Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: aginalda on September 12, 2012, 09:25 pm

Title: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: aginalda on September 12, 2012, 09:25 pm
I recently received really good service from a SR vendor and was sorry that I could only give him or her a rating of 5/5.  Why?  Because I think that newbies like me tend to give 5/5 for any completed sale regardless of the service quality.  Some vendors are also guilty of browbeating buyers into finalizing early and will become aggressive with buyers who leave less than 5/5.  So in the end, what does 5/5 even mean?

I wish that a rating of 5/5 corresponded to really excellent service: quick delivery, product as advertised, and responsive.  4/5 should indicate good service, 3/5 average, and so on.  But I suspect buyers new to SR tend to feel obliged to FE and give 5/5 ratings and unfortunately that undermines the usefulness of the rating system. 
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Skippy_Jif on September 12, 2012, 09:35 pm
The reason why people like you and me as well as many others find it flawed is because there are A LOT of irresponsible buyers out there. A LOT of buyers simply get there drugs and fuck off into a room and use their product. Never returning to give proper feedback.

There are also a lot of buyers who just don't have the common sense, common courtesy, or intellect to properly rate. There are a few buyers who have absolutely no respect for vendors and think they're place on top of a pedestal to frequently judge people with their superior knowledge of how drug smuggling/quality/etc... works. Well, I have one thing to say to those people-OPEN A FUCKING VENDOR'S ACCOUNT and show us how it is done.

This game is not easy. Not the least bit. Some vendors may find it easy, but that is due to a vast number of years working in the business. They're entitled to say this and buyers should buy from them as long as they're here on SR.

So, in regards to what I said, buyers need to properly rate vendors! If this happens then a bunch of this scamming, low class drug runners will decrease to a point where buyers will not succumb to lost finances daily and we won't have as many threads about "Got Scammed!"

SJ
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: FollowIcculus on September 12, 2012, 09:58 pm
I usually leave a 5/5 rating if it got to me with no major problems.  However, I leave very detailed feedback and would include something like that the packaging could be a little better or if the quality wasn't as good as advertised. 5/5 to me means it got here and was what it was claimed to be.  I'll leave comments regarding quality but its so subjective it shouldn't be factored into your rating unless its just terrible and claimed to be amazing in my opinion.
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: nosaj_thing on September 12, 2012, 10:12 pm
yes i have wondered about this for a while. vendors seem to expect 5/5 no matter what these days, and i understand why, but it raises some problems..

i dont think price should be a factor- you agree to the price, so that's that. shipping time seems to be (for the most part) out of the vendor's hands'. that's understandable. but if you are unhappy with security, it's rather difficult to explain why without dropping too many details, but as long as it arrived, should you rate 5/5?

and especially with quality. there are some wild claims about purity of product on here, and sometimes (shockingly i know) vendors overstate the quality of their product to get more business. i suppose quality is subjective, but sometimes description/picture of product quality and what actually arrives are a world apart. so yes the package arrived, yes it was at least whatever drug it claimed to be, but blatantly lower quality than what was advertised- does that warrant a lower rating?

for the most part, the only reason to leave less than perfect rating seems to be if a) nothing arrived at all/vendor scammed, or b) weight was off or it was a different drug entirely. is this how it should be?

and then at the same time buyers constantly abuse the system and attempt to hold vendor's rating "hostage" until their claims/demands are met. sometimes there is a valid reason for this, sometimes it's just kids scamming for free drugs.

it's a tricky system...

Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflationli
Post by: sassy on September 12, 2012, 10:28 pm
If i get what i pay for in a decent amount of time with no major problems i always give 5/5. its common curtsy. a lot of 4/5 really hurt a vendors rating. i have seen so many ridiculous ratings such as leaving 1/5 for slow shipping time, etc.
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Skippy_Jif on September 12, 2012, 10:45 pm
Here is how the rating system works:

1-Shipping-includes packaging(stealth)/time elapsed, etc

2-Communication-not response time because a lot of vendors have day jobs as well as get 10's, if not a 100 PMs a day

3-Quality-not everyone has the same tolerance and some will abuse this(not a perfect system, but us vendors have a way of dealing with this)  :)

4. Politeness

5. Refund-if the vendor refunds or SR refunds


#4 is a toss up between people. It can be replaced by QUANTITY of product. Ex: If product is underweight. Now, a 5/5 can be given if the packaging was poor, but made it to it's destination. All you have to do in this situation is mention it in the ratings.

Vendors take heed to these(most) and improve on the quality of how the process orders. DON'T!! and I mean DON'T threaten a vendor's feedback or reputation on the forums because the cake isn't cut the exact way you wanted it! This dog won't walk! You will be black listed and have to start a new account!

Simply tell the vendor in a polite way what your concerns are. If the vendor neglects this reply then voice your opinion on the forum. This is all a part of buyer's and seller's etiquette.

