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Topic: Is it safe to buy hardware wallets on ebay? (Read 275 times)
Mostly the ones on eBay are mostly used and nearly depreciated or nearing their estimated useful life which is why before you proceed in buying on those sites it's better to be cautious since we are talking about a large amount of money here and this are wallets we used to safe keep our cryptocoins so as much as possible buy on the official websites.
What do you mean by "nearing their estimated useful life"?
Of course I would definitely buy a new one, but it's a piece of electronic after all.
It doesn't degrade in a year or two
You are correct, but there are numerous reasons why it is preferred to order these devices from the manufacturer. Amazon usually has a dozen suppliers, as well as itself stocking them.
You could do so but you need to check if you can generate your own recovery seed and you need to make sure the device is not tampered (this might be difficult to figure out)with.
So advice would be: no, just order @ the manufacturer
You don't need a hardware wallet. Just format your computer with a fresh install of windows (original iso from Microsoft) get all the updates, don't click on anything else than the required buttons to generate wallets and save the private keys offline only if you want to accumulate crypto. This is as safe as a HW wallet. ....
So advice would be: no, just order @ the manufacturer
You don't need a hardware wallet. Just format your computer with a fresh install of windows (original iso from Microsoft) get all the updates, don't click on anything else than the required buttons to generate wallets and save the private keys offline only if you want to accumulate crypto. This is as safe as a HW wallet. ....
No it is not as safe as a HW wallet. That is impossible.
But for any who would use a computer, the best would be a linux os, next best Mac, and worst of all windows.
However, for one who did use a computer, it's worth noting that you could load a reliable wallet, do some operations, then make backups and delete the wallet, saving only the backups and having nothing on the (risky ) computer.
That's pretty darn close to a paper or hardware wallet. Done properly one should save notes as to the operating system version, maybe a copy of it, the wallet version and a copy of it, possibly the libraries the wallet uses (linux bistro), as well as the data such as the "wallet.dat" files.
There are many cases of people having an old archaic "wallet.dat" file and trying to restore it with today's blockchain and today's wallet software, operating systems, and libraries. SIDE NOTE: Management of these factors is impossible with IOS/Android, there you get what they send you. Therefore IOS/ANDROID can be excluded as useful.
Mostly the ones on eBay are mostly used and nearly depreciated or nearing their estimated useful life which is why before you proceed in buying on those sites it's better to be cautious since we are talking about a large amount of money here and this are wallets we used to safe keep our cryptocoins so as much as possible buy on the official websites.
What do you mean by "nearing their estimated useful life"?
Of course I would definitely buy a new one, but it's a piece of electronic after all.
It doesn't degrade in a year or two
Mostly the ones on eBay are mostly used and nearly depreciated or nearing their estimated useful life which is why before you proceed in buying on those sites it's better to be cautious since we are talking about a large amount of money here and this are wallets we used to safe keep our cryptocoins so as much as possible buy on the official websites.
I would suggest to buy on their official pages or on their main. Have you read up the news about those hacking incident happen into those people who do buy some ledger wallets on ebay or on other resellers worldwide? If not then you should read up towards it because buying on other people wont guarantee you that ledger or hardware wallet is safe because anytime they can do copy the seed and then sealed out again the box showing off that it is never been opened but actually seed or key is compromised already.
Copy which seed? You create the seed when you first setup the device. No hardware wallet will come with a pre-generated seed written in a paper. The "news" was that the user who bought the Ledger restored a wallet with a seed pre-generated by the hacker. He could have ignored the fake "seed paper", generated his own wallet and nothing would have happened.
I see some are well out of stock on official pages, so I wonder. Also, is it worth buying them if you plan to invest very little?
I would suggest to buy on their official pages or on their main. Have you read up the news about those hacking incident happen into those people who do buy some ledger wallets on ebay or on other resellers worldwide? If not then you should read up towards it because buying on other people wont guarantee you that ledger or hardware wallet is safe because anytime they can do copy the seed and then sealed out again the box showing off that it is never been opened but actually seed or key is compromised already. 
https://thatoneshop.ca is this shop reliable? Supposed to be official Ledger reseller but I don't know.
