Silk Road forums

Support => Feature requests => Topic started by: AfricanBushDoctor on January 18, 2012, 09:27 am

Title: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: AfricanBushDoctor on January 18, 2012, 09:27 am
We would like to share our insights and our understandings with other genuine vendors...

We would like to share our 'blacklist' with other vendors.

Perhaps a VIP section for vendors? Not just every vendor though. Perhaps have t&c's: If you have been a full-time vendor for 3 months or more then you qualify for the 'inner-circle'!

best regards

ABD
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: Chopperos on January 22, 2012, 04:20 am
I second this idea.

Somewhere vendors can chat, exchange ideas and the like would be greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: randomly on January 22, 2012, 08:42 pm
i came to this subforum specifically to suggest this similar idea:

vendors with 95% or more get access to a secondary, top tier market, where they would get a secondary, delinked username, for vendor to vendor sourcing at wholesale prices.

Since OVDB went down, commercially sourcing a lot of stuff over the net has become difficult, resulting, for example, iin the marked slant towards in economy towards EU vendors of certain products we alllllllll love and desire, since they can acquire it locally at wholesale prices.

This may be utopic thinking, but i think there are enough customers onboth sides  where we can divy up our hemispheres and at the same time give customers the product they want, at a price they want and from a shipping locations they feel safe about...
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: onestopshop on January 22, 2012, 09:14 pm
Sounds like a good idea, as long as it's open to vendors only.

they can share idea about scam buyers, scamming trends, suspicious PM's e.t.c

this should be implemented ASAP imo to reduce scam attempts and to stop the really good vendors on here from getting pissed off and jumping ship when something bad goes down...
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: N0thing on January 23, 2012, 01:14 am
I like this idea a lot! Full support as a 7 month vendor!
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: Amsterdamgoods on January 23, 2012, 11:12 pm
I really support this idea. I think it would be very useful to learn from each other in order to get top stats... It will improve silk road and we (the vendors) eventually gain trust by customers. This will be good for both the customers and the vendors..

Greetings.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: redforeva on January 25, 2012, 12:10 am
I believe in transparency. If one vendor on SR is buying pounds of product and reselling the same product at a higher price, we should be able to see all cost involved. Buyers could not post in the vendor chat section but the forum is open to all.  ;)
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: Asbjorn on January 27, 2012, 12:35 pm
I support the gist of this idea, but let us be carefully to not make any major mistakes here that could ultimately bring the downfall of SR.

The customer-end trade has been centralized by SR. This is a problem that has been raised before, nevertheless most of us abide to the market situation. Which is not optimal, but IMO acceptable at this point. To centralize the wholesaling associated with SR on the other hand would be a major mistake. Especially if this is directly connected to the SR Forums. I understand that people are yearning for transparency, but we are not selling candy after all.

What we should really be aiming for is a disconnected private forum for the major vendors on SR, that nobody can demand to be invited to. A forum that is properly secured by somebody who knows his shit and has experience with the private scene. And though I cannot give anymore information on this, this is being set up as I type.

Not sure about the efficiency of such a forum, as nobody will be willing to destroy his own business by sharing sources. But surely there are some wholesaling deals possible that will be of profit to everybody involved.

So what I suggest, is sit back, take a toke and wait :)
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: vendchat on January 27, 2012, 05:27 pm
I set up a forum off site for this specifically. I don't really want to be a part of the conversation, but I think it is a good tool to use. Maybe a shared pgp key could be used to keep un-trusted people from reading posts, but it is available to any vendor here who wants to use it.  the forum is not accessible to guests, and there is admin approval required for registration, but this is as far as I care to be involved in the process. If you are interested in joining PM me on the main site, and I will give you the link (as long as you have a positive rating, and have been selling for a while)

http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/index.php/messages/send_message/150132
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: Asbjorn on January 27, 2012, 06:11 pm
Nobody will trust a noname guy with one post. Or I better hope so.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: vendchat on January 27, 2012, 06:24 pm
All I have done is set up a forum. encryption should be used 100%. I do not want to do any more than provide a place for you to discuss bad buyers, possible LE, etc. I am, nor have I ever been a vendor, and I have no problem disclosing the name I buy under for transparency sake. if you want to know who I am, PM me on the main site, and I will let you know. I think you vendors should have an area to privately discuss your business...nothing more, but if you guys are not interested in using it, I understand.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: tordemon on February 02, 2012, 01:46 am
I can see the concern of the vendors in this situation. I can see how it would help them out, but for some reason the idea that the vendors have a forum we can't access almost makes me feel like they're colluding. People would get suspicious about price fixing. Some of you I know relatively well, and others of you I trust enough to know that you wouldn't do that, but regardless of whether or not it happened, people would claim that it had.

Be careful.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: Horizons on February 02, 2012, 02:15 am
I can see the concern of the vendors in this situation. I can see how it would help them out, but for some reason the idea that the vendors have a forum we can't access almost makes me feel like they're colluding. People would get suspicious about price fixing. Some of you I know relatively well, and others of you I trust enough to know that you wouldn't do that, but regardless of whether or not it happened, people would claim that it had.

Be careful.
+1.

