Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 12:06 am

Title: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 12:06 am
As the title says. How much does it cost to open a vendor account?
Also is it a fee or a deposit? ie. Is it returnable?
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: scout on May 12, 2013, 12:16 am
As the title says. How much does it cost to open a vendor account?
Also is it a fee or a deposit? ie. Is it returnable?

The vendor bond is, I believe, $500.

Yes, the vendor bond is refundable:

Quote from: wiki
You are required to pay a bond when opening a seller's account that will be refunded to you after you have demonstrated that you are an asset to the Silk Road vendor community. To be eligible for a refund, you must have completed at least 30 transactions totaling $1,500 or more and have been a vendor for at least 6 weeks. Click here to request a refund.
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: UK GROW TEK on May 12, 2013, 12:36 am
 really!!? That nice of SR what happens if you did not pay 500? Not that i am thinking of going anywhere if i can help it of coarse.
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: scout on May 12, 2013, 01:38 am
really!!? That nice of SR what happens if you did not pay 500? Not that i am thinking of going anywhere if i can help it of coarse.

If you started your vendor account prior to that increase in price (which was in December 2012) then you are not eligible for a refund. 
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: Libertas on May 12, 2013, 02:00 am
As the title says. How much does it cost to open a vendor account?
Also is it a fee or a deposit? ie. Is it returnable?

Further to scout's comment, you can find all the information you need here:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/wiki/index.php?title=Seller%27s_Guide

(I will also return your PM when I get a chance, sorry!)

Libertas
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 09:51 am
Thanks guys, interesting stuff....

Another question though, how much is the commission on sales? Presumably it's flat rate percentage?
I see that a vendor can choose to list items priced as pre-commission or post-commission, but I'm wondering what the actual rates are. Does it vary by category, price, etc?
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: Libertas on May 12, 2013, 10:01 am
Thanks guys, interesting stuff....

Another question though, how much is the commission on sales? Presumably it's flat rate percentage?
I see that a vendor can choose to list items priced as pre-commission or post-commission, but I'm wondering what the actual rates are. Does it vary by category, price, etc?

Commission rates can be found here, and do not vary by category or price - they are flat rates covering everything sold on the site:

Been searching the wiki and the forums and can't seem to see the transaction fee %'s spelled out anywhere.

Anybody know them, or have a link\want to point me in the right direction?

Hi moksha,

The commission scale has been laid out on the forums a number of times but it always disappears in the haze of crazy posts! Here's an example from DPR's State of the Road Address:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=8397.0

We also went to the Silk Road independent sellers to see what they thought an appropriate commission schedule would look like.  The average response looked like this:

15% of the first $10
11% of $10 - $50
8.14% of $50 - $250
5.6% of $250 - $1000
3.7% of $1000 - $5000

We looked at past sales data and our current and future revenue needs and were able to bring these numbers down even further:

10% of the first $50
8.5% of $50 - 150
6% of $150 - 300
3% of $300 - 500
2% of $500 - 1000
1.5% for everything over $1000

So taking DPR's fee scale, here is how a sale is broken down:

In a $300 sale, for example:

$50 is charged at 10% of the first $50, so $5 fee.
$100 is charged at 8.5% of the next $50 - $100, so $8.50 fee.
$150 is charged at 6% of the final $150 - $300, so $9 fee.

Total: $300.
Total commission: $22.50
Total paid to vendor for item: $277.50
Total paid to vendor for item, if hedging order (@ 4% hedging fee): $266.40


In a $1016 sale, for example:

$50 is charged at 10% from the $0 - $50 point, so $5 fee.
$100 is charged at 8.5% from the $50 - $100 point, so $8.50 fee.
$150 is charged at 6% from the $150 - $300 point, so $9 fee.
$200 is charged at 3% from the $300 - $500 point, so $6 fee.
$500 is charged at 2% from the $500 - $1000 point, so $10 fee.
$16 is charged at 1.5% from the $1000 and up point, so $0.24 fee.

Total: $1016.
Total commission: $38.74
Total paid to vendor for item: $977.26
Total paid to vendor for item, if hedging order (@ 4% hedging fee): $938.17


You may also be interested in the post I wrote in response to a question asked by Bungee54 about pre-commission and post-commission pricing. That post explains how much you get if you choose pre-commission, how much you get if you choose post-commission, how much you get if you decide to hedge, and what the customer will actually see on the listing itself depending on the option you choose.
You can find that post here:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=37765.msg429683#msg429683

- grahamgreene

One more thing to note is that fees are not charged on shipping costs.

Libertas
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 11:17 am
Awesome, cheers Libertas. Most useful. ★
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: Libertas on May 12, 2013, 11:28 am
Awesome, cheers Libertas. Most useful. ★

You're very welcome! :)
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 03:58 pm
Presumably the bond is payable up-front? ie. not possible to work it off with the first few sales?
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: tragicallyhip on May 12, 2013, 05:21 pm
You must pay the bond. It is only returnable once you have completed over $1500 USD in sales and have been a vendor for more than 6 weeks.

No you can not have a vendor account fronted to you.
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 05:43 pm
Shame. Would be nice if an account could be opened with a minus balance.
Then every time a sale is made, SR takes all the money, this carries on until the fee is paid.
After that, normal sales can start.
Would be a good incentive for new vendors to behave, or for people who have product but can't afford the bond.

Just a thought really.
I'm sure people have thoughts on why it can't work. lol.. 
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: tragicallyhip on May 12, 2013, 05:48 pm
If you're an honest person with access to quantities of illegal drugs or other items that you think will sell succesfully on SR then you probably also have access to 500$ to put up as bond.

