Tech Purchase Errors: what was I thinking?!

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#3112019 5-Aug-2023 09:40

eracode:
A ceiling-mounted radary-thing that tells you when you’re in the correct fore-and-aft position when parking in the garage. Still in the box. Later installed small rubber bumper tyre-stops for each car on the floor - much better.

I hung a tennis ball from the garage roof that touched the screen when in the right spot. Sadly made redundant by sonar and 360 cameras.

turtleattacks

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#3112020 5-Aug-2023 09:40

michaelmurfy:

Years ago I backed the Indiegogo for the Volterman Smart Wallet - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/volterman-the-world-s-most-powerful-wallet#/

It turned out to be an outright scam. I did eventually end up getting one but it was horrible in every way and didn't even work as designed. I tore it down, ripped out its guts and reverse engineered it just to show how much of a scam it really was: https://murfy.nz/2021/03/12/volterman-lumzag-scam/

Going back I am wondering what I was thinking when I backed it in the first place? Since then I have done my due diligence before backing anything and now refuse to back anything on Indiegogo.

Just watched the video and thought about the technical limitations they would need to make that work.... who would fall for that? :D :D :D

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quickymart

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#3112022 5-Aug-2023 09:48

Anything purchased from Expert Infotech. They sold me a number of dodgy PC parts (a couple that were obviously returned as faulty). Never went back again.

jonb

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#3112028 5-Aug-2023 10:20

A Dell venue Pro, two of them bought from Grays auctions so no CGA. Thought they would be a decent surface alternative but the singular crappest piece of tech ever owned, awful drivers, terrible battery life, barely functioning pen system eventually the batteries completely ehausted themselves. Super wary to buy Dell again due to that experience.

Mrcutiepatootie

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#3112029 5-Aug-2023 10:22

quickymart:
Anything purchased from Expert Infotech. They sold me a number of dodgy PC parts (a couple that were obviously returned as faulty). Never went back again.

Haven’t purchased anything from them recently but I swear half the things they sell are recycled e-waste. Regret purchasing a MacBook Air from them a few years ago, told me that it was “new” then why the f is the bloody box open with a travel adapter included. Later found out from Apple coverage check MacBook was from UK and had tech warranty expired.

quickymart

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#3112030 5-Aug-2023 10:37

That was my experience too, I had two motherboards from them, first one the pins were bent so it wouldn't work. They replaced this one with another motherboard where the CD envelope for the drivers had been ripped - so obviously someone else's RMA'd crap, which they just took around the corner and tried to resell as "new".

I felt that spoke volumes about how they ran their company and never returned. PB Tech started getting all my business after that incident.

Gurezaemon

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#3112034 5-Aug-2023 11:03

michaelmurfy:

Years ago I backed the Indiegogo for the Volterman Smart Wallet - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/volterman-the-world-s-most-powerful-wallet#/

It turned out to be an outright scam. I did eventually end up getting one but it was horrible in every way and didn't even work as designed. I tore it down, ripped out its guts and reverse engineered it just to show how much of a scam it really was: https://murfy.nz/2021/03/12/volterman-lumzag-scam/

Going back I am wondering what I was thinking when I backed it in the first place? Since then I have done my due diligence before backing anything and now refuse to back anything on Indiegogo.

Holy moly that was a ride and a half. Good on you for keeping at them and finally getting what you paid for, even though it was even worse than you expected.

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johno1234

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#3112054 5-Aug-2023 11:54

eracode:
A ceiling-mounted radary-thing that tells you when you’re in the correct fore-and-aft position when parking in the garage. Still in the box. Later installed small rubber bumper tyre-stops for each car on the floor - much better.

I’m a fan of a tennis ball on a string high tech approach.

mrgsm021

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#3112055 5-Aug-2023 12:03

michaelmurfy:

Going back I am wondering what I was thinking when I backed it in the first place? Since then I have done my due diligence before backing anything and now refuse to back anything on Indiegogo.

Indiegogo/Kickstarter, they are all the same, platforms for scammers.

I backed couple of years ago the ScoutPro Graphene powerbank on Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/scoutpro-240w-powerbank-fits-in-your-back-pocket#/

It cost me US$149 and after two years of delay with all the excuses under the sun, they finally shipped out the powerbank, only to find it was a dud with several issues: the powerbank doesn't stay on, as soon as I plug something into it, it will charge for a few seconds and once the display on the powerbank goes off, charging stops; dodgy battery percentage display, it'll say its 100% fully charged then few minutes later it says 0%.

I just don't have the time and energy chasing after the company behind it for support - lesson learned and moved on

Rikkitic

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#3112060 5-Aug-2023 13:08

Years ago I bought a couple new-fangled LED light bulbs on Aliexpress just to test the waters. They seemed fine so I bought a whole lot more. Nearly every single one failed in different ways within days or weeks. Lesson learned.

(That one, at least)

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Geektastic

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#3112063 5-Aug-2023 13:53

johno1234:
eracode:
A ceiling-mounted radary-thing that tells you when you’re in the correct fore-and-aft position when parking in the garage. Still in the box. Later installed small rubber bumper tyre-stops for each car on the floor - much better.

I’m a fan of a tennis ball on a string high tech approach.

It works.

My garage is 130 square meters though so if I can’t park in there without hitting a wall, they should take my licence!

Geektastic

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#3112064 5-Aug-2023 13:55

Bluetooth speakers.

We have about 4 that are never used. I always imagine they will be so useful. They never are.

olivernz

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#3112100 5-Aug-2023 17:02

There are so many. As said, cheap smartwatches from China, a Microsoft Surface that I didn't need, extra bits 'n bobs for my Tesla...that I didn't need, $350 Mennekes Cable....that I didn't need, a whole kitchen outfit for a house we never built, a whole house IT system for the house we never built,.... You see a trend here and it goes on forever but buying gear is so satisfying! Luckily there's the opposite too, where purchases were made that you are absolutely stoked with and never ever want to go back.

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#3112107 5-Aug-2023 17:55

Bought one of these (AC Ryan PlayOn3) when we still had large mp3 collections (remember those), and still do, just redundant now with the likes of Spotify

https://techgage.com/article/ac_ryan_playonhd_media_player/

Worked ok when it worked, still have it too

olivernz

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#3112124 5-Aug-2023 18:44

Ok, created a corollary thread to this one on best purchases....

https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=306587

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