It also strikes me as unfair that there can be a place where vendors get together to talk about buyers without giving the buyers a chance to respond. The way things are now, if anyone (vendor OR buyer) makes a thread accusing user X of being a scammer, X can find the thread, read it and post in it defending herself. What happens when an innocent buyer gets her name dragged through the mud in a forum she has no access to and suddenly nobody will do business with her? It'd be a frustrating ordeal, to say the least.

I'm not against the idea of a separate subforum for vendors to discuss issues with each other, but I don't see a reason why buyers should be prevented from seeing/posting in these threads.

But my last objection to this idea is, I believe, the most relevant: this would involve linking our forum and SR accounts, to know which users get privileges to post in the new forum and which don't (unless a completely new forum is opened that's linked to SR from the start, but that has its own problems). From a privacy and security perspective, this is just a nightmare waiting to happen.

Anyway, my 0.02BTCs. I'm not a vendor here myself, though, so you can take that into account when reading this post, I guess.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: FiveSeven on February 02, 2012, 02:20 am
I can see the concern of the vendors in this situation. I can see how it would help them out, but for some reason the idea that the vendors have a forum we can't access almost makes me feel like they're colluding. People would get suspicious about price fixing. Some of you I know relatively well, and others of you I trust enough to know that you wouldn't do that, but regardless of whether or not it happened, people would claim that it had.

Be careful.
+1.

It also strikes me as unfair that there can be a place where vendors get together to talk about buyers without giving the buyers a chance to respond. The way things are now, if anyone (vendor OR buyer) makes a thread accusing user X of being a scammer, X can find the thread, read it and post in it defending herself. What happens when an innocent buyer gets her name dragged through the mud in a forum she has no access to and suddenly nobody will do business with her? It'd be a frustrating ordeal, to say the least.

I'm not against the idea of a separate subforum for vendors to discuss issues with each other, but I don't see a reason why buyers should be prevented from seeing/posting in these threads.

But my last objection to this idea is, I believe, the most relevant: this would involve linking our forum and SR accounts, to know which users get privileges to post in the new forum and which don't (unless a completely new forum is opened that's linked to SR from the start, but that has its own problems). From a privacy and security perspective, this is just a nightmare waiting to happen.

Anyway, my 0.02BTCs. I'm not a vendor here myself, though, so you can take that into account when reading this post, I guess.

Yeah, I agree with this. I think it would be better if scammer accusations (both venders and buyers) would remain public, for the reasons given above. But otherwise, the idea seems logical.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: feverrey on February 02, 2012, 02:21 am
I like the idea though. We pay $150usd for our account... a little privacy is not unreasonable.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: tordemon on February 02, 2012, 03:25 am
I like the idea though. We pay $150usd for our account... a little privacy is not unreasonable.
And we pay even more for your drugs. I think we should have just as much a right to know.

Haha, jk, that's not logical reasoning. But, anyway, I think any such separate forum will create more problems than it will solve.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: AfricanBushDoctor on February 17, 2012, 12:52 pm
A separate forum for Vendors is hardly going to be the beginning of the end... (shaking my head and pulling a confused look)

Any price collusion is already happening if indeed it is worthwhile... hardly!..

Currently, Swazibudbud888(ourselves) have over 500 sales at 5/5 rating, with glowing comments... but we have roughly 5 buyers who rated us 1/5 and claim the Swazi Sativa is rubbish. These comments are not helpful or accurate, for vendors and buyers alike.
We also have at least 1 mail a month pushing for alternative methods of payment, some of which are really suspicious.

We have a blacklist of buyers. Our list is divided into 3 categories: Nuisance. Dishonest. Possible LE.
We would be keen to share our insights and our blacklist with other established Vendors if a vetted section in the  forum allowed this.

Our intention is to protect ourselves from abuse and theft/fraud - We would not publish our blacklist for all to see, as some buyers are just a nuisance but they bear no malice or ill-will.
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: Horizons on February 17, 2012, 05:14 pm
A separate forum for Vendors is hardly going to be the beginning of the end... (shaking my head and pulling a confused look)

Any price collusion is already happening if indeed it is worthwhile... hardly!..

Currently, Swazibudbud888(ourselves) have over 500 sales at 5/5 rating, with glowing comments... but we have roughly 5 buyers who rated us 1/5 and claim the Swazi Sativa is rubbish. These comments are not helpful or accurate, for vendors and buyers alike.
We also have at least 1 mail a month pushing for alternative methods of payment, some of which are really suspicious.

We have a blacklist of buyers. Our list is divided into 3 categories: Nuisance. Dishonest. Possible LE.
We would be keen to share our insights and our blacklist with other established Vendors if a vetted section in the  forum allowed this.

Our intention is to protect ourselves from abuse and theft/fraud - We would not publish our blacklist for all to see, as some buyers are just a nuisance but they bear no malice or ill-will.

What about the other two categories? Why not publish them?
Title: Re: An exclusive vendors section in the forums?
Post by: AfricanBushDoctor on February 19, 2012, 12:31 pm
A vendors list of suspected LE buyers is not of any use to other buyers, the same goes for suspected dishonest buyers, this information could only be helpful to other established vendors.