoob]

vdragon had been about a while, but turns out the account had either been sold or stolen. 

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252180.0
...then...
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=262566.0

Makes me sad to read this. Seemed like an "honest" guy.

I always try to find group buys where the OP actual gives proof of identity. Like showing ID for JohnK etc.
Still I guess the only way to be sure is to use escrow. I don't get why so few GB's have escrow option?

Maybe the reason is that this would be impossible when selling shares of larger miners, no?
I mean if you look at stock exchanges like: btct.co they cannot guarantee that you won't get scammed.
It's the nature of bitcoin I think, when you have no regulations or central authority there will always be scammers.

[CoinHoarder]

vdragon had been about a while, but turns out the account had either been sold or stolen. 

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252180.0
...then...
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=262566.0

Makes me sad to read this. Seemed like an "honest" guy.

I always try to find group buys where the OP actual gives proof of identity. Like showing ID for JohnK etc.
Still I guess the only way to be sure is to use escrow. I don't get why so few GB's have escrow option?

Maybe the reason is that this would be impossible when selling shares of larger miners, no?
I mean if you look at stock exchanges like: btct.co they cannot guarantee that you won't get scammed.
It's the nature of bitcoin I think, when you have no regulations or central authority there will always be scammers.

My reason for not using escrow is simply because I don't want to pay a fee, and I feel like I've done enough business on these forums where 99% of the people here trust me and know I have good intentions. My identity is known by more than 10 forum members, so you would have no problem tracking me down if shit hit the fan.

Also, I like to order hardware ASAP as soon as I receive funds so that we can go ahead and get our place in line. Escrow only delays this.

I'm not surprised that vdragon GB was a scam btw. I remember seeing this and thinking it was really fishy that he himself had "ordered" 727 Block Erupters for himself. Any serious miner (not a hobby) is not going to even want Block Erupters, much less 700+ of them (unless they are reselling them like I did for a couple rounds  .)

[eve]

vdragon had been about a while, but turns out the account had either been sold or stolen. 

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=252180.0
...then...
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=262566.0

Makes me sad to read this. Seemed like an "honest" guy.

I always try to find group buys where the OP actual gives proof of identity. Like showing ID for JohnK etc.
Still I guess the only way to be sure is to use escrow. I don't get why so few GB's have escrow option?

Maybe the reason is that this would be impossible when selling shares of larger miners, no?
I mean if you look at stock exchanges like: btct.co they cannot guarantee that you won't get scammed.
It's the nature of bitcoin I think, when you have no regulations or central authority there will always be scammers.

My reason for not using escrow is simply because I don't want to pay a fee, and I feel like I've done enough business on these forums where 99% of the people here trust me and know I have good intentions. My identity is known by more than 10 forum members, so you would have no problem tracking me down if shit hit the fan.

Also, I like to order hardware ASAP as soon as I receive funds so that we can go ahead and get our place in line. Escrow only delays this.

I'm not surprised that vdragon GB was a scam btw. I remember seeing this and thinking it was really fishy that he himself had "ordered" 727 Block Erupters for himself. Any serious miner (not a hobby) is not going to even want Block Erupters, much less 700+ of them (unless they are reselling them like I did for a couple rounds  .)

You can get your buyers to pay for the escrow fees or u mark up and take in the escrow fees. Any way please don't join any group buy. No more group buy.

[davewr2013]

Eve had a point...
http://www.avalon-asics.com/

Batch three have completely left our hands, may DHL be swift in their deliveries. The refunds will shortly follow, this is the same for any tradein orders ( ran into issues such as some people were receiving their address to pay while other are not). we understand we are very late in this department of processing any customer support related issue, we will not be making any excuses, but this is literally the only thing left on our plate now. In the future we hope to eliminate this problem by selling only in stock products that will ship in under 3 days.
On the horizon are two new product designs, we are fairly happy with the batch 3 design, which will conclude as the Avalon Version 1 final design. In addition we will have a new 2 module unit coming to market and a 2U 17inch deep server blade slated as Avalon Version 2.
Chips
While we have send out some chip orders, there is currently ~200k chips stuck in custom right at this moment for about 2 weeks now, this matter is very painful for us and our customers. As majority of the chip orders ( 70% ) totaling ~800k is made between early and mid-may resulting in a tight time frame to work with. We do have more chips coming in via different route next week which will ease this a little bit. (you can take this as chips will resume shipping by end of next week for now.)
We will take this time to fulfill a promise to announce the next generation chip 2 month ahead of schedule so potential buyers can make a decision. Soon we will be disabling the pre-order of Avalon Gen1 chips and only sell the remaining stock as we phase out old technology for a new 55nm, which goes on sale for immediate delivery at mid October 2013. This 55nm will retain the same physical dimension as the 110nm Gen1, only few pads were changed so getting them up and running requires very little change to existing design.
In addition, there is 2 more chip designs in the pipeline, we have decided to proceed developing Gen3 and Gen4 in parallel due to the long R&D time of low processor nodes, both of these will be a Full Custom ASIC design.

Ah well -- so much for the group buys...

[strideynet]

EVE why do you need to spread FUD. Have you been ripped off? Report it then! They may be late but they are cheaper. Explain your reasons better rather in full caps.
TL;DR NO NEED TO CAPS IT
burn irony burn

[ssinc]

I'm pretty sure this isn't a "Group Buy"....  Where are the mods?

[jungle_dave]

This is stupid,
Regardless of what you invest your money in you should use common sense.

1) ask questions and get proof of the persons identity.
2) if it looks too good to be true, it is.
3) No time to think or check then, no time to buy.

If the OP gets offended by questions regarding his/her proof or lack of legitimacy a red flag should go up.
"Can you prove you are who you say you are is not a rude question"
My last piece of advice is hedge your bets, even well intended GB's can go wrong for unforeseen circumstances.

Happy mining

ps

Eve, STFU

[superresistant]

I can haz some of dem Drugs, youz taking ?

can i hz too ??

[ssinc]

[eve]

Don't Join Any Group Buy. Beware and Stay Away. The promoters don't give a shit if your orders has problems. They will Hide inside their Caves and pretend to not know anything.

[HellDiverUK]

Do their caves have internet, the same as yours?  Or are you under a bridge? 

[eve]

Do their caves have internet, the same as yours?  Or are you under a bridge? 

Yes, we have our internet inside our caves.

Stay Away and Stay Clear of Group Buys and Pre Orders. The promoters only wants to make money out of you.

[millsdmb]

DONT GET BFL'D!!!!