First off, this is NOT a post intended to brag. It’s more about one of those ‘what if’ off chances that worked out for the best. I’m also giving a little information about purchasing a second hand Glowforge if you aren’t familiar.
So I came across a Glowforge Pro on Ebay listed for parts/not working. I bought it for parts since I already have a Glowforge Pro and as everyone knows… parts can get pricey plus some aren’t sold in the shop! Worked out the freight with the seller who sells a lot of industrial sized equipment/3D Printers/etc. I started reading about buying second hand Glowforge units on this very forum. Many who were buying their first one got burned because of a blacklisted serial number. NOTE: If you plan to buy used, make sure the serial is NOT blacklisted by contacting support. Even then apparently it’s not a 100% deal. Personally, I didn’t have anything to lose because I was buying it for parts.
I got the unit and it looked pretty new (made it safely being freighted luckily). It looked lightly used, especially compared to mine that I clean every week but use it every day! So it powered up and the seller said he thought the issue with it was just the lid sensor. Turned out that it say ‘Lid Open’ when the lid was closed and didn’t do anything beyond that. So from what I found, that typically does indicate there is an issue with the lid sensor or cable. I tried all the tricks I could find and nothing worked. Contacted support who had me send pics of the lid cable connection points which I’d previously checked (FYI -a HUGE shout out to the Glowforge team and their support staff answering emails! They are top notch!). It was determined the cable was the issue and Glowforge sent me a replacement!
Well, I’d read that people had purchased them on the used market and it turned out they were blacklisted. So I figured I would email Glowforge out of curiosity and in case I could get this unit working and well… no need to state the obvious. Well the good news came, this unit was not blacklisted! Now was the wait for the cable to arrive and see if that was the issue.
Cable arrived a week later. It’s an easy install. Taking off the old cable is a bit of a pain but got it done. Drum roll… BOOM the unit focused and centered. Web interface said Ready! I’ve since got this completely registered to me and now I’m able to pull double duty! Mind you, I started a company because of Glowforge so I owe them a debt of gratitude for making such a wonderful machine!
Ok, you made it this far and you want to know how much I paid? Total after shipping costs was about $1450. Yes, for a Glowforge Pro unit. Moral of the story is… not everything that is too good to be true is but most the time you’ll get burned. I was just in a unique situation where I wasn’t gambling and I lucked out. Be smart but don’t be afraid to do a little treasure hunting out there.
Couple products I make…
Mostly custom guitar parts for customers:
Some art pieces too for the fun of it:
