Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Heyenezz on January 12, 2012, 12:07 am

Title: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: Heyenezz on January 12, 2012, 12:07 am
How accurately does the vendor feedback on SR reflect the vendor's reputation?

I also vet vendors by looking at the forums, but I'm always looking for additional information.

So, if hypothetically, I **ONLY** looked at the feedback on SR, how accurately would this feedback reflect the vendor's reputation?

I've never bought on SR before, and I'm not sure how much the Rumor Mills vary from the SR feedback.

Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: unbiased on January 12, 2012, 12:56 am
The accuracy is okay.  What I've noticed is that vendors will give away stuff (for example, a download link).  This will boost his/her rating back up after a series of bad reviews.  Watch for give away items in their for-sale list.

If you ever took statistics, feedback that is consistently bad can prove the vendor is bad, but a good score doesn't prove the vendor is good. It's the same reasoning that they use in court -- a defendant is never "innocent", the defendant is "not guilty".  You don't have to prove the person is innocent, you have to prove the person is not guilty.

Absence of proof is not proof of absence.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: Asbury on January 12, 2012, 01:37 am
I wouldn't trust vendor feedback as a primary source to determine if a vendor is legit. They can sell stuff to themselves, alot of feedback can be early finalizing, or it could be complete noobs posting unhelpful, vague reviews.

Always look towards the forums first for reviews and feedback from established members.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: Horizons on January 12, 2012, 06:36 pm
I wouldn't trust vendor feedback as a primary source to determine if a vendor is legit. They can sell stuff to themselves, alot of feedback can be early finalizing, or it could be complete noobs posting unhelpful, vague reviews.

Always look towards the forums first for reviews and feedback from established members.

Asbury is absolutely correct. Do what he says.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: doublemint on January 13, 2012, 01:20 am
Just be smart, make sure they have 250+ transactions. Then go through and individually read a majority of the sales. See what the feedback was for, etc. Make sure to check all negative feedback and if worried, contact that person and talk to them. If you really want to put the time in to it, it is almost impossible to be scammed. What are you trying to buy, weed? Tweetb is the best there.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: UK107 on January 13, 2012, 02:21 am
Perhaps the feedback system can have a little icon next to each review that highlights that particular buyer's purchasing history. Like the rating system on this forum. More posts = more yellow blocks. A seller that has a ton of feedback by people with no more than 1 purchase for example should get your spidey senses tingling. This can be done without the need to reveal that actual buyers username and other data etc

TL;DR - Use something similar to the ebay rating system.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: Heyenezz on January 13, 2012, 05:07 am
Just be smart, make sure they have 250+ transactions. Then go through and individually read a majority of the sales. See what the feedback was for, etc. Make sure to check all negative feedback and if worried, contact that person and talk to them. If you really want to put the time in to it, it is almost impossible to be scammed. What are you trying to buy, weed? Tweetb is the best there.

Good advice. I'm trying to buy psychedelics, weed, and opium. Of course, I'll only buy if a reputable vendor is offering it.

Perhaps the feedback system can have a little icon next to each review that highlights that particular buyer's purchasing history. Like the rating system on this forum. More posts = more yellow blocks. A seller that has a ton of feedback by people with no more than 1 purchase for example should get your spidey senses tingling. This can be done without the need to reveal that actual buyers username and other data etc

TL;DR - Use something similar to the ebay rating system.

Good idea! You should suggest that in the forum section for SR features requests.
Title: Re: How reliable is Vendor Feedback?
Post by: Aoth14 on January 14, 2012, 08:28 am
A 100% rating doesn't mean anything. I look for transaction sum and membership duration. Plus varying personality in feedback. Then I check the forum for info on the vendor. Even if you are offered direct-buy or some other personal interaction by what appears to be a legit vendor, be fair to SR,use escrow and do only small transactions until you can confirm that the seller at least has what he is selling.

Sure, scammers can bait you on the first purchase, but it's got to be a lot less likely to happen than by scammers from the non-product realm.