Is Blokforge still legit?

[ccgllc]

Ordered (2) S19Pros from them back on September 5th.  Estimated shipping was 2 to 14 days, as it is today on their website.  Apparently they are "backordered", with no known actual delivery day per an online chat I had with them awhile ago.  I rather presumed they were in stock since out-of-stock items are marked that way on their website.  I've tried submitting a ticket asking about status yesterday.  It was on their ticket site for a bit, then simply removed with no response.  I tried again today, and even though I received a confirmation e-mail, its not showing on their site.

Its been a few years since I ordered something like 50 Avalon 841s from them.  They were excellent to work with back then, but the lack of response to my tickets, and having tickets disappear, is raising concerns for me.  I could buy a decent car for what these two miners cost - starting to freak out a bit (but also needing to start replacing my 100odd S9s).

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[NotFuzzyWarm]

They should still be fine. After all these years of being a very good company I can't see them kicking their reputation to the curb. My guess is that the kerfuffle in China over all aspects of the crypto business has made delivery dates a real cluster F. Toss in Autumn festivals and shipping problems to really screw things even more.

The last few orders I did with them were also 'in-stock' though they shipped from HK so I take it in-stock does not mean 'in the BF warehouse' but rather the mfgr has them ready to ship.

[ccgllc]

Thanks.  I got an e-mail from them this morning.  Their ticket system (https://support.ksportusa.com/tickets/) still does not show anything, although I got the confirmation e-mail from there.

Apparently DHL and Fed-Ex are part of the problem, with weight limits on what they are shipping.  Still... a claim of 2-14 days should be 2-14 days, not a month.

[fccs]

You can just call them as well.  They are legit and honest.  If your item is delayed it's 99% chance not their fault and has to do with shipping issues unrelated.  I would just give them a ring when they open and talk on the phone.

[ccgllc]

Its been a month now.  I've swapped a number of e-mails, many with a "please reply so we can solve this today" that I don't get an answer to when I reply.  Seems like I get a different support person and have to explain things all over.  Very frustrated.  I've tried their ticket system, and my tickets disappear - although they tell me they are there.

Their posted number is 1-888-55-crypto, which is one digit too many.  I've asked for a real phone number via chat and e-mail and haven't gotten one.  Chat has been working about 20% of the time, mostly my inquiries remain unanswered.

They have also talked about refunding me in cash, when I would require bitcoin (for tax purposes - if I get bitcoin back, it was never spent - cash would count as income).  Also a pisser that I ordered at $47K BTC and its now $55K, so I would not be able to buy back as much bitcoin as I sent even if I tried.  It was a $31K order, so not a trivial difference.

[philipma1957]

Its been a month now.  I've swapped a number of e-mails, many with a "please reply so we can solve this today" that I don't get an answer to when I reply.  Seems like I get a different support person and have to explain things all over.  Very frustrated.  I've tried their ticket system, and my tickets disappear - although they tell me they are there.

Their posted number is 1-888-55-crypto, which is one digit too many.  I've asked for a real phone number via chat and e-mail and haven't gotten one.  Chat has been working about 20% of the time, mostly my inquiries remain unanswered.

They have also talked about refunding me in cash, when I would require bitcoin (for tax purposes - if I get bitcoin back, it was never spent - cash would count as income).  Also a pisser that I ordered at $47K BTC and its now $55K, so I would not be able to buy back as much bitcoin as I sent even if I tried.  It was a $31K order, so not a trivial difference.

wow blokforge is a fail for you. I would have never thought I would see the day.

Take the cash as it is better then a full loss.


Don’t feel too bad. If you get the cash 💵 It is not terrible.

Now I await

50k in gear direct from bitmain
 6.5k in gear from provantage

all delayed.

and 4k from minfarmbuy - on time
and 1.8 from ebay - on time
and 2k from minerdude -on time.


So till I get that 63k worth of gear up and running I am nervous.

[ccgllc]

I've bought at least 50 machines from Blokforge in the ancient past (e.g. circa 2018).  Back then their support was excellent.  Alas, not so now.

