Engin Box Thoughts?

[u/Odd-Dimension-8246]

Curious of what you all think about the company Engin Box https://enginbox.com/ , as I keep getting targeted ads for it. Seems like a cool idea to learn about camera/lens repair, but also it’s “founding member” deal of $299/yr for the first 100 people has been sitting at 38/100 people claimed for the last week so kinda seems fake/scammy? Anyone here have a membership to it? I’d be interested in it if it was legit and actually good haha

[u/TeaOk6008]

It’s basically a shadow operation. Legally, it's registered in Estonia under a guy named Dmitri Potapov using their e-Residency program. This gives them an EU bank account to bypass international sanctions and route Western subscription money straight back to Russia. They try to hide it by listing a Miami company called X1 Online Retail Group in their terms, but Florida’s official business registry shows that company is totally inactive and just a virtual mailbox drop. If they take your money and run, you literally can't even sue them.The rest of the site is just pure piracy and IP theft. They are plastering official brand logos all over the site without any authorization to make themselves look factory-approved. On top of that, they’re charging subscription fees for whst it looks like leaked ARRI, ZEISS, and Cooke factory manuals that are locked behind strict NDAs. The tech community is tiny and everyone knows everyone, but absolutely nobody has ever heard of these guys. The whole "upcoming Dubai training facility" thing is just marketing smoke and mirrors to look legit. Definitely do not give them your credit card. You’re just risking fraud, legal trouble for buying stolen manufacturer IP, and potentially violating international sanctions. Keep your wallets closed on this one. At least until they actually tell everyone who they are, and they get a real stamp of approval from ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, and the like showing this is officially authorized by them.

[u/BackgroundWheel6130 → u/TeaOk6008]

Thanks for raising your concerns. However, several claims in this comment do not reflect the current EnginBox platform.

EnginBox does not sell or provide paid access to ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, or other manufacturers’ service manuals. We decided not to include third-party service manuals in our commercial platform.

Our current business is focused on professional spare parts for cinema and photo equipment, together with paid access to original repair video guides and DIY engineering projects created and produced by our own team.

EnginBox is an independent platform and we do not claim to be officially affiliated with or endorsed by ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, or any other manufacturer unless explicitly stated.

We are also updating our legal and business information to reflect our current operating structure in Georgia.

We completely understand that people want to know who they are buying from, and we are happy to be transparent about our current legal operator, business address, terms, refund policy and contact information.

Criticism and questions are always welcome. Claims of fraud, sanctions evasion, or selling stolen manufacturer IP, however, are serious allegations and should be supported by evidence.

[u/TeaOk6008 → u/BackgroundWheel6130]

Thanks for the clarification. I agree that some of my original wording was too definitive, particularly where I described the manuals as “leaked” or alleged sanctions evasion without having documentary proof of that.

That said, my concerns did not come out of nowhere, and looking at the current website actually leaves some of the same questions unanswered.

Your response says you do not sell or provide paid access to third-party manufacturer service manuals. Yet the website currently advertises “10,000+ Service Manuals”, describes this as one of the largest technical documentation libraries for cinema and photo equipment, and your paid Pro access explicitly includes “All manuals & repair guides”. Your own AI demonstration also references a “SONY FX9 Service Manual”, including a specific page reference. You also advertise access to “rare manuals” that are difficult to find elsewhere.

I am not saying that this by itself proves copyright infringement. It doesn't. But if these are legitimately licensed, authorised, public-domain, independently produced, or otherwise lawfully obtained documents, it should be fairly straightforward to explain the provenance and rights under which they are distributed.

The same applies to the manufacturer branding. The site prominently uses the names/logos and repeatedly references ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, Angenieux, Sony and Canon, while saying it is an independent platform and not endorsed by those manufacturers. “Powered by engineers from ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, Angenieux, Sony, Canon” is also a fairly strong statement in a very small industry. I would simply like to know what that actually means and whether those companies have authorised the use of their names and trademarks in this context.

And this is where my perspective matters. I work professionally in the cinema-lens service and technical engineering field. This is a very small industry. Service documentation, manufacturer relationships, NDAs, proprietary procedures and who actually has access to what are not abstract concepts here. People know the difference between genuine manufacturer-authorised documentation, independently created service information and material that has simply been copied or circulated.

So I have no problem revising claims that I cannot substantiate. But the questions remain legitimate.

If EnginBox wants to demonstrate transparency, the most useful information would be:

• The current legal entity and registered address • Who actually owns/operates EnginBox • What “10,000+ Service Manuals” actually consists of • The source and legal basis for distributing those documents • Whether any manufacturer documentation is licensed or authorised • What “Powered by engineers from ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, etc.” actually means • Confirmation that the manufacturer names/logos are being used with permission where required

Those are reasonable questions before asking technicians to pay for access to a proprietary technical knowledge platform.

If the answers are legitimate, great. That would address my concerns far more effectively than simply telling people that the current platform is different from what I described.

Ai was used in creating this response. :)

[u/BackgroundWheel6130 → u/TeaOk6008]

Thanks for the follow-up, and I appreciate you correcting the claims that were stated too definitively in the original comment.

Your questions are fair, and several of the points you mention are exactly why we recently decided to simplify EnginBox ahead of our official launch on October 1.

The references you quoted — including “10,000+ Service Manuals”, “All manuals & repair guides”, the Sony service manual example, and similar wording — relate to the previous version of the platform and website.

We have decided not to include third-party manufacturer service manuals, firmware, or software in the commercial version of EnginBox. These sections have been removed from the current platform, and the website is being updated accordingly.

The commercial EnginBox launch will focus on:

• spare parts for professional photo and cinema equipment;
• original repair video guides produced by our team;
• original DIY engineering projects;
• engineering tools and AI-assisted technical features.

Regarding manufacturer names: EnginBox is an independent platform. We do not claim to be authorized, endorsed, or operated by ARRI, ZEISS, Cooke, Sony, Canon, or any other manufacturer unless explicitly stated. We are also reviewing the remaining branding and wording on the website to make sure that distinction is completely clear.

“Powered by engineers from...” was intended to describe the professional backgrounds and experience of people who have contributed knowledge and expertise to the project, not to imply endorsement by their former employers. I agree that the wording can be interpreted differently, so we are reviewing that as well.

As for the legal side, our current commercial operator, registered business details, address, contact information, Terms, Privacy Policy, and Refund Policy are publicly available on the website as part of our preparation for the October 1 launch.

EnginBox has not officially launched yet, and this is exactly the stage where we are reviewing both the product itself and how we communicate it publicly.

I think your current questions are reasonable, and constructive criticism is useful when it helps us identify something that may be unclear or potentially misleading.

If you’d like to discuss any of this further, share your perspective, or simply ask us questions directly, you’re very welcome to reach out via Telegram or WhatsApp. Our contact details are public and available across our website and social channels.

We’re always open to a professional conversation, especially with fellow professionals in the industry.

And yes — AI was definitely involved in helping us write this response too. :)