SJ
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: catfishinmysocks on September 12, 2012, 11:20 pm
It's either 5/5 or 1/5. People are worried about getting fucked if they order again or by other vendors.
I like how eBay works, Positive/Neutral/Negative and the detailed ratings which are anonymous.
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflationli
Post by: jameslink2 on September 12, 2012, 11:53 pm
If i get what i pay for in a decent amount of time with no major problems i always give 5/5. its common curtsy. a lot of 4/5 really hurt a vendors rating. i have seen so many ridiculous ratings such as leaving 1/5 for slow shipping time, etc.

I am beginning to think that factoring in quality is a joke.

Especially when some one left a 2/5 because the mushrooms made them puke.  :o and even said so in the review. lol

I have always thought that it should break down as

+1 Shipping
+1 Packaging
+1 Communications
+1  As described
+1 Quality
----
5/5

but that is just me.
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: j3an on September 13, 2012, 11:31 am
If you have any qualms with your order, you should PM your vendor asap. It pisses me off no end when people write "good, bit stalky" 4/5, I can't imagine how vendors must feel.

If you got your order and it looks like what its on the menu and is not significantly underweight i.e. <+-0.1g then it should be a 5.

Reliability is by far the most important parameter to me, at the end of the day I want my drugs and I want them looking like the picture and I want them fairly concealed. Thats it.

I can understand that yes the 5/5 if it meets those parameters isn't perfect, but there are always c***s out there who will thinks that it "isn't cheese, good delivery though 3/5" and fuck up an otherwise reliable vendors reputation. Add into consideration that everyones definition of a 4/5 or whatever isnt necessarily constant, I think the 5/5 if its what it is the right weight is a better system.

Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Bungee54 on September 13, 2012, 12:35 pm
The reason why people like you and me as well as many others find it flawed is because there are A LOT of irresponsible buyers out there. A LOT of buyers simply get there drugs and fuck off into a room and use their product. Never returning to give proper feedback.

There are also a lot of buyers who just don't have the common sense, common courtesy, or intellect to properly rate. There are a few buyers who have absolutely no respect for vendors and think they're place on top of a pedestal to frequently judge people with their superior knowledge of how drug smuggling/quality/etc... works. Well, I have one thing to say to those people-OPEN A FUCKING VENDOR'S ACCOUNT and show us how it is done.

This game is not easy. Not the least bit. Some vendors may find it easy, but that is due to a vast number of years working in the business. They're entitled to say this and buyers should buy from them as long as they're here on SR.

So, in regards to what I said, buyers need to properly rate vendors! If this happens then a bunch of this scamming, low class drug runners will decrease to a point where buyers will not succumb to lost finances daily and we won't have as many threads about "Got Scammed!"

SJ

+1 !  Thanks for this !
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: aginalda on September 13, 2012, 02:03 pm
Though I'm new to SR and just a buyer here, I can see how the feedback system leaves sellers vulnerable to unreasonable buyers. 

Would it be good if the SR system included a way for sellers to rate buyers in the same way that buyers now rate sellers?  I would guess that responsible buyers would welcome this.  Also, would it make sense to weigh the impact of a buyer's feedback on a seller based on the buyer's stats?  That way, a first-time buyer's complaint would have less impact on a seller's cred than the feedback of a more experienced buyer.  It would seem that good buyers and good sellers both have the same interest: that is, each benefits from having accurate insight into the character of the other.  A good rating system should provide that insight.
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Bungee54 on September 13, 2012, 03:03 pm
Though I'm new to SR and just a buyer here, I can see how the feedback system leaves sellers vulnerable to unreasonable buyers. 

Would it be good if the SR system included a way for sellers to rate buyers in the same way that buyers now rate sellers?  I would guess that responsible buyers would welcome this.  Also, would it make sense to weigh the impact of a buyer's feedback on a seller based on the buyer's stats?  That way, a first-time buyer's complaint would have less impact on a seller's cred than the feedback of a more experienced buyer.  It would seem that good buyers and good sellers both have the same interest: that is, each benefits from having accurate insight into the character of the other.  A good rating system should provide that insight.

Good idea..at least it would be great if one could comment on a left feedback.

Right now we have a customer who ordered a samplees pack..somehow it got mixed with another one..so he received product etc etc.-

Not he wants to rate us 1/5 even though we offered to reimburse him and did everything we could to make him happy.

He just doesnt get it and says we did that knowingly...WTF? The sample he got is worth more than his original wish..

and there are so many crazy guys out there..getting everything and everything great but leaving 3/5 becausse the postal service took 12 days instead of 3 normal..where is our fault?

but thx to this thread we know we are not alone out there.  8)


ahh we forgot the guy who rated us 2/5 BECAUSE WE DO NOT ACCEPT UNENCRYPTED ADDRESSES! even though he received everything and loved it

WTF?  those are these rare moments where you wish (not seriously) that you saved the address just to drive there and kick his face until he wakes up to reality   :-\
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Skippy_Jif on September 13, 2012, 03:46 pm
Though I'm new to SR and just a buyer here, I can see how the feedback system leaves sellers vulnerable to unreasonable buyers. 

