I think we can be fairly safe that it’s not stolen @annierdeliso joined this forum over a year ago, meaning they had at least paid Glowforge the premium to get an account here with the owner label which is buying a machine. Unless of course they stole multiple or waited a year to sell it. 
Anyway, many people sell machines on these forums. As always do your homework, email Glowforge if you need to, and if the seller is willing to wait for verification they probably aren’t scamming you.
Personally, I’m curious why your account is still enabled, being in possession of stolen goods and all.
Either way, your point could have easily been accomplished by simply posting the link to the “Buying a Used Glowforge” page. Jumping on other people’s threads here in your crusade against Glowforge is petulant at best.
I think if people check the serial # with support, test the machine in person, and then draft a contract for purchase, it’s a reasonably safe bet to buy.
Am I in possession of stolen goods? Nobody from Glowforge has stated that directly. Nobody has ever commented about the specifics of my case or the hardware in my possession. Nobody’s demanded hardware returned, or presented a police reference to a detective or anything else. So far it’s just a disabled unit with no proof.
Also, what part of my post is incorrect? I did post the link, and only pointed out that @Dan and the company recommend against buying second hand from someone you don’t personally know. Which is exactly what it states on that page.
I consider it a violation of the community guidelines to be tacitly accusing people of selling stolen machines. All anyone has to do to verify is send an inquiry to GF with the machine’s serial number (and WAIT FOR A RESPONSE before buying) to verify whether it’s a stolen machine.
I get that you’re upset about the one you bought – but you did jump the gun and not wait for verification, and you need to own that.
I haven’t tacitly accused anyone of anything. I’m sorry my post offended you.
I have accepted my loss. And despite your advice of contacting support, it’s not a way to assure you won’t have your unit bricked.
Unless someone from Glowforge says otherwise, there is no way to certify a used Glowforge will continue to work after sale, which is why they explicitly state to only purchase a used unit from someone you know personally. It’s precisely what is stated at the link I posted above
While it is true that a Glowforge could be reported as stolen immediately after its sale. That seems far less likely than the legitimate owner reporting it missing the when it never arrived. I would also hope that if Glowforge made the claim a machine was legitimate they’d respect that. It would likely lead to legal action against them and a huge community uproar.
As for what representatives of Glowforge say on the forums, I would take that with a grain of salt. I haven’t seen definitive answers for many questions come out of the company for a long time. They always play the legal card if something has a potential to come back and haunt them.
I hear you. What I’m specifically pointing out, is their official stance, which is: “buy only from someone who you know personally”
In no part of their document about buying a used Glowforge does it mention contacting support or that support can certify a used unit.
If I went with what I saw on the website, I’m still listed as the “Owner” of the bricked unit. I still have my “Congratulations, you’re ready to print!” email from registering it.
My complaint is that there’s zero official method to guarantee transfer of ownership. There’s a lot of hope and hand waving, but no actual legal safety net.
Also, please cite your reference for “All anyone has to do to verify is send an inquiry to GF with the machine’s serial number…”
I have never seen anything resembling this in writing from GF. So your fabrication of imagined policy and the tacit implication that I “jumped the gun and need to own it” is offensive to me.
Your post originally said you had sent them an inquiry, but hadn’t yet received a response, and went ahead with the purchase anyway. That’s what I was referring to.
“I emailed support and asked ‘is there a way to verify for certain?’ And they said ‘reply with the serial number and we’ll look it up.’” Source
Indeed.
Hence the reason I’m spending the time warning others and pushing Glowforge to fix their processes, software and policy.
Nowhere does it say to contact support, I chose to take that step myself. It didn’t turn out well for me. Waiting a few more hours for a response still may not have saved me. I’m sorry my efforts to help protect others are making you upset.
Nowhere is it stated to be Glowforge policy to contact support for certification of a used unit.
I never claimed it was policy. The fact that they were willing to do it for you implies they’d be willing to do it for anyone else.
What happened to you was unfortunate. You lost money. I get it. Glowforge also lost money. It was a bad situation all around. But it’s still not a reason for hijacking people’s sale threads. If they’re on the forum, they own a Glowforge, so you’re targeting a low-risk population. Your time would be better spent doing it on Craigslist instead.
Honestly, I think there was a way to “warn others” that didn’t make it sound like the OP was being accused of something, but what’s done is done.
[The original reply has been edited, so this no longer applies. Leaving my original reply here for continuity down the line!]
The good news for the OP is that this post is now so active that it’s going to keep popping up for people to see.
I, for one, did not read @joshua.lutz warning as an accusation in any way. He simply posted a warning link, which I think was fair thing to do.
that’s the edited message. the original post was more easily interpreted as an accusation.
I did not know that. I will keep my opinion to myself.
Carry on.
Craigslist could use it!
no worries, unless you’d seen the original post, you wouldn’t have known. you can’t know what it was edited from.
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