Sheesh, these new people so anxious to make money they're willing to throw it into the gutter.
Things you need to know:
1) No mining equipment sold today is likely to make a "profit" - and by profit I mean the eq will be able to earn more BTC than you can buy with the upfront cost of the fiat. Everybody buying mining eq is gambling to mine more than they could buy
2) Never, ever send Paypal as a Gift unless you know where the person lives
3) Group buys are risky for both the organizer and the shareholders (I organized one before and it was a headache). Thankfully it failed because it was an Avalon B3 - a blessing in disguise.
Go to the marketplace section of the forums. Find somebody willing to sell BTC who will accept a well know escrow and buy it that way.
If you absolutely have to buy mining eq, at least spend 10-20 calculating how much it would earn over the next 3 months in a worst case scenario, multiply by current exchange rate and that should be the amount you should be spending. Most people selling eq are looking for suckers.
If you feel you must throw your money away, PM me. I need some $ to buy clothes for uninsured people at my hospital. We get a lot of transients admitted who don't have shoes or shirts at time of discharge.
Thanks for the advice. But I am not a simple newbie willing throw my money into the gutter, this is why I have posted here and joined in the first place.
I feel sorry for all the idiots on ebay buying mining equipment in most cases for more than what it was originally sold for. I also know that anything currently being sold on ebay will absolutely never return what is being paid for it.
For example, I have just seen a BFL 30GH/s Single on ebay that is currently sitting at £1200. I know if I had that much money to burn, I would have a better chance investing that money in a group buy that will net me a bigger share of hashing power that will most likely be 10 times more than the BFL Single.
I know paypal gift is risky and like you say, make sure I know the address. But how does bitcoin stack up, should I also ask for their address? Giving bitcoin is even easier than paypal and I dont see any security benefit by paying with bitcoin, as that could easily end the same way, the person receiving the money can do a runner and not give it back.
I'm not in this to make a massive profit, like anyone doing this, something would be nice and at best case scenario, get back what I put in. But I know there is more chance to make a profit in a group buy 1% share of a neptune for 30GH/s for £100, rather than spending £100 on mining equipment, which is equal to 2 USB Asic miners for 670MH/s.
I respect what bitcoin is representing and love that the fact that it is governed by a central agency. If like others have suggested, the best way to make money is to buy bitcoin at a low price and wait for an increase, then fine, but I want to be apart of the mining process and receive a share of something than be a purchaser of bitcoin and sell it when its high.
