Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: holdenoversoul on March 19, 2013, 01:30 am
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I have been lurking around for 6 to 8 weeks. I have been reading trying to be as educated as I can before I made my first order. Finally about two weeks ago i create my first account..then a couple days later i go to the phishing site that asks for my pin. I was bumming but decided to create another account and move forward. Then yesterday i score my normal 1/2 gm shot and I got home and it had a blue tint. That was it. I set my account up at mt gox, funded my account and was ready to buy...
the one thing I have learned is never FE...well the first 3 folks i have approached all want me to FE early. I thought the escrow was the golden rule of SR. What is the risk of dealing with a"newbie" i get my BC's just like everybody else...Now with that being said I am not a seller at least not yet...do i buy the ebooks as recommended to simply get the history?
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Always stay in escrow. You can buy ebooks or whatever to get a transaction history, but never never never finalize early!
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if it's an amount that would bum you out if you lose it then don't FE!!! repeat if it's an amount that would bum you out if you lose it then don't FE!!! just find a vendor who doesn't require FE or take the gamble at your own risk
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Some vendors will make you FE if you have no buying history, or if they are trying to scam you.
If a vendor requires you to FE, then don't buy from them. Simple as that. Rule #1 of SR is NEVER FE. I never have, and never will, it takes away the buyer-seller protection that helps make silkroad so successful.
If your a newbie, usually just start by buying a small quantity of something. I dunno, like an 8th of cheap weed, or a sample of something. This is low risk for the vendor, and they should be happy to make a deal.
Think of this like ebay. If your making a large purchase, no one is going to sell to a buyer that has less than 10 transactions, cause scammers are everywhere. If a seller forces you to FE, this should be a big red flag.
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I also lurked around for several weeks before I made a purchase decision. Unfortunately, I finalized early to a vendor who seemed to be well trusted. My purchase was very small (100mg) and inexpensive so it was a gamble I was willing to make to establish a successful transaction (hopefully). I've looked for a review thread on him/her but haven't found anything :/
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Ebooks for a transaction could be done by scammers just as easily . Vendors would see 5 transactions $0.05 spent and ask you to FE anyway..
I would suggest just building up slowly from $20 and don't rush to the big orders and expect them to let you stay in escrow, but work your way through from 1g to 3.5g to 7g etc etc .. staying in escrow the whole way.
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thanks scout...I hear you and as I have mentioned several times appreciate that your around.
lefty thanks....your words are right on. if you cant stand to loose it then don't FE. Originally i was just going to buy enough to work for 2 days and see how it goes. then i thought it might be better just to make a slightly larger order..but again one was FE early and if it was your first order and it it went missing you would only get 10% of your funds refund...
liberta, i appreciate the input but don't understand the analogy. how am i gonna scam somebody with my money in escrow. how is someone gonna scam me? but the folks i have being talking to have great reputation...and i will buy..just was hoping i did not have to waste money on books...i have allot of books...
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That is a HUGE problem on SR. I bought from one vendor and he insisted on FE and I did it because he/she has so many positive reviews. BUT of course nothing came and the vendor kept emailing me insisting I had done something wrong as a newbie. As a test I bought from another vendor that did not require FE and of course the item arrived in 4 days. The fact is do not FE and if that means you can't buy from a vendor then it is a good thing because I now believe some vendors screw newbies this way!!!
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Well it's obvious how a seller could be a scammer.
But anyone, literally anyone could make an acc on SR. They then buy something from a vendor. They wait, oh say, 5 days and their purchase arrives. But they can "claim" that the package never arrived. If this happens, I guess there are a few things that can happen. The vendor can resend the product (unlikely unless the buyer is reputable), have to deal with a negative review (which sucks for the vendor), or just accept the fact that the buyer was a dick and essentially stole from them. I assume this would be an example of a buyer being a scammer, because I'm sure shit like this does happen. This is generally why it is recommended to buy smaller things when your a newbie to get your rep up, so vendor's can see you're actually trustworthy.
I'm sure some vendors have been fucked over by this so many times, that they may require people with 0 purchases to FE, to protect themselves. If that is the case, and you have 0 purchases, just find a different vendor.
My first purchase was like, 1/4 oz of weed for ~1 bitcoin. Pretty small simple purchase. Slowly I gained a higher reputation, have made multiple purchases, and now I can buy large quantites of stuff, and I appear more trustworthy to vendors. Ya dig?
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I guess it is possible for buyers to try to scam a seller, but I doubt it happens as often as a seller trying to scam a buyer. Most people on here would really love to be able to find someone they can trust. If they actually receive their product, why on earth lie and then never get to work with that person again.