I did find a real phone number for them and will call tomorrow (Monday).  I'm going to argue they should credit me the BTC I sent, not the cash value of that BTC a month ago, since they never shipped anything to me.   Guess I'll go for the S19j Pro's... they claim to have those in stock in the USA.

[kano]

...
I'm going to argue they should credit me the BTC I sent, not the cash value of that BTC a month ago, since they never shipped anything to me.
...

And if the BTC price had dropped would you have argued the same thing?

They also charged you based on $ that was then converted to BTC at the time of payment, like most places.

If you want something extra back from them, try pointing out that you paid them and they kept your money and shipped nothing.
If they're not complete trash they might offer something extra?

[ccgllc]

...
I'm going to argue they should credit me the BTC I sent, not the cash value of that BTC a month ago, since they never shipped anything to me.
...

And if the BTC price had dropped would you have argued the same thing?

They also charged you based on $ that was then converted to BTC at the time of payment, like most places.

If you want something extra back from them, try pointing out that you paid them and they kept your money and shipped nothing.
If they're not complete trash they might offer something extra?

Actually yes.  I've mostly in BTC for equipment for tax reasons (keeps the books cleaner).  All cash received gets declared, so a refund would require taxes be paid on it.

[ccgllc]

"Due to higher than expected call volume, please either e-mail us or submit a ticket".  (more-or-less)

I know its rare these days not to get that, or something similar, on all support calls - but its frustrating all the same.

Couple of hours later... same thing.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

The only thing that I can think of regarding S19's ordered from Blokforge is this from the speculation thread. Looking like BM is not surprisingly running behind schedule...

[ccgllc]

Tried about 5 times today, no answer on the phone nor on their "online chat", although I just 4 hours later) saw someone officially join the chat.

It is Columbus day here in the USA.  That normally means banks and courts are closed and no paper mail, but few companies take it off.  Still... Maybe.

I'll monitor the chat window for a few more hours and try the phone again tomorrow.

(and its now "tomorrow")

12 hours after I initiated a chat, someone responded (I was no longer there).  They echoed my concern and that was about it.  Phone is rolling to voice again this morning (and is still rolling instantly a few hours later).

Update:  Phone has been rolling to voice mail on the first ring all day (tried 3 times).  I sent a ticket it today - in the past few weeks its taken a week+ to get a response, and except for one, they have been on the order of "I don't know, let me check with my boss" (and I never hear back), but we will see.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Along those lines, in the Kanopool Discord room, Wavelengths has noted that his s19 ordered through Compass mining over a month ago and due to be online by Oct. 30 has also not yet started to leave China and is 'Pending'.

Bet a lot of Bitmain resellers are in the same boat and are shitting bricks...

[ccgllc]

Well... I finally heard back from them.  They are short staffed (should not be my problem), and because of the associated delays, the $10,250 S19J Pro's that I agreed to substitute are now $12,000.  Shipping in a week or so...  They offered me a $200 discount, so the price rise would ONLY be $1,550 a unit, instead of $1750 a unit (over 15%).  The BTC I sent them 6 weeks ago which would have covered (3) of the S19J Pros is now insufficient to cover their new higher price, even though that same BTC is now worth $38,400 - more than enough to cover (3) at their current price.

Bottom line:  Don't trust them on delivery times, if you trust them at all.  Send a wire, not BTC, so that fluctuating prices don't screw you.  I suspect they are going to refund me the cash value when I sent the BTC, $31,286.  If I converted that back to BTC, I'll have lost 0.12 BTC, about $7400, by trusting them.

I've given them two options:  Send me (3) of the S19j Pros, for which my original BTC deposit would have covered under several scenarios (like they actually answered their phone or responded to tickets within days not weeks), or send me back my original BTC.

Presuming they do neither, does anyone know if I have any legal recourse to recover my loss?

[ccgllc]

Hi, ccgllc, I sent you an email about this case. Wish you good luck

Morris, ICI morris@ici-cn.com +86 13901209254

Received.  Thank you for the very professional e-mail.  Perhaps you would be kind enough to share your findings here?  Suspect others would be interested, but it is your information to share, not mine.

