I'm starting to see a large inflow from Chinese miner sellers I've never heard of before in my telegram DMs. They promise better pricing than other sellers, but is the risk worth it?

The mining industry is incredibly difficult from the procurement side because of how many players there are, as well as that there are sellers constantly misrepresenting information, or flat out scamming people for their hard earned Bitcoin. Getting scammed in some circumstances can turn some miners operations completely upside down. This is an industry with thin margins and high capex.

There will be a lot of legitimate, smaller miner sales popping up this market who have zero overhead, and are willing to sell miners at thinner margins as a result. If that seller gets scammed, which often happens, there is a good potential that they won't have the money to make it right and refund you. There are also risks of individuals playing fast and loose when it comes to customs which could fall on the customer.

The cheaper price is not always the better deal, and many indviduals are about to learn this the hard way. Learning to assess risk is important and I want to highlight some risks for people to consider before buying miners.

When you search my name on telegram, you will likely see 3-4 accounts impersonating me. If someone has a following or reputation, scammers will try to take advantage of that by impersonating them. There's not a whole lot than can be done about it. I take phone calls, do video calls, etc to try to help avoid people getting scammed. It's good to check groups you share with them, verify off of websites if the seller has one, etc. Be wary and assume the other person isn't real until you can do some verifying to have confidence in them.

Reputation is incredibly important and it's something that Kaboomracks cares about. It is something that is difficult to maintain in the space, and some times requires losing money on deals to make sure the customer is whole. Asking individuals their buying experience from different companies you may not have worked with before is a good step. Verify, verify verify.

Unfortunately, lawsuits are sometimes necessary to make sure you get what you paid for. In the case that you get rug pulled by a Chinese seller located in China, it will be very difficult to get any money back. In the case you are dealing with an established American company, it will be a lot easier to use courts to hopefully get your money back.

Best price on containers, infrastructure, and miners can either mean a really good deal, or a lot of risk that the seller isn't telling you about. Margin packed into sales allows for the seller to have cash on hand to handle any issues if a transaction goes sideways, which they definitely can.

There will be clones of websites, especially of the manufacturers. There are people trying to sell miner models that do not exist. Be wary of this and question every link someone you do not know sends you. You can ask someone to email you from an email with the company domain as a form of proof they are actually associated with who they are claiming to be.

I spend a lot of time talking with my customers about other venders, trying to steer them away from potential scam companies. I want to sell miners, and am willing to lose sales in the short term if it means a long term relationship. If my customer gets scammed and goes under, it doesn't do me any good. I have the opportunity to interact with a lot of vendors of various products because it's what I do full time for a job. Asking someone you trust in the industry is a good step. Getting multiple opinions is also good.

If you live in the US, hosting outside the country can look attractive due to cheaper hosting rates. The reality is that there is often increased risk. Operating in countries outside the US is not like operating in the US.

Be safe out there.