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Topic: 1GH/s, 20w, $500 — Butterflylabs, is it a scam? - page 60. (Read 123107 times)

full member
Activity: 126
Merit: 100
 Has anyone tried calling this 'company' or doing some due diligence in Kansas City(county) to see if that part of them is atleast real?
Smarts ideas - pick up a (gasp!) phone

  you mean I'd have to remove my fat, greasy fingers from the keyboard?!?!?!  Blasphemy!   Grin
Nice  Grin
full member
Activity: 168
Merit: 100
I can't believe that someone purchased one of these without speaking to someone at the company. The site is such an obvious scam. It is offering technology that even the global masters in chip design have not been able to produce yet... and all produced from a leased inner city apartment.

I mean, come on, seriously?



no worries, they take paypal bro.
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
I can't believe that someone purchased one of these without speaking to someone at the company. The site is such an obvious scam. It is offering technology that even the global masters in chip design have not been able to produce yet... and all produced from a leased inner city apartment.

I mean, come on, seriously?

full member
Activity: 168
Merit: 100
I am just telling you it isn't that simple. 

1) No cc has 180 day chargeback period.  Almost universally it is 60 days from your bill.  There may be some exceptions but they would be exception not the rule.

2) Your chargeback is against Paypal.  If they complied with all terms of service you have no grounds to change back.  Paypal will contest the chargeback and submit a copy of user agreement that you accepted indicating it if you that is in violation of the agreement.  Remember Paypal isn't the merchant.  You can't dispute the transaction w/ merchant through credit card company because your credit card didn't pay the merchant they paid Paypal.

3) Paypal user agreement states you won't chageback transactions and will submit to binding arbitration for any disputes.  It also gives Paypal the right to consider any chargeback to be a deliquent debt and they will come after any linked bank account for the balance and/or sell debt to collection agencies, and file it on credit reports.

So saying "just charge it back" is naive.  Chargeback should be a last resort.  A good idea is to not buy something you suspect might be scam.  A better idea is to NEVER use Paypal.  Even buying this scam product w/ credit card directly is better than using Paypal as you have more protection.

I dont feel bad for suckers. Afterall, the scam will work even if they only take bitcoin as payment.
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
 Has anyone tried calling this 'company' or doing some due diligence in Kansas City(county) to see if that part of them is atleast real?
Smarts ideas - pick up a (gasp!) phone

  you mean I'd have to remove my fat, greasy fingers from the keyboard?!?!?!  Blasphemy!   Grin
full member
Activity: 126
Merit: 100
 Has anyone tried calling this 'company' or doing some due diligence in Kansas City(county) to see if that part of them is atleast real?
Smarts ideas - pick up a (gasp!) phone
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
I am just telling you it isn't that simple. 

1) No cc has 180 day chargeback period.  Almost universally it is 60 days from your bill.  There may be some exceptions but they would be exception not the rule.

2) Your chargeback is against Paypal.  If they complied with all terms of service you have no grounds to change back.  Paypal will contest the chargeback and submit a copy of user agreement that you accepted indicating it if you that is in violation of the agreement.  Remember Paypal isn't the merchant.  You can't dispute the transaction w/ merchant through credit card company because your credit card didn't pay the merchant they paid Paypal.

3) Paypal user agreement states you won't chageback transactions and will submit to binding arbitration for any disputes.  It also gives Paypal the right to consider any chargeback to be a deliquent debt and they will come after any linked bank account for the balance and/or sell debt to collection agencies, and file it on credit reports.

So saying "just charge it back" is naive.  Chargeback should be a last resort.  A good idea is to not buy something you suspect might be scam.  A better idea is to NEVER use Paypal.  Even buying this scam product w/ credit card directly is better than using Paypal as you have more protection.
sr. member
Activity: 448
Merit: 250
I think it's rather ironic that people are discussing the benefits of being able to issue a chargeback against a merchant, on a bitcoin forum.  One of bitcoin's much touted features is the impossibility of chargebacks from customers who have been ripped off. 

Imagine if Butterfly Labs required payment in bitcoins.  No one would ever touch it.

IF I thought they were legit I would .... with escrow.

Personally I am so convinced that it is scam that I don't find chargeback reassuring.  Trust me it isn't foolproof.

Company says 60 days ETA for shipping.  They collect bunch of orders, collect the money (which clears from paypal within 7 days), close bank account shutdown website.  60 days later people try to chargeback and Paypal shows you the fine print where the 45 day window has elapsed.

So you then dispute the charge with your credit card company or your bank, whichever your paypal transaction drew from. Their limits are much longer, on the order of 180 days if not more. This is why tradehill/dwolla was getting screwed, and why no one accepts credit cards for btc.
donator
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1079
Gerald Davis
I think it's rather ironic that people are discussing the benefits of being able to issue a chargeback against a merchant, on a bitcoin forum.  One of bitcoin's much touted features is the impossibility of chargebacks from customers who have been ripped off. 