As ranochigo said they are legit retailers but still be aware, there are legit retailers or distributors but still you must take a look on who you are dealing with.Just stay away from ebay anymore, go direct with hardware wallet's website or someone trusted.
https://thatoneshop.ca is this shop reliable? Supposed to be official Ledger reseller but I don't know.
They are listed on Ledger's official page[1]. By any means, Ledger is hard to temper with unless you somehow gets tricked into using a pre-generated seed for which someone else has access to. That has happened before. Please verify that the Ledger hasn't been used and you get a fresh set of seeds when you use it.[1] https://www.ledgerwallet.com/retailers
https://thatoneshop.ca is this shop reliable? Supposed to be official Ledger reseller but I don't know.
I see some are well out of stock on official pages, so I wonder. Also, is it worth buying them if you plan to invest very little?
As mentioned by OmegaStarScream, I would avoid buying a hardware wallet from a third party, especially on eBay. If you really do have no other choice than a third party reseller, reset the device once you receive it and generate a new seed. Don't use the one that comes with the device, unless you want to end up like this guy: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.28117326
Whether it's worth buying a hardware wallet depends on how much you plan to invest. If half your crypto holdings end up being used to pay for the device, it may not be worth it. If you plan on holding like USD 1,000,- and upwards, definitely get a hardware wallet. It comes down to personal preference however.
A fresh install as mentioned by Bitmous may be a viable alternative, assuming you have an old laptop or PC lying around that you could use as a dedicated device -- ie. Bitcoin transactions only. If you have a laptop or PC available that you could use as a dedicated Bitcoin device, consider setting it up as an airgapped (ie. offline) system to use in conjunction with either Electrum or Armory for cold storage:
https://btcarmory.com/
https://electrum.org/
http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html
Setting up an airgapped device for cold storage is just as secure, but not as convenient as a hardware wallet. Using a dedicated online device, is not as secure, but in my opinion reasonable for smaller sums.
I wouldn't recommend using your personal, every day computer for storing a Bitcoin wallet though, unless losing your coins will come cheaper to you than buying a hardware wallet or setting up a dedicated laptop or PC.
You could do so but you need to check if you can generate your own recovery seed and you need to make sure the device is not tampered (this might be difficult to figure out)with.
So advice would be: no, just order @ the manufacturer
You don't need a hardware wallet. Just format your computer with a fresh install of windows (original iso from Microsoft) get all the updates, don't click on anything else than the required buttons to generate wallets and save the private keys offline only if you want to accumulate crypto. This is as safe as a HW wallet. All it requires is some basic knowledge, assuming you are never watching and clicking adds in your browser and don't download emails that come from un-trusted senders. so use this computer only for crypto transactions and you are good to go. Keep in mind that the basic knowledge also includes your connection to the internet, your DNS setup, etc...
So advice would be: no, just order @ the manufacturer
You don't need a hardware wallet. Just format your computer with a fresh install of windows (original iso from Microsoft) get all the updates, don't click on anything else than the required buttons to generate wallets and save the private keys offline only if you want to accumulate crypto. This is as safe as a HW wallet. All it requires is some basic knowledge, assuming you are never watching and clicking adds in your browser and don't download emails that come from un-trusted senders. so use this computer only for crypto transactions and you are good to go. Keep in mind that the basic knowledge also includes your connection to the internet, your DNS setup, etc...
A reason on why you don't want to buy from the official website? If they don't ship to you, you can use a reship company, you should invest whatever amount to make sure your funds are safe and If you are holding small amounts then there is no reason to buy a hardware wallet in the first place. I don't recommend it personally but If you go and buy from eBay, make sure to wipe the device, re-download firmware and generate a new seed.
I see some are well out of stock on official pages, so I wonder. Also, is it worth buying them if you plan to invest very little?
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