Silk Road forums
Support => Technical support => Topic started by: gfn49 on May 29, 2012, 01:54 am
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Hello everyone, glad I can finally join you.
I'm just getting started here on SR and will be becoming a vendor real soon and there are a few things I've been wondering about. I've been lurking for a while (so I know a few things) but I'm tired of all this beating around the bush and want to start participating now so here we go.
First of all, I understand perfectly well why I should use a separate account for purchases if I do decide to buy any of the fine goods available here... because as a seller, there's absolutely no reason anyone should know my address and my security & safety are at stake - and as a buyer (if I decide to buy anything,) people I buy from need to know where to send stuff. Can I be identified by my btc wallet(s)? If so, I imagine I would need one for selling and one for buying and be extra careful not to mix them up, correct? If not, then just one will suffice for everything? What about the btc wallet the currency exchange company I'm using puts my bitcoins in when I give them the money I want converted? I'm assuming there's no way what so ever for them to see who else I've been getting bitcoins from, is this correct? All in all, as a merchant and potential seller, am I going to need one wallet/address/thingy, or two, or more, and why? Right now I'm hoping it will be as simple as one from my bitcoin dealer and one from SR but I'd like some clarification on what I'll need for full functionality & security.
Second... in escrow versus out of escrow, finalize early or finalize whenever you would normally finalize (when is that?) - What's the deal with these? The buyer's guide says to never go without escrow, but on the forum, I've seen mention of certain sellers doing this.... Why? Why take that risk? Am I correct in suspecting that my SR wallet is escrow guarded and my BTC dealers wallet is not, and making a transfer to a non-SR wallet isn't in escrow? If so, how can I tell if the address is a SR BTC wallet or not? As long as you go through the SR site and don't do any manual workarounds, it is SR wallet to SR wallet in escrow? ~ ~ ~ Finalizing, this is releasing the funds from escrow to finalize the transfer, correct? or is it just something to do with feedback? I see that some sellers require their buyers to finalize early or offer incentives for them to do so... is this just because they want their money sooner or does it somehow reduce the risk for them? What are the main reasons sellers want buyers to finalize early and what does each party stand to gain or lose by finalizing at any particular time in the transaction process? What does NOT finalizing early mean, finalizing upon arrival & inspection?
I think I know the answers to many of these questions, but I would like to know that I know, so clarification on all of the above would be splendid. I know it's a lot but I'd like to get it all down right away so I can get started and not run into any bumps on the way. I think I forgot a few but I'm sure they'll come back to me or I'll just stumble into the answers without asking.
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I'll take a stab at some of your questions.
First, think of btc as a long, huge, *public* chain. Your wallet, whether its on your computer or on an site or another server, is merely proof of owning a tiny piece of this chain (proof verified/confirmed by those making the chain) - the address is the location of this tiny piece.
Now, all transactions, the whole chain, current and its history, is public and traceable, just very painstakingly so. If you have a new address for each transaction, deposit, and withdrawal, it just makes it that much more difficult to near impossible to directly trace. The SR deposit address changes with each use (but I think you can still you old addresses, but that compromises YOU), so why not use multiple? Have anything on your computer clean, but also try out instawallet (.org i think) or easy wallet. [Also, there is no identifying trait of any bitcoin address to any site, computer or origin]
This might not be the most technical or correct explanation, but its how I've clarified it for myself. Now apply that explanation to your second question: your account or 'wallet' on SR is not in escrow, just any transactions or pieces you send off, to a middle man - then released once both parties agree. Everything else, FE, feedback, deals with trust from both sides. SR (as a site) and escrow (as a service) are logical/reasonable attempts to satisfy a prisoners dilemma that comes with anonymity.
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Well put zruck.
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I have a question. What should I put in the address bar? Should I always use PGP and give only my email for contact? And is it safe just to put something there without using PGP, like for books or something?
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WTFIT- I pgp the address (if shipping), tormail contact, link to the pgp thread to where my public block is incase they want to pgp something back at me. Books or digital goods should be fine with contact or a msg, but check their profile first, sometimes they specificy what they want, whether to pgp or not, or whatever.
gfn49 - Did you need anything more clarified? I mainly answered your first question, but didn't read too much into your second question (little out of it).
endorfin- Thanks! There's actually a bit more to the analogy I'm working on to get the finer points, maybe I post it when I put a little more thought into it.
