Is Blokforge still legit? | Bitcointalksearch.org

Gabrics

full member

Activity: 183

Merit: 112

Just digging around

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 22, 2021, 07:38:46 PM

thank you for sharing the Lesson Learned. Buy INSTOCK item ONLY if possible, direct from the manufacture. Bitmain seem to sell S19 from stock with shipping in 5 days now

We bought in stock units from them, yet still no delivery after two months Sad

So just because it's listed in stock doesn't always mean it is actually in stock.

btc2marspro

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 5

both not looking a good option Cry

one day, may be walk into a store and buy it and walk home with the miner Grin

Quote from: ccgllc on November 22, 2021, 07:51:42 PM

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 22, 2021, 07:38:46 PM

thank you for sharing the Lesson Learned. Buy INSTOCK item ONLY if possible, direct from the manufacture. Bitmain seem to sell S19 from stock with shipping in 5 days now

Agree with all but the "Direct from manufacture[r]". For Bitmain gear, that often comes with long lead times, and for us USA folks, a 27% tax.

Also... unsure what the differences are between the S19Pro 110TH I bought back on September 5th for delivery today at $15,400 plus shipping and the S19J 104TH machines Bitmain is telling today at $12064 - my cost $15,393 plus shipping. One also needs to factor in the potential for a long shipping time due to oversea shipping backlogs in the current environment.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 22, 2021, 07:38:46 PM

thank you for sharing the Lesson Learned. Buy INSTOCK item ONLY if possible, direct from the manufacture. Bitmain seem to sell S19 from stock with shipping in 5 days now

Agree with all but the "Direct from manufacture[r]". For Bitmain gear, that often comes with long lead times, and for us USA folks, a 27% tax.

Also... unsure what the differences are between the S19Pro 110TH I bought back on September 5th for delivery today at $15,400 plus shipping and the S19J 104TH machines Bitmain is telling today at $12064 - my cost $15,393 plus shipping. One also needs to factor in the potential for a long shipping time due to oversea shipping backlogs in the current environment.

btc2marspro

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 5

thank you for sharing the Lesson Learned. Buy INSTOCK item ONLY if possible, direct from the manufacture. Bitmain seem to sell S19 from stock with shipping in 5 days now

Quote from: ccgllc on November 22, 2021, 07:12:44 PM

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 22, 2021, 07:08:17 PM

Finally

miner arrived = happy customer = all mischief forgiven Grin

Just to be perfectly clear (highly suggested this a few post back): NOT a happy customer, all is NOT forgiven.

Per one online calculator, I've lost about $780/month in profit. Times TWO presuming they shipped at their maximum advertised 14 days. So ~$1500 in lost profit... no, NOT happy.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 22, 2021, 07:08:17 PM

Finally

miner arrived = happy customer = all mischief forgiven Grin

Just to be perfectly clear (highly suggested this a few post back): NOT a happy customer, all is NOT forgiven.

Per one online calculator, I've lost about $780/month in profit. Times TWO presuming they shipped at their maximum advertised 14 days. So ~$1500 in lost profit... no, NOT happy.

btc2marspro

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 5

Finally

miner arrived = happy customer = all mischief forgiven Grin

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

They are here and appear to be brand new. No signs of dust on the fans. Both have a bit of crud on the bottom exterior of the power supplies and bottom of the cases - maybe from testing?

Both are checking out OK, at least with a few minutes of run time on them.

Final suggestion: Only buy from Blockforg is they have the items in stock per a verbal confirmation unless your willing to go through what I've gone through, with week+ long support turn around, unanswered ticket responses, etc.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 22, 2021, 03:18:10 PM

Question be

is this acceptable to you or to anyone else?

Second Question be

was the sales term stated fiat based settlement when you pay with the cryptocurrency at the time of the payment is received?

No, a 10 week shipping delay on something that was advertised as shipping in 2-14 days is not acceptable. I've lost months of planned, very profitable, mining time.

Sales terms were not disclosed during the process, just something like "We only accept Bitcoin or wire transfers for payment" (with a delay for the wire transfers of course vs. near instant for Bitcoin).

I ended up writing the Better Business Bureau to complain. The BBB never got a response, but the miners shipped a week later.

Big question now is if they are really new or not. Will find out in a few hours when they finally arrive.

btc2marspro

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 5

Question be

is this acceptable to you or to anyone else?

Second Question be

was the sales term stated fiat based settlement when you pay with the cryptocurrency at the time of the payment is received?

Quote from: ccgllc on October 10, 2021, 11:21:30 AM

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.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: btc2marspro on November 21, 2021, 05:58:02 PM

more reason to buy directly from Bitmain or seller who has miners in stock. Tongue

Will be a surprise if you received a true never opened brand new equipment.

Actually bought something like 50 miners (Avalon 841s) from Blokforge back in 2018 with excellent support back then. Of course, back then, they actually supplied support for the miners (technical and parts) as well.

btc2marspro

newbie

Activity: 14

Merit: 5

more reason to buy directly from Bitmain or seller who has miners in stock. Tongue

Will be a surprise if you received a true never opened brand new equipment.

