And what about an old Bosskut Gazelle?

wannacut · December 2017

Hi, dear MTC'ers!

I am still hoping to find a beginner's cutter at a low budget entry cost. I really want to try out first if cutting is going to be the right hobby for me at all before I am willing to engage in a more expensive cutting machine.

Last night I came across an offer for a used Bosskut Gazelle at ebay UK for £125.00. Two cutting mats would need replacement.The cost for a cutting mat seems to be around 15 to 20 USD, so this would add to the cost of GBP 125.00. In addition I need to have everything shipped to Greece which might be pricey, too.
Anyways, if the total cost is something below £ 200.00 it is an acceptable price for me. I am just so afraid that I could end up with a cutter that is no fun at all but only trouble.
Can anyone of you please advise on Bosskut Gazelle?
I know there is not much Gazelle support around anymore, so it would help if the Gazelle was not too complicated in handling it. Btw, I would also like to know if it is as slow as a Cameo?

Thanks for helping, guys!

The link on ebay is
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosskut-Gazelle-Die-Cutting-Machine-/302504355969

Calgalcre8s · December 2017

juliefes Let's get one of our cutter expert's attention to help with this question.

juliefes · December 2017

There have been two different versions of the Bosskut Gazelle Cutter. You will need to confirm if the machine you are considering has an old or new motherboard. Drivers are different, depending on which version you have. Drivers for the original Gazelle are available in the Make The Cut Help files. You will need to get drivers for the updated machine from Bosskut. You also need to make sure you can get your computer to recognize the drivers and cutter. Gazelle installs as a "printer" device. You may need assistance with installation from Bosskut support. I had difficulty getting the machine to work on a friend's computer. I would hate for you to invest money in a used machine, with great shipping cost, just to find you cannot get it to install.

However, once installed, the Gazelle is an excellent cutter with excellent cutting pressure. It is much better than the Cameo. It has speed much faster than the cameo.

As a beginning cutter user, I think you might do better with a cutter with less of a learning curve, and greater ease of installation and use. How about a used Pazzles Inspiration? You can use it with Make The Cut, it has excellent cutting pressure, excellent speed, and is easy to use. You may find one for $100 plus shipping and import duty at the Facebook Used Craft Cutters For Sale Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/387448384793419/

wannacut · December 2017

Thank you very much @juliefes ! I knew you would come with real in-depth knowledge of the machine! I have asked the seller on ebay how old the Gazelle was and I hope that if I can provide you with the age of it that you can tell me which driver I would need.
I have been hunting Pazzles offers for almost two years. The marketing of Pazzles is very seducing, I must admit, but it also looks like many people have serious trouble with Pazzles and leave bad reviews. I would have given it a try if there were Pazzles dealers in Greece. It is a big problem if I order a cutting machine from abroad and would need to send it back. The cost is just too high, let alone if it were to be sent from the US. Just too complicated and expensive with import duty on top of the shipping cost. A year ago I was trying to buy a used Pazzles from the US and only then the seller and I together learned about all the extra costs. In the end I had to let the deal go ...
I know your fb page for used cutters and I regularly browse it. It is a very useful page indeed and I am still waiting for more European offers to come.
Have a nice evening!

wannacut · December 2017

@juliefes I just received this answer

The machine is about three years old it comes with an installation disc and a dongle.

The courier cost will be about £ 45,00!! Wow, that's a lot. If we have a 20 kg parcel sent from Germany to Greece this is about £ 26,00 (30 Euros).
Would a dongle mean a problem ? I mean, I do not intend to use the Funtime Software but want to use mtc and later SCAL.

