Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: TuggingOnSupermansCape on February 21, 2013, 02:20 pm
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I blindly did an order for my first time that actually went better than i thought. The vendor communicated with me, and i had the items in my hand within 3 days of ordering. I was happy (naturally), so i decided to spend a little more on SR, and went with 3 orders from two of the '100 rated' trusted vendors.
Both vendors had excellent selection and decent photos of some amazing looking items. Both also had 'i ship every day of the week' listed prominently in their shop message - what more could i ask for? I ordered Sunday. It's now Thursday and the cancel option is about to come up and neither one of them has marked the order as in transit. I sent messages to both, one responded Tuesday and said he was having a 'IRL emergency' and would send Wednesday - that never happened. The other one never responded. I thought i was choosing wisely, it appears i was not (despite both vendors having amazing 5/5 ratings and great comments about their product).
Even if the items come in and are literally the best i've ever seen, i still don't feel honest in leaving them a 5/5, or even 4/5, as neither have kept their word or self imposed shipping deadlines. Heck one vendor has missed it twice now. I know some people have the mentality of 'be glad you got something, that's worth 5/5 alone" - well to me, its not. I keep my word on finalizing when i receive the product and writing a great review, and you are supposed to keep your word about the product you send and the deadlines you maintain. My only fear is that my honest review will somehow 'blacklist' me from other vendors.
Any thoughts/comments on this issue? Am i being a drama queen or are my concerns valid?
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Bump for random people's thoughts.
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I'm just a newbie whose only had a few transactions, and all went flawlessly... but if it was me and they didn't stick to what they said and didn't give me any explanation (or gave one and then went back on it) I'd leave that as feedback. If the products arrived in a relatively reasonable amount of time (think about it, even Amazon has delays) then I would probably still give them 5/5 or maybe 4/5 but I would also bitch about it in the feedback I left ;D
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You need to watch out for yourself. There is no room for 4/5 in this game. It's either 5/5 or 1/5. If you get screwed, 1/5. If you get your goods but it was a bumpy road, 5/5 but you can still grip in your feedback comment. That way it protects you at least
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I think it depends on your entire experience with the vendor. If you believe that everything else was perfect, or if the vendor expressed his apologies or even better threw something extra to compensate for the delay then I d still give a 5/5, and probably warn others for very slow shipping in the comments.
If the guy didn't even respond (like the 2nd one) or if there was the slightest problem with the order, bad packaging, slightly underweight etc I would give less than 5.
Anyone can have problems and it's acceptable if the vendor is willing to make it right one way or another. If he acts like he doesn't care, then you shouldn't care too...
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Like MikeDealman said, don't leave a partial rating, it's all or nothing.
What you SHOULD do is detail the story in the vendor's review thread (all the serious vendors have one) and that way other people understand the story properly. Don't leave a huge essay in the feedback on the site.
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I agree with 1/5 and 5/5 . If you recieve 5/5 if not 1/5 , unless of course it takes an absolutely ridiculous amount of time to come and the communication was not there. I leave detailed and honest feedback whenever I finalize. It really helps to be able to see good detailed feedback before making a purchase.
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hm i am wondering this same thing a vendor said something shipped on a saturday but i know it didnt untill tuesday should i say fuckit and give hima 4/5 he fuckin lied right?
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Unfortunately the feedback system is set up so there's consequences to being honest. I think usually the best action is to leave 5/5 but write a detailed post in their vendor thread.
I disagree with the 1 or 5 thing though. I mean... it's out of 5 for a reason. The problem is that because this is all anonymous and inherently untrustworthy, vendors view anything under 100% as 0%. 97% customer satisfaction is not sustainable for any 'real' business, but around here, that's practically scammer status.
hm i am wondering this same thing a vendor said something shipped on a saturday but i know it didnt untill tuesday should i say fuckit and give hima 4/5 he fuckin lied right?