Quote from: ccgllc on November 20, 2021, 01:09:46 PM

Quote from: ccgllc on November 18, 2021, 11:30:36 PM

November 18th update:

Two packages were shipped today from Autoline Industries in Mesa, Az. Expected delivery is the 22nd. Per Fed Ex, the PO number matches my September 5th order, and each box weighs 32lbs, so it appears miners are being sent. Which models I'm clueless about - my order on BlokForge is still showing as "Pending (Backordered)" per their website.

I have NOT been advised by Blokforge (or is it Autoline Industries?) about this.

Will keep everyone posted.

Got an e-mail last night titled "You BLOKFORGE order is now complete". Apparently they shipped the original (2) S19 Pro 110s... but I'll believe they are new units when I get them. I've lost over 2 months of mining time during a peak profit cycle... have to wonder if somebody else was using them. Is it really a coincidence that they shipped shortly after Bitcoin retreated?

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: paulosalois on November 20, 2021, 12:42:39 PM

Hi, Do you know if the site: http://asicminershop.tk is reliable?

He offers really great prices (with S17 availables) and apparently delivers everywhere

Thank you,

Probably should be posted as its own thread, but be VERY cautious of anybody selling miners at 30% current prices. If your USA based, doubly so if they claim to be paying the Trump China tax.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: ccgllc on November 18, 2021, 11:30:36 PM

November 18th update:

Two packages were shipped today from Autoline Industries in Mesa, Az. Expected delivery is the 22nd. Per Fed Ex, the PO number matches my September 5th order, and each box weighs 32lbs, so it appears miners are being sent. Which models I'm clueless about - my order on BlokForge is still showing as "Pending (Backordered)" per their website.

I have NOT been advised by Blokforge (or is it Autoline Industries?) about this.

Will keep everyone posted.

Got an e-mail last night titled "You BLOKFORGE order is now complete". Apparently they shipped the original (2) S19 Pro 110s... but I'll believe they are new units when I get them. I've lost over 2 months of mining time during a peak profit cycle... have to wonder if somebody else was using them. Is it really a coincidence that they shipped shortly after Bitcoin retreated?

paulosalois

newbie

Activity: 10

Merit: 0

Hi, Do you know if the site: http://www.asicminershop.tk is reliable?

He offers really great prices (with S17 availables) and apparently delivers everywhere

Thank you,

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

November 18th update:

Two packages were shipped today from Autoline Industries in Mesa, Az. Expected delivery is the 22nd. Per Fed Ex, the PO number matches my September 5th order, and each box weighs 32lbs, so it appears miners are being sent. Which models I'm clueless about - my order on BlokForge is still showing as "Pending (Backordered)" per their website.

I have NOT been advised by Blokforge (or is it Autoline Industries?) about this.

Will keep everyone posted.

morris.hagen.ici

newbie

Activity: 5

Merit: 0

Quote from: NotFuzzyWarm on November 09, 2021, 10:32:42 PM

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/

In this case, they are supposedly stronger than before. Wish they could recover soon.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: NotFuzzyWarm on November 09, 2021, 10:32:42 PM

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/

Ah, thanks. I had bought some machines from them back in 2016(ish), so was on their e-mail list. I recall getting a "we are going out of business" e-mail from around that time, so it makes sense.

NotFuzzyWarm

legendary

Activity: 3612

Merit: 2506

Evil beware: We have waffles!

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/

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: morris.hagen.ici on November 09, 2021, 09:54:49 PM

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).

morris.hagen.ici

newbie

Activity: 5

Merit: 0

Quote from: ccgllc on November 09, 2021, 11:42:05 AM

Quote from: ?? on ??

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

Morris, ICI [email protected] +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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: ConnerM on November 09, 2021, 04:49:31 PM

Quote from: ccgllc on November 09, 2021, 11:42:05 AM

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.

ConnerM

member

Activity: 61

Merit: 23

Quote from: ccgllc on November 09, 2021, 11:42:05 AM

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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: ?? on ??

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

Morris, ICI [email protected] +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.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

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?

NotFuzzyWarm

legendary

Activity: 3612

Merit: 2506

Evil beware: We have waffles!

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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

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

legendary

Activity: 3612

Merit: 2506

Evil beware: We have waffles!

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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

"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.

ccgllc

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

Quote from: kano on October 10, 2021, 10:08:58 PM

Quote from: ccgllc on October 10, 2021, 10:05:01 PM

...
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.

kano

legendary

Activity: 4466

Merit: 1798

Linux since 1997 RedHat 4

Quote from: ccgllc on October 10, 2021, 10:05:01 PM

...
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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

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.

philipma1957

legendary

Activity: 4116

Merit: 7849

'The right to privacy matters'

Quote from: ccgllc on October 10, 2021, 11:21:30 AM

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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

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.

fccs

member

Activity: 351

Merit: 47

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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

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.

NotFuzzyWarm

legendary

Activity: 3612

Merit: 2506

Evil beware: We have waffles!

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

copper member

Activity: 658

Merit: 101

Math doesn't care what you believe.

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).

Topic: Is Blokforge still legit? (Read 408 times)