Given my short time on the Silk Road I have been surprised (and rather flattered!) to be asked for advice on becoming a Bitcoin trader both from people here in the UK and elsewhere!So for what it's worth here are my tips ; any other Bitcoin vendors out there please feel free to comment/criticise as you see fit, I don't claim to have a monopoly : - Don't jump in at the deep end, spend some time as a buyer on Silk Road and familiarise yourself with the process of obtaining Bitcoins. Try to use several different methods of obtaining BTC to see which would work easiest for you as a vendor. My favoured method is cash in the mail as it gives the buyer the largest degree of anonymity.- Set up a vendor account before doing anything else. This is not only advisable so you have a way to advertise your services but is a requirement under SR regulations.- Make sure you are comfortable with using SR's messaging system as well as Tormail. Even though trading in BTC isn't illegal you should post your public key on your seller page and here in the forums in case someone wants to contact you in confidence.- Set up a page either on SR or here on the forums explaining how your service works in detail. Try to anticipate some common FAQ's and answer these too. Having a thread here on SR will also allow your customers to leave reviews to assure others about your service (you can see mine below at the bottom of this message). Obviously you can edit the page as necessary to make an explanation clearer or answer other common questions. It should go without saying you should be as clear as possible about your commission and average processing times for orders.- With regard to the above be particularly clear as to why going through you to get BTC is much safer for your clients than using an exchange. You may find you have to explain this many times and at length. Be patient as many users are new to Silk Road and to the Bitcoin and if you want them to pay your commission and trust you, they need your help.- It should go without saying you should be honest and open in your dealings. Answer any questions as frankly as possible and be clear about the limitations of your service e.g you may decide not to process amounts of over USD 1,000 or you may live in an area that doesn't receive mail on Saturdays. If a problem occurs make sure you let your buyers know right away and when you anticipate on resolving it. For instance tomorrow the Intersango exchange will be out of commission for several hours due to upgrades. I've posted a message to all my clients in the UK to assure them there'll be no disruption to the service.- Further to the above, try not to live hand to mouth in terms of orders as problems can arise that way if you can't get to the bank in time, the exchange breaks down, you haven't brought ID to withdraw from WU and so on. Keep a supply of Bitcoins in a software wallet in case of emergency (I think around USD 400 is enough although during the latest issue with Intersango I went through GBP 600 (~USD 800) of my personal supply of Bitcoins to honour existing orders. Problems like these may not be your fault but they're not your client's fault either so make sure you hope for the best but plan for the worst!- Don't get despondent about competitors. I have discovered one myself this week(!) Try to work with them by comparing your respective methods - there may be a way for you to work together e.g if you prefer to handle smaller orders if a client requesting larger amounts comes your way you can point them in your competitor's direction provided they do the same for you with clients only interested in small sums of BTC. The eyes of the SR community are on you and so the more honest and more reliable service you provide, the more likely they are to choose you to obtain their Bitcoins.That is my two cents at any rate. If any more established vendors have anything to add or feel something I've already said needs changing, please let me know.Thanks,V.