Easy there, Mr. fuckyou777. He could have lied, sure, but if he dropped it on a box on Saturday after last pick up, it wouldn't have shipped until Tuesday due to Sunday and President's Day. Unless something else is wrong with your order, or you specifically paid for overnight, etc etc, I personally don't find that dockworthy.
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LSD but it doesnt exist anymore
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Like MikeDealman said, don't leave a partial rating, it's all or nothing.
What you SHOULD do is detail the story in the vendor's review thread (all the serious vendors have one) and that way other people understand the story properly. Don't leave a huge essay in the feedback on the site.
That would be the sensible thing to do, but there's some sort of restriction now where i can't post outside of this forum.
Also, what if they send out 1 minute before i can cancel? Those BTC are worth ~$5 more each because of the rise to the $30 wall. So youre telling me i have to be happy about not receiving my product on time, being lied to, and paying much more than originally intended? There really needs to be a better way.
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Keep in mind these vendors are people and shit happens in life. Some of them have so many orders they cant possibly process them all daily. You wont be able to cancel after he ships if he marked it shipped.. once the vendor marks that he shipped it you can no longer cancel it. your only option then is if you still dont get the product you can click "resolve" after like 17 days (it gives enough time for product to come before you can do anything) but if the product doesnt come in a while just contact the vendor first... they will usually offer a refund or reship it if you did not get it. Onle use resolve if you dont get the item and vendor doesnt respond to messages.
If you click cancel now though.. in regards to what youde get back it depends. Look at the "Account" tab. It will tell you what is in escrow, as sellers have the option to hold the funds in btc or usd. If it says you have usd in escrow and the price of bitcoin went up since you ordered you will get less bitcoin but the bitcoins will be worth the same ammountr in usd as they were when you ordered it.
If it says its in btc then you will get it back in btc, therefore giving you more money (usd equivalent) back.
So technically if you wanted you could cancel and re order it for less btc than before and "save money" if your in escrow with btc but i dont recomend that as its not very nice plus then you might have to wait longer for your order again.
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If your vendor for some reason goes out to ship your stuff then plans on coming back to mark it shipped and after he ships but before u get a chance to mark it shipped you cancel it then technically youde get your money back and the product but again.. it would be ethical of you to then pay him for it if you get it. Though there would be nothing he could do except blacklist you from ordering from him again if you dont pay.
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Honest and critical...YES Mean spirited and malicious...NO
ECC
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I appreciate the suggestions, sycopunk, but im not out to screw anyone; rather im trying to prevent myself from getting screwed. There's no way i could live with myself if i pulled that scam youre talking about.
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I always plan on giving 5/5 as long as I receive what I ordered. Aside from that anything else will just be left to the comments so others can make informed decisions.
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Honest and critical...YES Mean spirited and malicious...NO
ECC
Thank you for your input. Funny thing is, if these don't ship today and i can cancel, you and one other vendor are the two im ordering from, so it's nice to see you posting around here.
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I appreciate the suggestions, sycopunk, but im not out to screw anyone; rather im trying to prevent myself from getting screwed. There's no way i could live with myself if i pulled that scam youre talking about.
never FE early. do some research to find reputable vendors. ask some senior members who they recommend for whatever your looking for.
Good Luck
ECC
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Honest and critical...YES Mean spirited and malicious...NO
ECC
I totally agree!
Keep it honest, but don't try to f*ck someone for personal reasons.
1/5, 2/5, 3/5,4/5, 5/5 - those are all possible options,
I don't believe in the "all or nothing" system...
but don't avoid your seller - take your time to explain him why you gave him a "lesser" score (not 5/5), that way he could learn out of it (was it his shipping technique, his communication, was it due to 3rd parties (postal service/customs), was it his product, ... ). Via dialogue you might be able to help each other (seller-buyer) and that, in the long run, is the most constructive for all of us.
