Quote from: rph on September 23, 2011, 03:25:57 AM

RE the FPGA group buy, it's a good idea but IMO will need to hit qty 250-1,000 per order
to even get 10 minutes attention from the senior execs with the power to approve a
real discount [30-50%+]

-rph

Higher than that actually. 1k parts isn't even close to being considered enough volume to get any real discount.

Even if every single Bitcoin miner were to participate in this GB, the volume doesn't justify any real discount. In the industry, you have to have part volumes > 10-100k (depending on many factors) to get any real leverage, and that applies only to customers who agree to long term business relationships as well. Bitcoin is a drop in the bucket compared to commercial designs.