Now at the end of November for "2-14 day shipping" of items ordered on September 5th.  Orders are still marked "Backordered".  I have reached out to a USA based consumer protection agency for help.

[ConnerM]

Now at the end of November for "2-14 day shipping" of items ordered on September 5th.  Orders are still marked "Backordered".  I have reached out to a USA based consumer protection agency for help.

We are also having a bit of an issue with Blokforge.

We had ordered a few additional S19's for the farm that were 'in stock' over the course of Aug and Sept, a couple at a time, and BF shipped within a few days of each wire transaction. The last shipment came late Sept and was fine. On Oct 20th we had an older machine fail, and I ordered an S19 to replace it, wired funds, and receipt was confirmed on Oct 21st. Since then we have heard nothing. Machine showed in stock, still shows in stock. 4 inquiries now have gone unanswered. I suppose I'm glad it was just 1 machine, and not say 10, or 50, but it bothers me that they are holding $12,400 in our funds and no contact going on 3 weeks now.

One begins to wonder what's going on over there. Are they just short staffed and super busy?

[ccgllc]

Now at the end of November for "2-14 day shipping" of items ordered on September 5th.  Orders are still marked "Backordered".  I have reached out to a USA based consumer protection agency for help.

We are also having a bit of an issue with Blokforge.

We had ordered a few additional S19's for the farm that were 'in stock' over the course of Aug and Sept, a couple at a time, and BF shipped within a few days of each wire transaction. The last shipment came late Sept and was fine. On Oct 20th we had an older machine fail, and I ordered an S19 to replace it, wired funds, and receipt was confirmed on Oct 21st. Since then we have heard nothing. Machine showed in stock, still shows in stock. 4 inquiries now have gone unanswered. I suppose I'm glad it was just 1 machine, and not say 10, or 50, but it bothers me that they are holding $12,400 in our funds and no contact going on 3 weeks now.

One begins to wonder what's going on over there. Are they just short staffed and super busy?

They have admitted to me they are short staffed... but still... business should be first-come, first-serve so that we eventually get attention.

[morris.hagen.ici]

Hi, ccgllc, I sent you an email about this case. Wish you good luck

Morris, ICI morris@ici-cn.com +86 13901209254

Received.  Thank you for the very professional e-mail.  Perhaps you would be kind enough to share your findings here?  Suspect others would be interested, but it is your information to share, not mine.

Now at the end of November for "2-14 day shipping" of items ordered on September 5th.  Orders are still marked "Backordered".  I have reached out to a USA based consumer protection agency for help.

Mr. ccgllc, glad that it is useful to you. The info was only for your purpose. Since you think it's OK, pls feel free to share the info here or with other friends, no issue from us.

Wish you good luck!

[ccgllc]

Mr. ccgllc, glad that it is useful to you. The info was only for your purpose. Since you think it's OK, pls feel free to share the info here or with other friends, no issue from us.

Wish you good luck!

I'll summarize:

Blokforge co-Founders Mr. Thomas Fieckl and Mr. Stefan Warecka left during the 1st half of 2021 and formed a new company "Kagis" based out of Vienna, Austria.  What was once a Blokforge office in Austria is no longer associated with Blokforge.  So they have had some shakeups and loss of contacts/resources/relationships.

Per the email:

Mr. Flecki can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-fleckl-95940bb6/
Mr. Warecka is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/techmagnet/

Looking at those links, both are associated with cryptouniverse which I think was the Blokforge equivalent serving the European market.  If its the same company I'm thinking about, they shutdown back when BTC was having its last dip.  Just wasn't aware that Blokforge (Mesa, Arizona, USA based) was tied in with them, which is implied by the letter.

What truly saddens me is that this entire event could have been solved with reasonable customer support (say, 2-3 day responses) and would have been non-existent with 24 hour responses (presuming previous levels of transparency, not lies like "its another week or two out" (back in September).

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Um, Blokforge bought Cryptouniverse last June. Link about it is at the bottom of their home page. https://blokforge.com/2021/06/02/blokforge-acquires-cryptouniverse-to-expand-distribution/