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vendors are typically very sensitive to a sr rating of less than 5. the ratings message you leave fall off the viewing queue pretty quickly whereas the numeric rating will be averaged in using some sr magic formula for a pretty long time. if you feel service was less than 5 then you should at least give the vendor a chance to correspond using pm. I also always assume that a lot of vendors do this on the side and do give them a break for having stuff to do in real life, other than ship me drugs.
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Of course stuff IRL comes up, but I feel that vendors should be honest and be accountable for there advertised services.
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The answer to this question, asked by anyone in the newb forum is NO. Well, ok, NO*.
The asterisk is for this: if you want to do your fellow SR members a service - and never be rewarded for it - you could leave your honest feedback and then torch your SR account and start over. I'm not saying what I think your vendors deserve, ratings-wise, given your description. I'm just saying that this is an option. But anything else is suicide for a new member. Your vendors have reputations. You do not. You do not want a vindictive vendor (and try to stay away from these, regardless, if you get a whiff) making trouble for you, because it's easy-peasy.
It's not your fault. The ratings system is broken. At the same time, if you get stealthy deliveries and good product, shipping time is the aspect I'd be most forgiving with.
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Personally I think it is about your overall experience with the vendor.
For example one vendor said his product was quality mdma but he did not list some bogus 84% or something. There where no numbers or anything. When I got the product I ended up doing the whole gram and rolled pretty hard, but doing a gram you should be near retarded. I gave him a 5 out of 5 because he had good communication, speedy shipping and was an all around good vendor. I did leave in the comment that the prodcut was not too strong but the seller himself was great. He told no lies.
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Always/never, as a new buyer you are between a rock and a hard place. The current feedback system etc leans towards the vendor and particularly the selective scammer who preys upon the newbie and certain locations ie Australia.
I sucked up a few losses as a newbie, gave 5/5 with no shows etc but in hindsight prob should only ever give 4/5 for a no show as even if sent, stealth was'nt good enough. I have 2 US vendors that have hit me 100% over an 8mth period and i have never been able to feel the product in letter. Have had others make it but you can feel that little something inside. These vendors dont get thru 100% of the time.
After some buys you start to get a feel for what is what.
When making waves in forums it pays to not accuse but rather share your experience eg This vendor has'nt delivered but this vendor from similar location has. With some gentle prodding you can often get a good outcome ie reship or refund
Goodluck, there are some great vendors, my golden rule is stick with those that have 100% feedback and dont settle for below 97% unless you have been studying the form that led there
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Honest not critical, some things can't be helped while others should be done with each and every customer it depends what transgression your vendor is guilty of. All or nothing is petty, let your rating reflect your interaction with the vendor but your review should be brief and to the point. Any issues go direct to the vendor first then the forums if issue is significant.
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Thank you all for your comments. I appreciate everyone's point of view.
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This whole thing is bullshit. Buyers shouldn't be punished for leaving honest ratings, I feel like we're all blackmailed into giving 5/5s all of the time even when it's not good service. When I see someone with a high rating, I want them to be a good seller, it's just not fair to the buyers at all. Let me make an educated decision on whether or not I want to buy from them and not lie to us about how good their timing is!
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Don't listen to these people talking about how the feedback system 'should' work. "I don't believe in all or nothing" is ABSOLUTE BULLSHIT for this site. That's a nice fantasy world they have, but if you give a seller 4/5 you may as well give them 1/5 cuz they will look at it the same. That's just how it is. Wanna protect yourself? Give 5/5 when a transaction is fulfilled, even when bumpy. You can give details in the comment and in the forums. That's how this works. If you are looking to buy from someone don't just look at their rating, READ UP on them. Comments and forum to get a real idea of who you're dealing with. That's how you can protect YOU and not run the risk of being blacklisted. If you get screwed, 1/5 and fight tooth and nail. Simple.