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WTFIT- I pgp the address (if shipping), tormail contact, link to the pgp thread to where my public block is incase they want to pgp something back at me. Books or digital goods should be fine with contact or a msg, but check their profile first, sometimes they specificy what they want, whether to pgp or not, or whatever.
gfn49 - Did you need anything more clarified? I mainly answered your first question, but didn't read too much into your second question (little out of it).
endorfin- Thanks! There's actually a bit more to the analogy I'm working on to get the finer points, maybe I post it when I put a little more thought into it.
No thank you very much. (guess I was stoned my seconed question was a lil redundant after re-reading).
I had read somewhere that SR said its data is encrypted for complete protection. I just didn't want to fill out things in the wrong way like an idiot.
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Just one more question actually. I couldn't find a thread on the forums to post my PGP, but is it just as okay to post it in the address block?
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Not really: but sellers only need your Public Key if they want to encrypt a message back to you. You'll be encrypting your address/msg with the seller's Public Key, as then they with be the only ones to decrypt it with their Private Key.
Post your own Public Key (never the private) in the 'Post PGP here' thread, then copy the link to your reply (and reply # just in case). I stick that link in with my shipping address and contact info, just in case they need to use it.
use the search function for Post PGP here and you should find it.
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Well thank you very much zurck, I appreciate the info. I just posted my info on the thread so I believe I'm able to enjoy the full experience or SR now. :D
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I apologize in advance for jumping into this thread but I didn't want to spam the forums with another "noob thread part II"
I am new here and trying to get the hang of things. After taking my time and researching, learning PGP, and scouring the forums I have a question/s. I placed an order recently and things went without a hitch. I was trying to be in constant dialog via the SR messaging system but I wasn't receiving any responses. My coins sat in Escrow for 4 days and then my order was cancelled. The seller didn't rip me off or anything and the few times he did respond was pleasant and helpful. Being as it was my first purchase I obviously had a ton of questions and I was sending a message every day. I think the reason he cancelled on me was that I probably became a pain in the ass with all my messages and I want to avoid that in the future.
Question: If you place an order and it is not immediately approved by the vendor how long do you wait until you send the "whats up message"? I only ask because my coins sit in escrow that whole time and I am making no movement on my end goal
Also if you place an order and you go back to check on it and the listing is no longer there do you message the vendor? Does that usually mean its gone? I hate to be a pain and I don't to turn vendors off by being a spammer in their inbox but I am not sure how else to go about it. Also do you just use the SR messaging system or send pm via the forums?
Again I apologize for hijacking this thread I just didn't want to make another mistake by posting a 2nd thread on the same topic.
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I apologize in advance for jumping into this thread but I didn't want to spam the forums with another "noob thread part II"
I am new here and trying to get the hang of things. After taking my time and researching, learning PGP, and scouring the forums I have a question/s. I placed an order recently and things went without a hitch. I was trying to be in constant dialog via the SR messaging system but I wasn't receiving any responses. My coins sat in Escrow for 4 days and then my order was cancelled. The seller didn't rip me off or anything and the few times he did respond was pleasant and helpful. Being as it was my first purchase I obviously had a ton of questions and I was sending a message every day. I think the reason he cancelled on me was that I probably became a pain in the ass with all my messages and I want to avoid that in the future.
Question: If you place an order and it is not immediately approved by the vendor how long do you wait until you send the "whats up message"? I only ask because my coins sit in escrow that whole time and I am making no movement on my end goal
Also if you place an order and you go back to check on it and the listing is no longer there do you message the vendor? Does that usually mean its gone? I hate to be a pain and I don't to turn vendors off by being a spammer in their inbox but I am not sure how else to go about it. Also do you just use the SR messaging system or send pm via the forums?
Again I apologize for hijacking this thread I just didn't want to make another mistake by posting a 2nd thread on the same topic.
When vendors 'approve' the sale, that means it's been shipped, which depending on how many orders they have to take care of may take a couple of days. If it takes more than a week then that's a pretty good indication of when you should message them. I'm pretty sure the vendor that cancelled only did so because of lack of product or some other problem definitely not because of your questions.
If the listing is gone when check back for it, that usually means they've sold out on that product so that's not usually a sign to message them, just means they've received enough orders and now they must take the time to ship each individual package.
As long as you use escrow I wouldn't worry too much.
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^^^^Agree with this.
Also, check each vendor's profile. Many will list specifics like how often they check and respond to orders and messages, some list working hours/days, exceptions to specific products, qualifications of buyers and FE policies, certain shipping days and delivery times, and so on. Don't expect instant processing/shipping or 24/7 customer support; everybody has lives to live outside of here (more than likely pretty high lives).
Hell, no thread highjacking here. Might as well we should keep piling them into here. Shoot away.