Avoiding scams while buying mining equipment

[NotATether]

There are crypto scams everywhere, particularly on 1) Telegram and 2) when buying something, but what happens when you combine the two? It becomes a complete and total madhouse.

A Kaboomracks employee shares his tips on how to avoid getting scammed during this bull run. He seems to be a very smart guy, so I'm going to leave their website here for you to check  our their inventory of (resold) mining equipment: https://kaboomracks.com/

Without further ado, here is the executive summary.

First, make sure the other party is a real person or authorized representative of the entity.
Second, You obviously should only buy miners from companies with a track record of being honest.
Third, It is almost impossible to sue entities in the eastern part of Asia, particularly China. Relevant because many miners like Bitmain are based in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.
Fourth, Lower miner price = higher risk
Fifth, If you have a colleague or peer who might know about this seller, ask them for advice on if you should proceed with the transaction.
Last but not least is Hosting in the US is safer than hosting outside it.

My own addition to this would be: Avoid Telegram entirely and use a trusted platform like Bitcointalk for closing the deal.

The full, original post is here: https://stacker.news/items/493679

[bayu7adi]

Can't all transactions be done with escrow? Yes, maybe your suggestion seems stronger, because it refers to the Bitcointalk forum where there are many important and honest people there (marked by a good reputation)... I see that there are also many escrow service providers who are very fair and always carry out their duties well... I am sure that if buyers and sellers agree to the mechanism of using this third party for their transactions, this will certainly be safer and avoid fraud.

[MrSpasybo]

Can't all transactions be done with escrow? Yes, maybe your suggestion seems stronger, because it refers to the Bitcointalk forum where there are many important and honest people there (marked by a good reputation)... I see that there are also many escrow service providers who are very fair and always carry out their duties well... I am sure that if buyers and sellers agree to the mechanism of using this third party for their transactions, this will certainly be safer and avoid fraud.

Typically, BTC miners in Vietnam will directly purchase mining rigs from Bitmain and import them from China. For old rigs, they will search for and share information on social media and then go directly to check and purchase the rigs. Scams are rare because everyone knows each other and everyone wants to protect their reputation in this market. Cooperation will bring greater profits than deception!

BTC mining is a global market, but I don't think miners can easily buy or sell mining rigs through crypto forums, unless the seller and buyer are both active in the local forum and can connect with each other. In any case, a sales contract should be signed so that both parties have sufficient rights and responsibilities.

[philipma1957]

I used to do a lot of escrow on bitcointalk. tens of thousands of dollars at times.

escrow for miners on bitcointalk has slowed a lot.

and bitcointalk market place does not sell like they used to do.

[Stompix]

BTC mining is a global market, but I don't think miners can easily buy or sell mining rigs through crypto forums, unless the seller and buyer are both active in the local forum and can connect with each other. In any case, a sales contract should be signed so that both parties have sufficient rights and responsibilities.

it happened often in the old times, just as Phil said, thousands of gears were bought this way, we had group buys to manage MOQ, guys with a lot at stake and with pretty hefty sums, and most of them went well, unless it turned out that the manufacturer was the one with problems.

But the reasons why it died down is that small miners are kicked out of the game, small hobby farms are no longer profitable, while the hashrate increase the number of players is on a continuous decline, and big guys just deal directly with the manufacturers.

[philipma1957]

BTC mining is a global market, but I don't think miners can easily buy or sell mining rigs through crypto forums, unless the seller and buyer are both active in the local forum and can connect with each other. In any case, a sales contract should be signed so that both parties have sufficient rights and responsibilities.

it happened often in the old times, just as Phil said, thousands of gears were bought this way, we had group buys to manage MOQ, guys with a lot at stake and with pretty hefty sums, and most of them went well, unless it turned out that the manufacturer was the one with problems.

But the reasons why it died down is that small miners are kicked out of the game, small hobby farms are no longer profitable, while the hashrate increase the number of players is on a continuous decline, and big guys just deal directly with the manufacturers.

This covers a lot of why small miners with 5000 worth of gear simply don't exist like they used to.

Also if you use a host you are using a middle man.

Ie A guy with 4 cent power sells it to you at 6 or 7 cents.

I now have 4 units using 11kwatts vs my 65-85 units using 220k to 250k.

If you want fun mining  with a cheap piece of gear I can list 3 or 4 on bitcointalk.


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5504411.0  anyone can use this and it should be ready in October. I ordered this.


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5480799.0 I have two of these


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5460574.80. people like this one and one of them just hit a block. I do not own it.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5340015.2340 this one is pricey I have used him. I do not recommend due to price.


All of the above are honest sellers and do support their gear.

[Manna]

Can't all transactions be done with escrow? Yes, maybe your suggestion seems stronger, because it refers to the Bitcointalk forum where there are many important and honest people there (marked by a good reputation)... I see that there are also many escrow service providers who are very fair and always carry out their duties well... I am sure that if buyers and sellers agree to the mechanism of using this third party for their transactions, this will certainly be safer and avoid fraud.

Escrow services are commonly used to increase the security of transactions, especially on online platforms where it can be difficult to build trust between parties.  Escrow services act as a neutral third party that holds funds or assets until the transaction is completed.
 If both the buyer and the seller are satisfied with the terms and conditions of use of the escrow service, it can be an effective way to ensure the security of the transaction.

[MUGNIA]

Can't all transactions be done with escrow? Yes, maybe your suggestion seems stronger, because it refers to the Bitcointalk forum where there are many important and honest people there (marked by a good reputation)... I see that there are also many escrow service providers who are very fair and always carry out their duties well... I am sure that if buyers and sellers agree to the mechanism of using this third party for their transactions, this will certainly be safer and avoid fraud.

