What do I call offering escrow as an option, but not allowing anybody to use it? I call that a choice that a buyer has to make whether to deal with that vendor or not. Escrow is indeed a real option, as is evident by your use of it and refusal to FE (which I commend you for). I did not say the vendor is not a scammer; in fact, what I said was: SR Support have to conduct an investigation into the vendor's behaviour and must be 100% certain that scamming has occurred before suspending him. For instance, it may be the case that the person dropping off packages got busted, or the postal service became aware of a vendor's packaging method, or countless other possibilities. The vendor's account is suspended whilst these investigations take place. Do you honestly believe that is the case?! The process that is in place is there for a reason; it protects both buyers and sellers in the event that something goes wrong. If a vendor is suspended pending investigation and Silk Road cancels all their orders and returns the BTC to customers, but the investigation proves that the vendor did nothing wrong, then the vendor will be out of pocket through no fault of his own. You will not get special treatment simply because you feel a bit put out that you have to wait a few days to receive your refund. Silk Road does not make any money on refunded orders when a vendor has been suspended. The buyer is refunded in full, and that refund does not affect the buyer's refund rate. Furthermore, Bitcoin's value fluctuates both up and down so your inference that Silk Road actually wants the order to go to resolution to make money on any (potential) increase in Bitcoin's value from hedging is ridiculous. It is a free market; you are more than welcome to take your business elsewhere if you do not find Silk Road to be to your satisfaction, cabbagehead. Libertas