I've got to ask, if you're selling 18 GPU's + other misc hardware, that should bring in at least $1500... why not buy an ASIC and keep the tradition going?
Well, I did spend a few days reading up on the pros/cons of ASIC pre-orders, thinking about it, and figuring out the best position on the issue.
My decision: ASIC is too risky right now. ESPECIALLY for pre-ordering non-existent hardware (yes, that includes hardware "in development")
1. No final hardware has been shown off; furthermore, there have already been many delays to the ship date.
2. One or more companies could be a scam. Bitcoin is all about making easy money, and it HAS attracted many scams and scammers in the past.
3. Recouping one's investment might already be impossible, unless you're in the top 5% of the wait list.
4. ASICs are only good for ONE thing. As gutsy as buying 18 GPUs was, it wasn't really all that risky. They can always be sold to gamers at any time. If you can't make back your $1300 Single due to skyrocketing difficulty, you're screwed. No one's going to shut off their ASIC. No one's going to repurpose a Single into a gaming rig. If someone quits and sells his Single, guess what? The buyer will fire it back up and it will be back on the Network. When the difficulty goes up, it WON'T be coming down...ever.
5. The whole ASIC thing gives me a bad feeling -- I mean about profitability. There is no barrier to entry; just plug & play. No more cooling setups, building clever rigs, finding space for them, watching the 15 amp circuit breaker limit, etc. My entire being says this is where things go "parabolic" -- where a dozen individuals or companies come in and BECOME the network. Or at least 95% of it.
Best post I've seen yet on the current and near future of mining. Came to the same conclusion and dumped 8 GPUs last month on ebay and got over 75% of original cost back. Check out ebay now...some 6950s standing at 80 bucks! The entire mining scene has become sketchy and almost silly. The ASICs may or may not turn out to be dependable and outstanding in many ways...but as it stands now, it's just as likely that many will be scammed or stuck with unworkable/unreliable equipment by amateur industrialists that fold not long after making couple million bucks.
But if ASICs do ending working as promised, it's even worse. Like stated above, this will become a plutocracy where a few well-heeled miners will drive the difficulty stake into the heart of all the small miners like myself. I'm out of the game now and kind of relieved. It was a lot of fun and very challenging but time to move on to a new hobby. There was never really any money in it for small timers like me but it was fun fooling myself
Everything is a matter of perspective. One neat thing about ASICs is that if they work as intended, even the small fry will be profitable for a long time. To whit:
http://tpbitcalc.appspot.com/?difficulty=993438908.9602&hashrate=60000&exchangerate=12.42&bitcoinsperblock=25.00&rigcost=1300&powerconsumption=60&powercost=0.10&investmentperiod=355
A BFL Single SC @ 1Billion Difficulty, still makes money. Not much, but not nothing. At a Billion difficulty (300x now). Something current day GPU miners could never say.