Escrow services are commonly used to increase the security of transactions, especially on online platforms where it can be difficult to build trust between parties.  Escrow services act as a neutral third party that holds funds or assets until the transaction is completed.
 If both the buyer and the seller are satisfied with the terms and conditions of use of the escrow service, it can be an effective way to ensure the security of the transaction.

Is every transaction done with escrow safe? I personally have never done this, sometimes my level of suspicion of every transaction outside the online buying and selling platform is high because I once made a transaction that said it used escrow after the payment disappeared without any clarity

[Findingnemo]

Can't all transactions be done with escrow? Yes, maybe your suggestion seems stronger, because it refers to the Bitcointalk forum where there are many important and honest people there (marked by a good reputation)... I see that there are also many escrow service providers who are very fair and always carry out their duties well... I am sure that if buyers and sellers agree to the mechanism of using this third party for their transactions, this will certainly be safer and avoid fraud.

Escrow services are commonly used to increase the security of transactions, especially on online platforms where it can be difficult to build trust between parties.  Escrow services act as a neutral third party that holds funds or assets until the transaction is completed.
 If both the buyer and the seller are satisfied with the terms and conditions of use of the escrow service, it can be an effective way to ensure the security of the transaction.

Is every transaction done with escrow safe? I personally have never done this, sometimes my level of suspicion of every transaction outside the online buying and selling platform is high because I once made a transaction that said it used escrow after the payment disappeared without any clarity

Escrow is someone who you can trust your money with like a trusted middle men between buyer and seller, obviously some turned into scammers but not all, still there are worthy individuals can be trusted with hundreds of thousands dollars from Bitcointalk but I would suggest that if the amount involved is big then payment should be done after the contract done so there will be no fool play.

[bhadz]

Escrow is someone who you can trust your money with like a trusted middle men between buyer and seller, obviously some turned into scammers but not all, still there are worthy individuals can be trusted with hundreds of thousands dollars from Bitcointalk but I would suggest that if the amount involved is big then payment should be done after the contract done so there will be no fool play.

I agree, in bitcointalk there are reputable escrows that are still on track and don't wan to put any tarnish to their names and reputation. It's hard to find escrows like them in other platforms. Also, many of them are also in here now so it's going to  be easy to contact them but the key here is to be vigilant and always verify that you're talking to the genuine user. Or else, just purchase directly from the manufacturer but at most times, they're sold out.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

       -      I think it's pointless to wish and pray for these scammers and hackers to disappear because it's part of human life that there are good and bad. All we really need to do is be aware and smart about what exploitative people do.

Because if we are aware and know the styles of exploitative scammers and hackers, they will for sure not make us victims of their evil plans
for the people they will victimize.

[Mia Chloe]

I think it's pointless to wish and pray for these scammers and hackers to disappear because it's part of human life that there are good and bad. All we really need to do is be aware and smart about what exploitative people do.

Actually I think the ease of being able to get mining wares depends on your locality and region in some regions it's easier to get mining wares compared to some other regions and countries. And the problem is places where it is difficult to get you tend to find them at a far higher price than normal.

In some cases where you even find them cheap probably on platforms like eBay you find out that the shipping fee in the end still makes it feel like it's not a fair price.

[philipma1957]

BTC mining is a global market, but I don't think miners can easily buy or sell mining rigs through crypto forums, unless the seller and buyer are both active in the local forum and can connect with each other. In any case, a sales contract should be signed so that both parties have sufficient rights and responsibilities.

it happened often in the old times, just as Phil said, thousands of gears were bought this way, we had group buys to manage MOQ, guys with a lot at stake and with pretty hefty sums, and most of them went well, unless it turned out that the manufacturer was the one with problems.

But the reasons why it died down is that small miners are kicked out of the game, small hobby farms are no longer profitable, while the hashrate increase the number of players is on a continuous decline, and big guys just deal directly with the manufacturers.

This covers a lot of why small miners with 5000 worth of gear simply don't exist like they used to.

Also if you use a host you are using a middle man.

Ie A guy with 4 cent power sells it to you at 6 or 7 cents.

I now have 4 units using 11kwatts vs my 65-85 units using 220k to 250k.

If you want fun mining  with a cheap piece of gear I can list 3 or 4 on bitcointalk.


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5504411.0  anyone can use this and it should be ready in October. I ordered this.


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5480799.0 I have two of these


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5460574.80. people like this one and one of them just hit a block. I do not own it.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5340015.2340 this one is pricey I have used him. I do not recommend due to price.


All of the above are honest sellers and do support their gear.

an update

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5460574.80.



i purchased this one and did a review on bitcointalk.


https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5515758.0


it was bad but replaced and now the replacement works fine

also I sell some gear on ebay under philipma1957

i do 30 day returns on the gear i sell on ebay

[bitcoin-shark]

If the graphics cards are not bought from official stores with a good reputation but are bought from private individuals or even used, the scam risk is very high, no one can say that they have not been used for a long time for intensive mining, i.e. overclocked, and that therefore they are useless, at the end of their life.

[philipma1957]

If the graphics cards are not bought from official stores with a good reputation but are bought from private individuals or even used, the scam risk is very high, no one can say that they have not been used for a long time for intensive mining, i.e. overclocked, and that therefore they are useless, at the end of their life.

Common sense rules on gpu buys.

When I sell a used gpu on ebay and give a no questions asked 30 day return policy when I pay the return shipping and I m have been selling on ebay for 22 years with 2000 plus ratings and no negatives your risk is pretty much zero.

Most ebay sellers don't give returns on used gear no questions asked . I DO.


https://feedback.ebay.com/fdbk/feedback_profile/philipma1957


My feedback is really really really good.

If buy on ebay there are about 20 good gpu sellers. Really good that will sell you a good gpu.