Silk Road forums
Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: chasezip2201 on January 23, 2013, 06:09 am
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Hey I placed an order about a month ago with a vendor. Unfortunately it didn't work out between us and I am expecting a refund here shortly. Now BTC has went up significantly since this time. Will this be reflected in my refund?
Thanks.
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it depends on whether if the vendor hedged or unhedged his wares. an explanation of "hedges" should be on the SR wiki
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Hey I placed an order about a month ago with a vendor. Unfortunately it didn't work out between us and I am expecting a refund here shortly. Now BTC has went up significantly since this time. Will this be reflected in my refund?
Thanks.
Hi chasezip2201,
Most of the information you require for any topic is covered either in the Buyer's Guide, the Seller's Guide, or the Silk Road Wiki. You should take a read through them in order to gain a better understanding of how the entire transaction process works, from purchase to finalization and everything in between.
Escrow hedge
Unfortunately, the Bitcoin exchange rate isn't as stable as we would all like it to be, and can fluctuate wildly in a matter of hours, let alone the days or weeks it takes for a package to arrive. Because of this, there is a real danger that the Bitcoins being held in your escrow account will lose value by the time your vendor gets paid or you are refunded. So, we've given the option to vendors to hedge the future payments they are expecting from escrow such that the dollar value of the payment doesn't change as the Bitcoin exchange rate changes.
For example, a seller is hedging the escrow for a 10 btc order you place with them, and the dollar value of your order when you purchase it is $100. Now, let's say your order never arrives and your vendor agrees to a full refund, but those 10 btc are no longer worth $100, they're worth $50! Because your vendor hedged the escrow, you won't get a refund of 10 btc, you'll get 20 btc equaling the original value of $100. Of course, the opposite is also true. If Bitcoins appreciate in value while your order is in escrow, your refund will be fewer Bitcoins, but still equaling the original dollar value.
When checking out, you will see which orders will be hedged and which won't. After the order is placed, your escrow balance will reflect the dollar value of your hedged orders and the Bitcoin value of your unhedged orders. All hedged orders are hedged as soon as the order is placed. So when getting a refund for hedged items, don't be surprised if the number of Bitcoins you get back is not the same as the amount you paid.
If you need the most up-to-date USD/BTC exchange rate, we recommend mtgoxlive.com.
Silk Road Buyer's Guide:
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/buyers_guide
Silk Road Seller's Guide:
silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/sellers_guide
Silk Road Wiki:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/wiki
- grahamgreene