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My opinion is that the feedback box on the vendor's page should be used to rate the transaction. ie, speed of delivery, good communications, good price, etc.. If your goods arrive in the promised time, leave 5/5.
Subsequently, I personally think that ALL vendors should have a product review thread in the forum. Preferably in the noob board so everyone can post in it.
I'm this thread you should describe the actual goods you received.
So for example, you 2g of mdma, it arrives the next day and you didn't have to FE, then that warrants a 5/5 feedback.
If the gear is good, post a review of the product in the vendor's review thread. Equally, if the gear was garbage, post accordingly.
If the vendor doesn't have a review thread, start one.
I've done this with a couple of vendors, and an active discussion on the quality of their product, can only serve to benefit all concerned.
As always though, any problems.. your first port of call MUST be a message to the vendor. Most of them will do all they can to resolve any issues you may have.
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If you think they deserve less than 5/5, tell em in a pm and explain it. Try not to come off like you are trying to blackmail them into giving you something or they may believe you are just trying to scam them. Most (100%) vendors care about keeping that % and want you to be a happy (5/5) customer. Just be honest in PM and see if they try to make you happy. If they don't even try, I think we should give an honest rating x/5. It is a pretty harsh penalty though, so give em a chance to fix the problem.
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i dont know. ive always been kool about giving a 5/5 but i dont think i can take being lied to(if i was infact lied to) as i said before i ordered something last week on friday. i was told it shipped on saturday, yes there was a holiday...but now it is friday again...and it hasnt arrived. i was again promised it shipped saturday...if i get that package and it isnt post marked for ATLEAST tuesday (....then no i wont be giving a 5/5 how could anyone trully expect me to. i will confront the seller if he did lie, before i leave a rating...its not blackmail to demand some sort of discount(20% next purchase) or refund is it? IF he lied of course.
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i dont know. ive always been kool about giving a 5/5 but i dont think i can take being lied to(if i was infact lied to) as i said before i ordered something last week on friday. i was told it shipped on saturday, yes there was a holiday...but now it is friday again...and it hasnt arrived. i was again promised it shipped saturday...if i get that package and it isnt post marked for ATLEAST tuesday (....then no i wont be giving a 5/5 how could anyone trully expect me to. i will confront the seller if he did lie, before i leave a rating...its not blackmail to demand some sort of discount(20% next purchase) or refund is it? IF he lied of course.
5/5 indicates that you are 100% happy with the transaction.
If you're not 100% happy, don't award a perfect to score. Simples.
Always contact the vendor though. They will usually bend over backwards to solve your problem/avoid anything less that 5/5.
I personally thing this rating system sucks. Its open to blackmail from both vendors and customers.
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My partner was happy with a purchase, left 5/5, and then a wonderful thread review. Within 24hrs the vendor raised the price almost double on the product and had many transactions afterwards. My partner then ordered again and received a lower quality product that was underweight. No thanks ever sent by pm nor any reply on thread for his first review and then promptly fkd. Kinda ruins the experience here as a buyer.
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thank you...we shall see...im not feeling guilty( or like some simple blackmailer) IF i find foul play.
p.s. im obviously not posting this vendors name so as to not tarnish his name if need be not.
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Does the vendor have a thread here? Any complaints?
I agree the feedback system leaves much to be desired. I can't get an accurate feel for a lot of the vendors here.
Everyone can screw up once in a while so you don't want to wreck an otherwise good vendors stats. Like someone already said 97% is practically a scammer.
The question is does someone deserve a 97%? They might. There are a lot of vendors that work hard for, and take pride in their 100% rate. Why does a vendor that could care less about stealth or fast shipping deserve the same rate as the one who busts his but for you.
Selling on line here is a privilege for which vendors here get a premium for there products and not everyone is suited to it. The vendors that work hard deserve to be acknowledged for their hard work and treated differently over the lazy. Perspective buyers can't tell the difference between the two when both are rated at 100%. Excellence deserves to stand out among the others.