One interesting thing to note about ROI is that for some reason bitcoin miners have an unreasonably high resell value on ebay. So an S7 in hand today (or soon) doesn't have to mine the full value back if you can resell it and:
resell amount + mining returns > cost + expenses
Of course with the halving coming up there may actually be a glut of miners hitting the resell market next year some time so timing a sale might be part of the equation if you go that route. But it's hard to predict what the halving will actually do. I would have thought the LTC halving would increase the value of LCT but it didn't really. If BTC follows the same pattern then mining will get much less profitable.
resell amount + mining returns > cost + expenses
Of course with the halving coming up there may actually be a glut of miners hitting the resell market next year some time so timing a sale might be part of the equation if you go that route. But it's hard to predict what the halving will actually do. I would have thought the LTC halving would increase the value of LCT but it didn't really. If BTC follows the same pattern then mining will get much less profitable.
what is ebay return rate, i wonder? also, once you remove 13% fees, there is not much profit there either.
It seems that $400 level does not induce much fraud on ebay, but i don't know if $2000 does, especially since a buyer can make a mistake, then return for any reason at all.
theres options on your listing to select no returns.. also if you mention no returns in the listing as well thats twice being mentioned returns not offered.
can a buyer still return them after that?
Yes they can by claiming that the miner doesn't work within 45 days or PayPal refund window. You have no choice but to accept the return.
I don't think that is true. You are not providing a warranty on used gear to work for 45 days. This is from
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/return-policy.html
Important: Even if you specify "no returns accepted," under the eBay Money Back Guarantee the buyer can still return an item if it doesn't match the listing description. Learn more about what the eBay Money Back Guarantee means to sellers.
http://pages.ebay.com/resolutioncenter/BuyerProtectionForSellers.html
This is what it says on a listing when the seller does not offer return:
Seller does not offer returns. You are covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee if you received an item that is not as described in the listing.
you are just being naive about it. the buyer does not need to elaborate on anything. "the item is not as described", no questions asked. what you described is a miner that hashes as specified. imagine the buyer having shitty PSU, then doing something inane in addition. case closed and you lose.
You can try to fight it, but will lose review in most cases-just ask around.
It is better to simply refund and hope that the item will be returned undamaged.
However, I don't think that the majority of buyers on ebay are unfair, but the higher is the price, the higher a probability of a deal going south, I believe, although I don't have hard numbers.
but seriously btc has to be compared to something to assess its value quickly and reliably. thoughts? 
