Silk Road forums
Support => Feature requests => Topic started by: RabidDog on October 12, 2011, 03:55 am
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I propose a modification that helps screen real vendors from fakes/scammers/LE and thus protects everyone on SR.
All vendors must receive at least 5 perfect (5/5) feedbacks from 5 different reputable buyers within their first 30 days on SR (the grace period) and thereafter must maintain at least 3 new 5/5 feedbacks from different reputable buyers each month (or every 30-day rolling window) or they get their account closed. Send them a PM with a warning at 10 days out, then at 5, then 3, 2, 1, done.
This "sell or get the fuck out" policy would help filter legit vendors from fake ones.
A "reputable buyer" is a buyer who has at least 3 finalized, in-escrow transactions on SR.
To implement you would need to add a checkbox to the finalize screen for both the buyer and seller:
For the buyer:
[ ] Was this transaction completed entirely in-escrow (i.e. did you release funds to the seller only after receiving your order)?
And for the seller:
[ ] Was this transaction completed entirely in-escrow (i.e. did the buyer release funds to you after you shipped the order)?
If the buyer leaves a 5/5 feedback and both the seller and buyer agree that the transaction was completed fully in-escrow, then it gives some confidence that both parties are legit. Once a buyer has completed 3 of these types of transactions from 3 *different* vendors, then the buyer can be considered reputable. The buyer must maintain at least 1 new transaction per 30-day rolling window (can be from a repeat vendor) that is in-escrow finalized in order to maintain "reputable buyer" status.
One obvious abuse of this system would be people who sign up and then sell low-cost legal items to maintain their status. To solve this problem, a category split should probably be made. On the vendor settings/signup page, add this:
To vendor:
Which categories do you plan to sell goods in?
[ ] Drugs
[ ] Other shit (you get the idea)
Vendors can only list items in any "illicit" category if the vendor has met the "Sell Or Get The Fuck Out" criteria.
Finally, for vendors that want to go on vacation, they can take down all their listings and check an "I'm not selling right now" box. Accounts that are on hold longer than 30 days get closed. If a vendor comes back before the 30-day window, they go back into "new account" grace period, meaning they have to get 5 perfect feedbacks from reputable buyers.
It's a tough system but I think it's safe to say none of the legit vendors on here would be bothered by it (legit vendors, please comment if you feel otherwise). For the scammers though, tough luck.
RD
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I'm not a fan of this. I often go through periods of not selling for 1-2 months due to supply issues, then sell for a few weeks, repeat.
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Hey Silk Road! I think BOTH poster above have a high degree of merit in their posts!! Maybe not kick sellers or buyers out but note that they have periods of inactivity. I like the ideas though!
+1 on both posts
Paperchasing
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I'm not a fan of this. I often go through periods of not selling for 1-2 months due to supply issues, then sell for a few weeks, repeat.
I completely understand. That's why I suggested an "I'm on vacation" box for sellers. The time before account goes back to grace period could be variable depending on rep.
The thing is in an anonymous system, sellers can sell their accounts (possibly to malicious people). Worse, a seller could get busted and trade his account to LE as part of a plea deal. In such a situation the pattern you would see is an absence of selling for a while following by an eager resurgence of activity. When that happens, it's bad for everyone--even unassociated vendors--because pressure may be exerted on the base of buyers by LE and/or LE may be able to do better seller profiling based on shipping patterns.
RD
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Vendors SHOULD take breaks from selling on public boards...the reason Ene from OVDB got popped is he just never stopped. he was being watched for months prior. Had he taken some breaks? Might have been OK. Like when I am out of acid I have to go find something else to sell, putting myself at risk? I only work with certain things, and I like to take breaks. I should be in no way penalized for taking breaks. In the 20 years I've been doing this I've learned a few things- one is that breaks are healthy. They let the heat go down, bring your sanity back, let you take a look at how things are going...you may have security issues you don't know about unless you take a step back and look. Or the feds kick your door in. I prefer the former over the latter.
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All good advice, munchies. The only penalization a seller gets is his feedback gets "stale", affecting his overall rank. But I don't think selling activity should be imposed on sellers - what about the part-timers who might come into extra stock and want to sell it and flip the BTC to get something they like more? To me you're just cutting the potential for a lot of products you normally don't see right out of the equation.
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Yeah, I totally understand taking a break from here. I had to do it, just get away, and keep some perspective. This site can be seductive, seems like all fun and games, and I have to get away to remember what we're doing, and what the stakes are...easy to get sloppy, on the buyer side anyway, I presume same goes on seller side. We're kind of like in new territory, not sure of what/who is watching, and it's human nature to let your guard down.
I've had sellers just disappear on me, good sfellers, and I just figure they were tired of this game for bit, maybe for good...I wouldn't want anything that took away their earned rep and status they've attained.
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Yes it's very easy to get complacent on any side, and that's where mistakes are made or you mention something to someone without thinking.
One of the best books I've read on doing business is called the "e-myth" (actually the e-myth revisisted). It's fairly short and there is a ton of good information in there about running a business. It deals more with the functional side of things as opposed to the message side of things, but most of it is spot on. Every successful business has bult that business because they came up with good systems of operation and stuck to them. Even if the variables inside of that system can differ greatly, a good system is KEY to success.
If you ever order from me, you will notice that I take serious pride in my packaging. All of my packaging has multiple steps of security precautions and each and every one gets the same treatment. Whether it's an eighth or an ounce of product is immaterial. The system has to be solid, but changeable to avoid patterns.
I agree with everything you said, Blues. Just because a vendor takes a break doesn't mean he should be penalized - he's already taking a hit because feedback goes stale quite quickly with the newer weighting system and his rank will drop quite quickly.
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No way this is a bad idea. some sellers go away for thigns beyond thier control, like short arrests and what not, they shouldnt lose thier seller account just 4 that.
Plus some sellers wait until they have quality product then sell it instead of just constantly pumping out any bullshit they come across
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I love taking a break and sitting out. When it's by choice of course. Let's the proverbial heat die down. Let your mind rest. Very cool. I'd hate to be chillin one day, get caught up in some extra curricular activities ;) and get dumped by my fav site for inactivity. That would suck!
How about getting kicked for not spending enough in a month? Older vendors excluded. Trade your btc w/me or get out policy sucks too. Lets considerate on getting out LE and scammers.
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Obviously having vendors sell and as many transactions finalize as quickly as possible is Silk Road's MO, that's how he gets paid. A turnover of inactive accounts is good and he would obviously the extra $150 every time a vendors account is re-activated.