I truly believe the $500 fee is a great deterrent of scammers.

I am  by no means a bulk seller of any kind and was able to afford the 500$ vendor fee no problem. I've also well paid it off and in 15 days I will receive my bond back.
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: Libertas on May 12, 2013, 07:49 pm
Presumably the bond is payable up-front? ie. not possible to work it off with the first few sales?

This is true, it is payable upfront (but it is a bond, not a fee, so it is refundable when the terms of the bond are met). You can read more about the bond here:

http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/wiki/index.php?title=Seller%27s_Guide#Bond

Shame. Would be nice if an account could be opened with a minus balance.
Then every time a sale is made, SR takes all the money, this carries on until the fee is paid.
After that, normal sales can start.
Would be a good incentive for new vendors to behave, or for people who have product but can't afford the bond.

Just a thought really
I'm sure people have thoughts on why it can't work. lol.. 

The bond was introduced to deter scammers. If it worked the other way, starting with a minus balance, a person could simply buy an ounce of weed, sell it all in grams to make up the $500, some buyers would inevitably FE and it would make the bond pointless in the first place. There is incentive with the current system to be a good, legitimate vendor as you can see from the page linked above.

Libertas
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 08:38 pm
Presumably the bond is payable up-front? ie. not possible to work it off with the first few sales?

This is true, it is payable upfront (but it is a bond, not a fee, so it is refundable when the terms of the bond are met). You can read more about the bond here:

http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/wiki/index.php?title=Seller%27s_Guide#Bond

Shame. Would be nice if an account could be opened with a minus balance.
Then every time a sale is made, SR takes all the money, this carries on until the fee is paid.
After that, normal sales can start.
Would be a good incentive for new vendors to behave, or for people who have product but can't afford the bond.

Just a thought really
I'm sure people have thoughts on why it can't work. lol.. 

The bond was introduced to deter scammers. If it worked the other way, starting with a minus balance, a person could simply buy an ounce of weed, sell it all in grams to make up the $500, some buyers would inevitably FE and it would make the bond pointless in the first place. There is incentive with the current system to be a good, legitimate vendor as you can see from the page linked above.

Libertas


Oh I can see there is definite incentive as it stands, not to mention the fact that giving people decent product would be a good thing.

Maybe FE could be disabled for a negative balance starters account?

Meh, I'm just thinking out loud really.
I've got a couple of ideas for some products to sell, some gaps in the UK domestic market. I'm not a wealthy man,and I wouldn't plan on shifting massive amounts. But it would take me ages to save up the bond. lol

Oh well. Better start saving those pennies. lol
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 12, 2013, 08:44 pm
If you're an honest person with access to quantities of illegal drugs or other items that you think will sell succesfully on SR then you probably also have access to 500$ to put up as bond.

I truly believe the $500 fee is a great deterrent of scammers.

I am  by no means a bulk seller of any kind and was able to afford the 500$ vendor fee no problem. I've also well paid it off and in 15 days I will receive my bond back.


That's just it, I have the ability to produce on a larger scale (currently personal amounts), but I certainly don't have $500 on the hip.

But no drama, I'll just save up for a while.
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: Libertas on May 12, 2013, 08:55 pm
Oh I can see there is definite incentive as it stands, not to mention the fact that giving people decent product would be a good thing.

Maybe FE could be disabled for a negative balance starters account?

Meh, I'm just thinking out loud really.
I've got a couple of ideas for some products to sell, some gaps in the UK domestic market. I'm not a wealthy man,and I wouldn't plan on shifting massive amounts. But it would take me ages to save up the bond. lol

Oh well. Better start saving those pennies. lol

Requesting that buyers FE is not permitted until a vendor has made 35+ actual transactions and been a member for 1 month+. It's important to do financial projections to include the worst case scenario before becoming a vendor and to factor in the fact that money may be tied up for 20+ days before you will be paid.

You seem like a person that is very interested in your security arrangements etc., so if you do decide to become a vendor I wish you the very best of luck with it! :)

Libertas
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: Roxanne on May 13, 2013, 07:50 am
Holy shit some of you guys are sittin on a small goldmine lol
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: android465764E on May 13, 2013, 08:09 am
Oh I can see there is definite incentive as it stands, not to mention the fact that giving people decent product would be a good thing.

Maybe FE could be disabled for a negative balance starters account?

Meh, I'm just thinking out loud really.
I've got a couple of ideas for some products to sell, some gaps in the UK domestic market. I'm not a wealthy man,and I wouldn't plan on shifting massive amounts. But it would take me ages to save up the bond. lol

Oh well. Better start saving those pennies. lol

Requesting that buyers FE is not permitted until a vendor has made 35+ actual transactions and been a member for 1 month+. It's important to do financial projections to include the worst case scenario before becoming a vendor and to factor in the fact that money may be tied up for 20+ days before you will be paid.

You seem like a person that is very interested in your security arrangements etc., so if you do decide to become a vendor I wish you the very best of luck with it! :)

Libertas


Cheers fella. Yeah, watch this space. :)
Title: Re: How much is a Vendor account bond?
Post by: GotGas on July 07, 2013, 12:26 am
I incorrectly assumed the bond was fixed in BTC as I had checked it two days in a row and it was the same.
Practically for me it takes up to a week between dumping cash into the system and it coming up in SR.
So with the recent drop in dollar value I am short of BTC for the vendor bond. Looks like I'm going to have to wait out until the exchange rates level out a bit.

So a question for current vendors - are you hedging funds or not? What way do you find is the best or ends up financially better off?