Bitcoin Mining for Dumbasses
Bitcoin Mining for Dumbasses is a public service. This bitcoin mining guide is meant to be as educational as it is entertaining as a recent eBay sale I made for an Avalon Miner 741 went horribly wrong. Why did a simple sale go horribly wrong? You’ll understand after you read Bitcoin Mining for Dummies.
I live in a posh bachelor pad and rented it before I knew bitcoin mining would be the center of my life. After a week of experimenting with the power constraints of 110 volt, 20 amp circuits I concluded it would be best to sell one of my brand new Avalon Miner 741s on eBay. Here’s the original listing.
The final price was nice – $1295 – when you consider I bought mine directly at the standard price of $795. This should be the end of the story for this bitcoin mining adventure, right? WRONG. Not when you encounter bitcoin mining for dumbasses.
This dumbass had his Avalon Miner 741 for ONE DAY then decided it doesn’t work. Never mind the fact the auction said no returns. Put aside the fact that bitcoin mining can be a little complicated and it takes time to figure out how all the different moving parts move together. Heck, it took me DAYS to figure out exactly what I was doing wrong and get things on track. This is especially true with the Avalon line due to the requirement of a separate controller. This clown came back the SAME DAY he received his ASIC miner and wanted his money back… The back and forth continued for days….
I finally ask eBay to step in citing the clear “no returns” term in the auction. Every single eBay auction for a bitcoin miner has this policy…
The response from eBay was swift and stunning. They took the buyer’s side….
For a real laugh read the first two paragraphs. “This is my area of expertise.” “We honor all seller return policies.” etc. etc. Total laughable bullshit.
So naturally when eBay asks for my feedback I tell it like it is. I’m very proud of myself for not dropping even one F-bomb in my comments….
Here’s the takeaway — never sell bitcoin miners. You’re too likely to find a dumbass who can’t follow instructions or watch a YouTube video. That’s why Bitcoin Mining for Dumbasses is so important. I can see this moron tying up auctions for weeks with purchases and returns because he’s too stupid to follow instructions or even apply basic critical thinking skills. Bitcoin mining is most definitely not a “plug and play” activity but you can adopt a “set it and forget it” mentality once you have your bitcoin miners running right.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE… The Avalon Miner 741 he returned ended up working perfectly. The box didn’t look good so initially I was worried…
Always the optimist I go shopping for what I know I needed to bring this puppy online….
And because I was running out of sufficient power I had to run a seriously long extension cord from another room from an untapped 20 amp circuit…
So here’s the setup…… I run the extension cord from the spare bedroom, plug it into the power supplies and fire up the Avalon Miner Mr. Dumbass said didn’t work…
And the final moment of truth when it comes to successful bitcoin mining….
So the bitcoin miner that “ShockwaveJr” claimed didn’t work is actually working perfectly – at its peak of output. That’s why I wrote this article “Bitcoin Mining for Dumbasses” — bitcoin mining can be complicated and I tell you from firsthand experience that it took me roughly three months to fully understand all of the dynamics and variables that make bitcoin mining happen.
If I had to GUESS what this bitcoin mining dumbass did wrong I’d have to say he failed to join a mining pool so he wasn’t getting any work for his miner to process. Other guesses include he improperly set up the Raspberry Pi controller I THREW IN FOR FREE or a lack of sufficient power. What’s clear is that the bitcoin miner he claimed doesn’t work actually works perfectly. Just approach bitcoin mining with an open mind and a technical mindset and you will make money bitcoin mining.
Bitcoin Mining for Beginners
Bitcoin Mining for Beginners
It all started in July when bitcoin got my attention.  Specifically bitcoin mining. I spent WEEKS just reading articles on bitcoin itself absorbing every syllable on the subject. From forks to exchanges to different cryptocurrencies to media coverage I spent the better part of a month just learning everything I could about bitcoin.
I dipped my toe in the bitcoin mining water by starting to mine bitcoin on a PC using a Windows store app….
Bitcoin mining on a PC is a money losing proposition. That’s because I was getting paid roughly 30 cents per week for running a computer at full power 24×7. BUT it was a very educational exercise that schooled me on the fundamentals of bitcoin mining.
During the course of my research I realized that bitcoin mining at GH/s (such as with USB-based bitcoin miners) is exponentially more effective than a PC that processes with KH/s ratings. Running the numbers I concluded that at the end of a week you could earn enough money for a McDonald’s value meal. Then I discovered ASIC miners that perform bitcoin mining at TH/s and then I got excited
KH/s GH/s TH/s WTF?
- 1 KH/s is 1,000 hashes per second.
- 1 GH/s is 1,000,000,000 hashes per second.
- 1 TH/s is 1,000,000,000,000 hashes per second.
To make any kind of serious money in bitcoin mining you want as much firepower in terms of TH/s as possible. And that’s what ASIC miners do. They are stand-alone devices with a very dense array of chips designed with one single purpose; maximized mining at the most efficient rate possible to make more money.
This realization led me to start cruising eBay and Amazon and ASIC miner manufacturer websites looking for bitcoin miners to purchase. I quickly realized that after-market rates were TOTALLY inflated to the point of absurdity. Case in point, an Antminer S9 can be purchased for $1,415 directly from Bitmain – the manufacturer itself….
The downside is you’re going to wait over TWO MONTHS for your bitcoin miner to arrive. If you’re in a hurry and just can’t wait to start bitcoin mining you can buy an Antminer S9 with immediate shipment for “just” $3795 — “Only” 250%+ over the manufacturer’s own price…
Here’s the thing – it makes absolutely no economic sense to buy an Antminer S9 or an Avalon Miner 741 on eBay or any other after-market platform and pay these inflated rates. Even considering bitcoin prices are hovering right near record highs it would take you YEARS to recover your initial investment in ASIC mining hardware due to the unnecessary premium you’re paying to get a bitcoin miner sooner rather later. Even if bitcoin prices soar to $27,000 in the next 12 months it’s going to take way, way longer than necessary to make money mining.
That’s why I’m particularly proud of my first bitcoin miner; the Avalon Miner 721 I scored used on Amazon for just $900 INCLUDING the Avalon Controller and a good power supply. The seller was very patient and helpful which, as you will learn in future articles, was fundamental in getting me up to speed on cryptocurrency mining in no time at all.  I knew enough to get started but there was a lot more I learned along the way…