Crazy_Mr_Zing · December 2017

I think @juliefes might be best to answer your question so will draw her attention

What cutters are available to for you buy new either in Greece (or the EU)
Maybe a New more budget friendly cutter would be an option just to try then if find the need you could upgrade if required at a later date

micki542 · December 2017

I have a gazelle. It is my only cutter. I love it. I have 3 dongles and don't know where any of them are. I use MTC all the time. I did get the adjustable blade for it. I also upgraded the mother board to print and cut.

juliefes · December 2017

I have a friend in Seattle who wants to sell her Pazzles Inspiration because she purchased the newer Pazzles Vue. I have tested it, and it works well - only used the one time I tested before she purchased the new one. The price is $150 plus shipping. But as you say, shipping is a huge expense. Purchasing new includes a warranty and a couple months of free support and downloads up to 800 cutting projects during that time. I think it may be a better buy to get the new Pazzles Vue. Pazzles machines are sold at Amazon, so perhaps you can get a new one there. Not sure if they would offer you better shipping options. I only read a few bad reviews about the older Pazzles machines at Amazon. People who have perfectly working machines are much less likely post reviews. And most people purchase direct from the company. So I would take those negative reviews of the older machines very lightly. The Newer Pazzles Vue machines work much better.

Believe me, as one who has provided professional support for many different cutters, that there are at least a few problematic machines in a batch of every brand of cutter. For that reason, it is probably in your best interest to buy new with a warranty. Better to have to pay shipping for a repair under warranty, than to take a complete loss on the purchase of a used machine without a warranty.

As for the used Gazelle, if only a few years old, it most likely has the new motherboard. The security key would only be needed for use with the Funtime software. But you would also need the software update available from BossKut to get it to work with Windows 7 or 10. It should work with MTC or SCAL4. The PNC of the older Gazelle machines worked perfectly with MTC without registration marks.

But the newer Gazelle machines have an offset issue, so PNC worked only with the Funtime software, and not with MTC. I have not tried it using SCAL4. I don't use the Gazelle for PNC because it was not accurate using MTC with the new motherboard. I much prefer the Pazzles Vue for PNC.

wannacut · December 2017

Thank you all for your input!

Good to hear that there are some Gazelle users around @micki542 and happy with their machine.

@Crazy_Mr_Zing I think there is actually no known cutter brand available in Greece and certainly not on the island where I live. All the known hobby cutter brands in Europe are actually American and thus usually all come with the extra cost.

After reading your post last night @juliefes I have been doubtful all day about how to proceed with the Gazelle and just now withdrew on ebay from my interest in the machine. I felt a little sad about it because now I am back to square one and I have been looking for an affordable machine for so long already. I had been close at bying a cutter twice and in the end there came up a problem. So, I am feeling a little down but most likely this will pass soon because I shall start hunting Pazzles as from now. Looks like I finally get some support from Mr. Dutch. He is getting tired of my being obsessed and wants to get over and done with it.
You had some good arguments, juliefes, that caught the attention of Mr. Dutch. Bless you!

SandyMcC · December 2017

KNK USA contracts a warehouse in London through which it ships new KNK Zing Orbits. I can check tomorrow to see if they have other dealers in Europe, if you're interested.

wannacut · December 2017

Hello @SandyMcC , Yes, please - other dealers in Europe would be interesting to me, certainly in the longer run. Right now, I think, I should start with a more beginners-like machine. Thank you for letting me know!

SandyMcC · December 2017

@wannacut, these would be the two nearest to you in Greece:

Poland:

3D Pik

Masovian Voivodeship, Poland

[email protected]

48 666 080 518

Saudi Arabia:

Badaam

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

966126504688

http://badaam.net

Crazy_Mr_Zing · December 2017

By beginner machine do your mean more budget friendly or easier to learn and use

although a have a predecessor to the zing orbit I never really considered it difficult to master though I also didn't expect to master it quickly either
I think with any cutting machine it takes time to just get the feel for what setting maybe suitable then by trail and error perfect them

Some other machine and software do make it look easy with preset setting for different materials but from what I read these setting are not always 100% suitable so tweaking is required . so once again it comes back to getting to know which settings work well with the material you have

wannacut · December 2017

Thank you @SandyMcC and @Crazy_Mr_Zing for your information. This will be useful after I have done my first steps on a smaller budget and hopefully easy to use machine. I have finally found a used Pazzles at ebay Germany and will give this a try.
Have a wonderful Christmas!

SandyMcC · December 2017

Congrats on finding the used cutter. And Merry Christmas to you, as well!

And what about an old Bosskut Gazelle?

Comments

The machine is about three years old it comes with an installation disc and a dongle.

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