How about don't read the forums!! Actually go to the main site.. Find the items you want. Then read the feedback on that exact item form that vendor. Then go to the vendors main page and read all their feedback for all the items they sell.Make sure and read about their shipping times,options and charges.There are good vendors that are non domestic but they will take a lot longer then domestic vendors to get your product to you. Unless of course you are not in the USA, then it is the opposite. Just do your own research since it is your money and take a little bit of time and you will be fine. So many people choose shitty vendors. Or they go with a new vendor to try and save a couple bucks and they end up losing all their money. Go with a vendor, for your first purchase that has perfect feed back (100) and have been on Silk Road over 6mo and you will have no problems at all! Though there are great vendors who's ratings are less then 100, the fact is a vendor with a 100 has had no problems. There is plenty of talk in these forums about FE. That is when you purchase the item, Silk Road holds the funds in escrow until you receive the item and then release the funds. There are some vendors that require you to finalize(release the funds) early before they will even ship. There are some good vendors that do this. But if you FE and there is a problem you have lost your money. If you choose a vendor that does not require FE then you are totally safe. Just make sure to finalize the same day your package is received. The fact is very few vendors require buyers to FE. Though if you read these forums they will make you think many do. And the ones that do are not likely to scam you (the established vendors with over 6mo and great feedback score over 99). The mistake most of these people complaining make is they choose a new vendor to finalize with or a vendor with not perfect feedback or a new vendor. Again, every item on here you can find a great vendor who does not require you to finalize so it should not be an issue at all. After you choose the vendor you want to go with...send them a message and tell them you are new and that you want to make sure they will vend to a new buyer and tell them you have read their vending page and that you understand everything and you will finalize as soon as you receive the package. This will give the vendor more trust in you and in general it is just a good thing to do. These forums can be a great tool to get information.But they are full of bad information too. These forums are just a tool to use. It is better to spend 30min and research yourself. Nothing beats YOU going to vendors pages and reading their feedback. Seeing how long they have been on Silk Road. See their shipping options. See how long they take to actually process your order(they have 4 days). If you do this, you will find a great vendor and you should have no problems! Good luck..