Psystar: We're legit, but our merchant gateway dropped us
Summary: This Psystar meets Mac clone saga gets more curious by the minute. Psystar, which has received a ton of press for offering Mac clones loaded with OS X, said it's not a sham.
This Psystar meets Mac clone saga gets more curious by the minute. Psystar, which has received a ton of press for offering Mac clones loaded with OS X, said it's not a sham. Instead, the company notes that its merchant gateway "dropped the ball on us and refused to process any more transactions from the company."
We're in the process of moving to a new location which is now listed on our contact page. The first new address posted (10481) was in error and our correct address is 10475 NW 28th Street. PSYSTAR was, prior to this past week, not ready to handle the enormous production capacity demanded by the online community. Due to the incredible response we have now expanded to a larger commercial unit to handle the supplies and assembly of Open Computers. THANK YOU for all of your orders.
Midday yesterday our store was not receiving any orders. This was due to the fact that our merchant gateway, Powerpay, dropped the ball on us and refused to process any more transactions from our company. We have reverted to Paypal until we can find a high-volume merchant. Apparently Powerpay was not ready to handle the community's demand for Open Computing.
If you're experiencing problems with our online store then please send a detailed e-mail to support@psystar.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it that will include the following facts about the computer that you're trying use our website with:
* Operating System
* Web Browser and version
* any error messages that you may receive
Due to the wave of orders for Open Computers coming through there is currently a 10 to 12 day build time for all products.
Is this company (all resources) run by high school kids? How about taking Visa like most legit vendors?
In any case, I'd steer clear from this mess until Psystar proves itself. I've been seduced by a sham $150 laptop before and know the drill with faux vendors.
Update: News.com's Tom Krazit has the following quote from PowerPay:
Louisa Deluca, vice president of loss prevention for Powerpay, said on Thursday that her company dropped Psystar because it violated the terms of its agreement with Powerpay. She declined to cite specific violations, but said "there are plenty of reasons why we shut the account off. We did not know that's what he was selling, we learned that yesterday."
So I see some folks disagree with my take on Psystar, but here's the point: When a payment processing outfit cuts you off all of a sudden it may raise a few alarm bells--especially when no one has heard of this outfit until a few a days ago. Maybe Psystar is the next HP or Apple, but I'd rather let you trusting souls be the guinea pigs before I pay up for a Mac clone. If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. If Psystar ships a few hundred thousands of these pups then buy away. But right now this outfit sounds risky to me.
Update 2: The Psystar store seems to be working and I've gone through the checkout process without pulling the trigger. Anyone want to go for it?
Update 3: I placed an order, but just when I was about to seal the deal for $604 with shipping I got the following bug.
Go figure. The damn pulldown menu won't work.
Update 4: Richard Koman has a long statement from PowerPay's CEO on the matter. Also see:
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Talkback
Re: Visa
Um, a commercial web portal
scam.
uhm.. did you read the article???
48 hours
It not that hard at all.
RE: Psystar: We're legit, but our merchant gateway dropped us
Hype!
The truth is that apparently commercial vendors are catching on the Psystar is heading for some serious legal problems and they don't want to be dragged along.
Charge Backs and Legalities
Payment processors will only stick with a client as long as the client is in a good way. As soon as a problem or issue occurs, they will usually pull the plug.
There are payment processors that are willing to take some risks (it sounds like Pystars company was not). Often, these processors are not compatible with the e-commerce gateway software. Custom configuration will need to be accomplished in this case. At times, people use out of the box software, with no ability to change the needed settings.
The best bet is to get a coalition of computer programmers and design the site right. In this case, it sounds like Psystar may know enough to get the job done. However, they are not capable of programming the system themselves.
We do not know how many people are involved with the company. My guess is there are only two. This makes it very difficult for those two people to concentrate on all the areas that they should.
The plan was probably to fail, as most likely they did not plan at all. It is evident they did not plan to have as many orders that came with the publicity.
Identity Theft Or Fraud
Vipral Rubber Corp
2750 NW 84TH AVE
DORAL, FL
33122 -1926
PH (305) 640-0330
FX (305) 640-0310
Face it, if you ordered one of these, your money is on the way to Nigeria or Russia or both.
Thats not their address...
10475 NW 28th St
Doral, FL 33172
Posted clearly on their website. Thats not their phone numbers either...
My Bad On The Addy
http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/company.cfm?company=1124419
http://miami-fl.yellowusa.com/Tire_Retreading_repair_Eqpt_supls_(whol).html
No way to say how often thats updated
Agreed...
RE: Psystar: We're legit, but our merchant gateway dropped us
A different world
Those guys at Apple that started in a garage where probally a lot more committed then many people are today.
Now you just host a pretty web site at 9.99 a month and a payment portal, never having to meet anyone face to face.
so what kind of commitement would it take to star a major pc company today?
Different tools
now it takes a pretty website and an online payment processor
You're overlooking a few things.
So, let's look at their product. If you buy a genuine Mac, you'll be getting the wooden spoon of the cutting edge of hardware. You'll get a nice OS, but the hardware itself is just about as middle of the road as you can find without visiting a thrift store. These guys are offering what we'd expect in a $400 PC. The basics, in a decent case, without a lot of fluff and flutter. It's a step up from Apple's offerings, but it's nothing special otherwise.
The only thing that makes their product stand out is they've done some testing and found a good setup, or two, to allow the use of a modified (hacked) version of Apple's OS to run on it. Anybody can do it, if they've got the time, know-how, and patience. Still, nothing terribly special.
Basically, they've discovered something that a lot of people want, that they can build at a price that a lot of people can afford. That's their gimmick, and it seems to be working well for them - so far. They are the Ronco of the computer world. Until the next Ronco shows up.
overnight success
RE: Psystar: We're legit, but our merchant gateway dropped us
A sudden volume hit, such as experienced by Psystar, would undoubtedly bump their transactions beyond the contract limits causing their processor to shut them off.
When such a situation occurs, switching to Paypal to pick up the slack is the only thing a vendor can do. And, just for clarity, Paypal accepts all major credit cards, including VISA, with NO Paypal account required.
It's unfortunate that the author of this article clearly has no knowledge of Internet commerce whatsoever. Sounds like he might be a high school kid moonlighting as a tech writer.
As a consumer...