Would it be good if the SR system included a way for sellers to rate buyers in the same way that buyers now rate sellers?  I would guess that responsible buyers would welcome this.  Also, would it make sense to weigh the impact of a buyer's feedback on a seller based on the buyer's stats?  That way, a first-time buyer's complaint would have less impact on a seller's cred than the feedback of a more experienced buyer.  It would seem that good buyers and good sellers both have the same interest: that is, each benefits from having accurate insight into the character of the other.  A good rating system should provide that insight.

We(vendors) already have a system installed for buyers. If they're unreasonable we block any further transactions. It's not a feature, just us saying fuck off for being unreasonable.

I hate to say that, but there are some real ass clowns on here that shouldn't ever do drugs or at least be on SR.

I think SR should come up with a feature that we can dispute a rating, but this is a perfect world. It would take way too much time and frankly, if a vendor is good he/she will pull out of the rut. I know when my rating dropped from 100 to 85 people were very hesitant with going with me, so I had to give out a lot of samples, pull a rabbit out of hat and throw in a crazy sale for blotters just to get started and compete with others.

It worked, but it was miserable for a few weeks. Even with 30 new 5/5 ratings I still haven't pulled away from the 85, but I'm confident in my products and my customer service that it doesn't bother me as much now. A little, but not much.

Good thread +1 OP
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Bungee54 on September 13, 2012, 03:56 pm

We(vendors) already have a system installed for buyers. If they're unreasonable we block any further transactions. It's not a feature, just us saying fuck off for being unreasonable.

I hate to say that, but there are some real ass clowns on here that shouldn't ever do drugs or at least be on SR.

I think SR should come up with a feature that we can dispute a rating, but this is a perfect world. It would take way too much time and frankly, if a vendor is good he/she will pull out of the rut. I know when my rating dropped from 100 to 85 people were very hesitant with going with me, so I had to give out a lot of samples, pull a rabbit out of hat and throw in a crazy sale for blotters just to get started and compete with others.

It worked, but it was miserable for a few weeks. Even with 30 new 5/5 ratings I still haven't pulled away from the 85, but I'm confident in my products and my customer service that it doesn't bother me as much now. A little, but not much.

Good thread +1 OP

yeah ! true!

but ur still lucky :)

Our rating is stuck since weeks and doesnt move in any direction  :o


btw _> Vendor Support told us that a change in the Rating System is a TOP PRIORITY so we are waiting full of hope..
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: spazecowboy on September 13, 2012, 06:09 pm
Maybe place a  buyers stats next to rating, like in the forums. Newbie, hero ect. Then you can tell how much stock to put in the rating itself. A hero leaving a 2/5 is worth more than a newbie leaving a similar rating.
  Im surprised that I see people leaving a 5/5 and saying product never arrived,  but to each their own.
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: Bungee54 on September 13, 2012, 06:31 pm
Maybe place a  buyers stats next to rating, like in the forums. Newbie, hero ect. Then you can tell how much stock to put in the rating itself. A hero

Good idea...or link their buyer stats to the forum  profiles  and give them another color over a the market  if  there is a identical account here with more 100 posts..

Initiative for every noob to get over here and learn & discuss.

Easy for the mods to purge the spamers & scamers.. ( more work for those to "get in")

we annot think further about it now but isnt this a basic framework which could be interestin?

Silver = got same account in forum with +100 posts.
2 Silver badges= got same account in forum with +100 posts. buyer stats & PGP Pub key in their profile.

any ideas or people who are better a structuring thoughts  :P ( and finding very possible flaws)

and while we are at it..why not take 0.5 BTC flat per month to one BTC account which is divided for the super mods automatically..more initiative for them (not saying that they do a bad job)..and FINALLY SCUM LIKE MTGIX stops..lesser account "spam"  ( of course more attack surface) as people think twice about  using an account. ...oh yeah make LEO pay heavy for the privilege of trying to crack SR through inflated account numbers

isnt this a agorist marketplace ? don't we show our intentions through exchange of value?  we think this apple is ripe..

DPR & crew have shown it is possible..now the world should be shown how fucking profitable and self-defending real free trade can be.






Quote
  Im surprised that I see people leaving a 5/5 and saying product never arrived,  but to each their own.

They probably got a 100% refund ( or something acceptable to them)
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: VoIfgo on September 13, 2012, 06:54 pm
I suggest the feedback system should be changed from 1-5/5 to positive, neutral and negative, or something like that
Title: Re: 5/5 Really? Ratings Inflation
Post by: BuddhaNature on September 13, 2012, 10:34 pm
5/5 with a raving response = vendor came through and did something extra
5/5 and normal response = vendor came through but did nothing extra
4/5 = vendor came through but something was off - packaging was bad, a bit underweight. generally satisfied but could be better
3/5 = vendor came through but something was very wrong, but not because of a vendor's laziness/unattentiveness
1-2/5 = vendor either did not come through, or actively was a dick or tried to screw over the buyer. only immature vendors who are destined to fail will ever get this.

This is how it is now - and it works. There's no sense in trying to change it now. I don't see too many flaws with the system.