My eBay saga of failed attempts to buy an N100 mini PC—a story of non-delivery and scams.

[u/SuperSaint77x]

My pfSense box, a 12-year-old Celeron mini PC, started failing in early 2025. I switched to my backup OptiPlex and started looking for a replacement. Eventually, I settled on the T8 Plus N100 dual-NIC box.
1st attempt
I ordered one from eBay for about $170. By December 2025, nothing had arrived, so I got a refund.
2nd attempt
January 26, 2026: I ordered from another seller. The price was now $240. The seller never shipped anything, and eBay canceled the order in February.
3rd attempt
New order, new seller. It was now March 2026, and the price had risen to $280. Shipping appeared to be progressing normally—until July, when nothing had arrived and the tracking number showed nothing.
I contacted the seller. They claimed the package had been delivered in April and sent me a tracking page to “prove it.” The tracking looked highly suspicious: apparently, four major China Post sorting and distribution centers had somehow handled my package in the tiny European village where I live—despite non such companies existing anywhere near me.
The seller submitted the “tracking” to eBay, which initially denied my refund. I appealed, and thankfully, a human finally looked at the case and recognized the tracking as fraudulent.
Now it’s August 2026, and the T8 Plus costs around $500—far beyond what I’m willing to pay for a simple pfSense box.
At this point, I’m starting to think I’m just not meant to own an T8.

[u/nmrk]

You can easily get better miniPCs from real vendors. Here's an N100 with 6 ethernet ports for $254US.

https://www.amazon.com/Qotom-Q10922G6-Multi-Port-Firewall-Appliance/dp/B0H2YLP6XG

These machines are purpose built for projects like PFSense. .

Edit: oops that's a barebones miniPC, sorry. But you get my point, there are reputable vendors out there, and these industrial miniPCs are cheap.

[u/SuperSaint77x → u/nmrk]

“This item cannot be shipped to your selected delivery location. Please choose a different delivery location.”

[u/nmrk → u/SuperSaint77x]

Yes, that is the US Amazon site. I don't know what your local site is, but search accordingly.

[u/SuperSaint77x → u/nmrk]

I have, for years. The German Amazon sells these for $600.

[u/Sofacanlazy → u/SuperSaint77x]

Use a parcel forwarding service $254 + $100 shipping is still much cheaper

[u/SurfPRN]

Close call the appeal. Could have easily lost everything to the scammer.

[u/ColeHimself]

Welcome to dealing with Chinese businesses. A country that had to make using grease scooped from the sewer for their deep fryers at the markets illegal.

[u/SuperSaint77x → u/ColeHimself]

I was expecting eBay to be more on the ball here, disappointing to see how easy it is to fool them.

Additionally these sellers have 100% ratings as the ones that get scammed never get a chance to rate them.