Imagine if Butterfly Labs required payment in bitcoins.  No one would ever touch it.

IF I thought they were legit I would .... with escrow.

Personally I am so convinced that it is scam that I don't find chargeback reassuring.  Trust me it isn't foolproof.

Company says 60 days ETA for shipping.  They collect bunch of orders, collect the money (which clears from paypal within 7 days), close bank account shutdown website.  60 days later people try to chargeback and Paypal shows you the fine print where the 45 day window has elapsed.
hero member
Activity: 633
Merit: 500
I see we haven't had the capitulation event yet.  Guess I'll stay in cash on MtGox for now.
member
Activity: 118
Merit: 10
BTCServ Operator
+1 for scam.

makes no sense at all to offer such a fine piece for such a price

but gotta admit, the website is well done
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
 Warning; TinFoil Hat Zone Ahead

This isn't a realistic threat.  No sane hardware miner would have any transaction visibility or any communication with the outside of taking block headers in and out.



  Thats only true of the hardware aspect of such a miner. The software(backdoor) side could essentially do whatever the hell they coded it to do......
staff
Activity: 4242
Merit: 8672
 Warning; TinFoil Hat Zone Ahead

This isn't a realistic threat.  No sane hardware miner would have any transaction visibility or any communication with the outside of taking block headers in and out.
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
  Has anyone tried calling this 'company' or doing some due diligence in Kansas City(county) to see if that part of them is atleast real?



  Warning; TinFoil Hat Zone Ahead

  It is also possible that it is completely real, and completly designed under contract of NIST/DoD with a nice lil backdoor built in so they can 'control' the network either thru direct monitoring of IPs(transactions) or through direct attacks thru double spends or just zapping the things remotly all at once after there are enough out in the wild to be a significant part of the network hash rate...  Lips sealed
newbie
Activity: 42
Merit: 0
Gotta love their storefront on streeview.  "Chambers Lofts" in Kansas City.  An apartment building.  Nice.  Tongue
hero member
Activity: 896
Merit: 1000
Seal Cub Clubbing Club
In for later.
hero member
Activity: 481
Merit: 502
Wow, canary, you actually ordered one?

I'm 100% certain this is a scam.
Why would you even bother ordering and going through the hassle of paypal?

ohyouguyz.

well, i am the canary in the mine... LOL

i don't know why there are all these post about problems with chargeback, paypal issues etc... etc...

i don't have any problems calling my card and reversing a charge.  "product not as advertised"
additionally, i will videotape opening a package and if i don't get what i ordered, they will also have to deal with post office and mail fraud.

i don't see what the big deal is here with me trying to prove whether it's a scam or not.

i read lots of post where ppl claim something is a scam, but very few show hard evidence.

so, i'm getting this evidence in this case.

Well I appreciate what you're doing but all of the signs point to it being a scam so I wouldn't give this thing another look personally.
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 500
Thanks Hero Member!  Looking forward to a review, that is if you do not really become the Canary in the Mine Smiley

Wow, canary, you actually ordered one?

I'm 100% certain this is a scam.
Why would you even bother ordering and going through the hassle of paypal?

ohyouguyz.

well, i am the canary in the mine... LOL

i don't know why there are all these post about problems with chargeback, paypal issues etc... etc...

i don't have any problems calling my card and reversing a charge.  "product not as advertised"
additionally, i will videotape opening a package and if i don't get what i ordered, they will also have to deal with post office and mail fraud.

i don't see what the big deal is here with me trying to prove whether it's a scam or not.

i read lots of post where ppl claim something is a scam, but very few show hard evidence.

so, i'm getting this evidence in this case.
full member
Activity: 126
Merit: 100
well, i am the canary in the mine... LOL

i don't know why there are all these post about problems with chargeback, paypal issues etc... etc...

i don't have any problems calling my card and reversing a charge.  "product not as advertised"
additionally, i will videotape opening a package and if i don't get what i ordered, they will also have to deal with post office and mail fraud.

i don't see what the big deal is here with me trying to prove whether it's a scam or not.

i read lots of post where ppl claim something is a scam, but very few show hard evidence.

so, i'm getting this evidence in this case.

No, you're doing an awesome thing! Totally stoked you are doing it man. Just don't want you to lose any money on a scam is all.
Rock on!
donator
Activity: 2352
Merit: 1060
between a rock and a block!
Wow, canary, you actually ordered one?

I'm 100% certain this is a scam.
Why would you even bother ordering and going through the hassle of paypal?

ohyouguyz.

well, i am the canary in the mine... LOL

i don't know why there are all these post about problems with chargeback, paypal issues etc... etc...

i don't have any problems calling my card and reversing a charge.  "product not as advertised"
additionally, i will videotape opening a package and if i don't get what i ordered, they will also have to deal with post office and mail fraud.

i don't see what the big deal is here with me trying to prove whether it's a scam or not.

i read lots of post where ppl claim something is a scam, but very few show hard evidence.

so, i'm getting this evidence in this case.
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