Silk Road forums
Discussion => Shipping => Topic started by: Rook on August 08, 2011, 09:33 pm
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I've had two customers in a row tell me that they have received empty envelopes.. Is this more likely a poor-luck streak of postal service theft/buyer fraud, or do I have bigger things to worry about?
(e.g. should I be lying low for a while?)
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sketchy. That would have me very scared. Two different buyers? How good is your shipping method? The odds of it being random are low, so my guess is either fraud (two buyers who know each other) or an issue on your end. Empty packages doesn't sound like a scam.
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Two buyers could be the same person. A scammer would know that you would probably cancel the order to someone who claimed that before as well. Fucking escrow.
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A. This Could just be two isolated scammers near the same time.
B. (More Likely) - if you use the same post office a postal worker snagged it and sent it off.
C. If they were sent out of different post office and too different states - time to quit sending for a bit
Since you sell bud, and are selling in an envelope I would guess it would look bulky.. kinda like an 8th in an envelope.
Hope you don't have to worry.
Peace,
DigitalAlch
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Hey Rook,
I don't know if you are aware, but the "I got an empty package" ruse is pretty old in the online drug game. It's main benefit to the scammer is that it drives the seller crazy, causing them to run around like a chicken with their head cut off trying to find the (imaginary) dishonest helper or the freakishly lucky and observant postal employee. I'd seen this scam pop up *at least* once a year on DB for about 5 years. It also has what I call the "WTF" factor because you've never had an empty package get delivered before, right? So, when the first person tells you that, you pretty much disbelieve them, but when the *second* person says it too...then you STOP trying to get the two buyers to pay and you START looking all around your organization and your other links to the outside world.
If I was a betting man (I'm not), I'd bet both buyers are the same person or they are doing this together. An envelope with weed in it is a distinctive bulging shape...can't hardly ship it empty and not notice, right? Oh, and my two cents on packing is: don't send weed in an envelope. The buds get smooshed and it's much easier to get a tear in the envelope (unless you're using Tyvek ones, then forget I said that) which could disclose the contents. Just use those small, free, priority mail boxes at the USPS...even if you're shipping it First Class. ;) Your bud *might* get a free shipping upgrade. Yippee!
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Rook is 100% responsible seller, all the way to UK :)
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sketchy. That would have me very scared. Two different buyers? How good is your shipping method? The odds of it being random are low, so my guess is either fraud (two buyers who know each other) or an issue on your end. Empty packages doesn't sound like a scam.
I've been shipping a lot since the end of june, various products, usually small quantities. This is my first problem. I'm thinking about switching things up, limiting my orders to higher quantities and using only Priority/Express shipping for now on since I've yet to have a problem with these yet. I usually switch my labels up every few weeks, but I had been using this one for almost a month, I thought it was working really well but now I wish I had switched it up earlier.
[/quote]Two buyers could be the same person. A scammer would know that you would probably cancel the order to someone who claimed that before as well. Fucking escrow.
This is exactly what I did. I've already had a buyer try and leverage the feedback system in order to get free stuff/insure future discounts, and I figured if this was a nasty trick by a competitor I didn't want to take an unnecessary hit to my rating.
I don't think they were the same person, I'm not certain but I feel like the two packages went to two different states. Also, one was just a small sample order, which makes an odd target for a scam
A. This Could just be two isolated scammers near the same time.
B. (More Likely) - if you use the same post office a postal worker snagged it and sent it off.
C. If they were sent out of different post office and too different states - time to quit sending for a bit
Since you sell bud, and are selling in an envelope I would guess it would look bulky.. kinda like an 8th in an envelope.
Hope you don't have to worry.
Peace,
DigitalAlch
neither of these packages were bud, and my packaging is such that it would be very hard to feel the pills unless you "knew" they were in there, however, I was using the the same post office/labeling for a while, so if a local postal worker caught one and snagged it, it wouldn't be too hard to spot the others. I'm definitely going to be switching things up for a while.
Hey Rook,
I don't know if you are aware, but the "I got an empty package" ruse is pretty old in the online drug game. It's main benefit to the scammer is that it drives the seller crazy, causing them to run around like a chicken with their head cut off trying to find the (imaginary) dishonest helper or the freakishly lucky and observant postal employee. I'd seen this scam pop up *at least* once a year on DB for about 5 years. It also has what I call the "WTF" factor because you've never had an empty package get delivered before, right? So, when the first person tells you that, you pretty much disbelieve them, but when the *second* person says it too...then you STOP trying to get the two buyers to pay and you START looking all around your organization and your other links to the outside world.
If I was a betting man (I'm not), I'd bet both buyers are the same person or they are doing this together. An envelope with weed in it is a distinctive bulging shape...can't hardly ship it empty and not notice, right? Oh, and my two cents on packing is: don't send weed in an envelope. The buds get smooshed and it's much easier to get a tear in the envelope (unless you're using Tyvek ones, then forget I said that) which could disclose the contents. Just use those small, free, priority mail boxes at the USPS...even if you're shipping it First Class. ;) Your bud *might* get a free shipping upgrade. Yippee!
Another reason I'm hesitant to think these two incident are one guy is that is that one of them is a return customer I've had successful dealings with in the past.
Rook is 100% responsible seller, all the way to UK :)
Thanks for the Promo Eurgbp ;)