Do anyone have answers to these questions:
- If a unit is damaged in transit and as a result of that or something is DOA, can it be exchanged for a new unit ?
- What if a unit just stops working after a couple weeks or months, is there any kind of guarantee offered?
- Is there insurance for shipping ?
Even though it wouldn't be all that profitable once arriving, it would still be interesting to own one. I could not however find
answers to my questions on their webpage.
I do not believe any return/warranty has been stated with batch #2. If anyone has one for batch #2 they should post it so it's saved for the future. Buyer beware. Might want to also check how much it will cost you to ship 15kg to China, cause if there's a problem you'll at least be out that.
Haha - good point!
Here's the fine print, copied from their check out:
Read this first before considering purchasing batch #2 Avalon ASIC.
The no bullshit, no fine print terms of sale
We Accept Bitcoin Only – Bitcoin allow us to collect large sum of assets in a short period of time, and due their nature the bitcoins can also be move to where they are suppose to go in a similar time frame. We are aware this will introduce Import issues for certain EU and SA countries. Avalon ASIC hope re-sellers will take this opportunity to grow and take care of this problem.
No Refunds - The Avalon units are made on a built-to-order basis. This means when you place an order, your bitcoins are used to order parts to construct your Avalon Unit. Refunds therefore are impossible. Utilizing a short time frame, batch based, and built-to-order method allows to manage finances properly and reduce risk for all parties. e.g. Avalon ASIC, the re-sellers and the buyers.
Limited Customer Support - The Avalon team is comprised of a small group of capable people; however, we are also extremely limited in manpower. Every one of us handles multitude of tasks, and for this reason we will have very limited customer support. No news is good news. We apologize for this, but we do not expect this situation to change until batch three is in its production to shipping stage.
Trade-Ins - Avalon will continue to honor our old customers providing trade-in programs of old generations units, FPGA, and in the future for first generation ASIC modules. The Trade-In Orders are not part of the 600 unit limitation existing in Batch #2 and will be continue be honored until April 1st, 2013.
The Potential Risks
- Avalon ASIC will not be responsible for if a bitcoin bug is introduced rendering it useless between the period of time a batch of Avlaon units are being built.
- Avalon ASIC will not be responsible for any bitcoin price fluctuation between the time the order is placed to the time the units are delivered.
- Avalon ASIC will not be responsible for if a proper Integrated Circuit company like AMD enters the market and produce a full-custom ASIC chip. Please evaluate your mining projections properly when purchasing Avalon ASIC.
Please read this carefully, as with all things Bitcoin one should treat this as an investment and make the decision best for you based on the liquid-able funds available at the moment when placing an order.
Basically, anyone ordering, is doing a 1500 USD gamble then. Perhaps you will come out on the other end happy, perhaps you will not, perhaps one idiot will toss your package somewhere on it's path to you, or it is squeezed between a couple other big heavy objects and become broken, sorry, no returns, and no chance to do any chargebacks then. So really, if you order, then you should be ready to write off 1500 USD the moment you order.