Silk Road forums
Market => Rumor mill => Topic started by: mofouknow on November 19, 2012, 02:05 am
-
Hello everyone on SR. I know a lot of vendors don't trust us new buyers, but with that being said how can new buyers trust sellers who ask for FE? My first order was never received and no proof has been sent that the vendor, (who's got a 98.3% rating and is now in "stealth mode") shipped it. It's in resolution at the moment, but it's a horrible first experience.
Luckily I didn't let it dissuade me from making other orders, but it's come to my attention that a lot of vendors want me to FE my order. I don't like the sound of that. Sounds sketch and I'd rather not be robbed by someone I've never seen or met face to face. (least in person there's a way to find them again. 8) ) I'm just a buyer trying to be honest online and purchase with the safest method there is to getting my fixes. Tired of dealers who lie, and vendors who scam. Trying to buy shrooms and molly and would love to find vendors I can trust and continue to purchase from. Are there any lists made by anyone with the most TRUSTED vendors? (sorry for venting and being a noob)
Besides all this, what are your thoughts about FE? Would love to hear other people's thoughts and stories.
-mofo
-
I've been around just over a month, so still pretty new. 11 transactions competed so far. I never FE'd. Spent a week or two on the forums before ordering, enough time to repeatedly come across the refrain: "Never FE." So when I was researching vendors before making my first orders, I made sure to look for those that either didn't require FE, or were too new to request it, but had still completed enough transactions and had enough of a positive forum presence that I felt comfortable placing an order. So I tried to educate myself about what vendors to go with, before jumping in or asking questions. And it turns out there are a lot of great vendors who don't require FE. Now, even though I was a new buyer and didn't have any stats, by the time I starting placing orders I at least had some forum presence, probably like 50 posts. I don't know if vendors check the forum accounts of new buyers, but I know I would, and I think I'd be more comfortable selling to a member without stats if they at least had a bit of a forum presence. Also, starting small helps, I imagine. And it's also worth PM'ing a vendor before you place an order, so you can introduce yourself, make the case that you're an honest buyer and just want to make an honest transaction. Some established vendors on their vendor page will have that request in lieu of a request for new buyers to FE. It's just about doing the leg work to find those vendors that don't require it, build up a little forum presence to convey that you are legit, and then communicate with vendors before placing that first order.
That's all I've done. As far as leg work goes, imo it's a lot easier than finding dealers for all this stuff irl. And I've yet to FE, and don't plan to ever FE. So ya, it's definitely doable. :)
-
If you don't feel comfortable FE, then DON'T!!!! I don't recommend that anyone finalize early. Personally, I would move on to another vendor. I cant believe all the problems that are caused by FE. I sort of understand why some vendors want some to FE, for new members or to members with bad stats. But, I would say that 90 percent of all the issues buyers are having are because of them FE.
Just don't do it.. If you do, don't come complaining!!!
~FLUSH~
-
If you don't feel comfortable FE, then DON'T!!!! I don't recommend that anyone finalize early. Personally, I would move on to another vendor. I cant believe all the problems that are caused by FE. I sort of understand why some vendors want some to FE, for new members or to members with bad stats. But, I would say that 90 percent of all the issues buyers are having are because of them FE.
Just don't do it.. If you do, don't come complaining!!!
~FLUSH~
This. If FEing ever seems sketchy or too good to be true, just don't go for it. Don't ever FE unless you're comfortable with it, if you're not and you still FE then don't be upset if things go wrong.
-
On SR both your reputation as a vendor and a buyer count. This is not ebay where the buyer gets to determine everything.
Sellers can see you track record, like how many purchases you made before, and how many of them went without a hitch.
If you are a first time buyer on SR you may be required to finalize early by sellers, since they have no reason to assume you may try to con them by claiming the product never arrived, and hencecdemanding a refund or re-ship. Sellers also build reputation though. If a seller has hundreds or thousands of positive customer experiences he's probably legit and you can take the risk of finalizing early.
As a buyer you have similar leverage though - if you have conducted dozens of transactions without a problem, you should order on escrow only. After all there are plenty of vendors that received payment from you, making you an honest customer.
Some sellers will ask you to finalize early so their funds do not end up stuck in escrow for quite some time. Doing so is realsitic, but you should really look at their feeedback before you finalize early.
-
I've been around just over a month, so still pretty new. 11 transactions competed so far. I never FE'd. Spent a week or two on the forums before ordering, enough time to repeatedly come across the refrain: "Never FE." So when I was researching vendors before making my first orders, I made sure to look for those that either didn't require FE, or were too new to request it, but had still completed enough transactions and had enough of a positive forum presence that I felt comfortable placing an order. So I tried to educate myself about what vendors to go with, before jumping in or asking questions. And it turns out there are a lot of great vendors who don't require FE. Now, even though I was a new buyer and didn't have any stats, by the time I starting placing orders I at least had some forum presence, probably like 50 posts. I don't know if vendors check the forum accounts of new buyers, but I know I would, and I think I'd be more comfortable selling to a member without stats if they at least had a bit of a forum presence. Also, starting small helps, I imagine. And it's also worth PM'ing a vendor before you place an order, so you can introduce yourself, make the case that you're an honest buyer and just want to make an honest transaction. Some established vendors on their vendor page will have that request in lieu of a request for new buyers to FE. It's just about doing the leg work to find those vendors that don't require it, build up a little forum presence to convey that you are legit, and then communicate with vendors before placing that first order.
That's all I've done. As far as leg work goes, imo it's a lot easier than finding dealers for all this stuff irl. And I've yet to FE, and don't plan to ever FE. So ya, it's definitely doable. :)
+1
A perfect example of how new buyers should go about things :)
-
I've been around just over a month, so still pretty new. 11 transactions competed so far. I never FE'd. Spent a week or two on the forums before ordering, enough time to repeatedly come across the refrain: "Never FE." So when I was researching vendors before making my first orders, I made sure to look for those that either didn't require FE, or were too new to request it, but had still completed enough transactions and had enough of a positive forum presence that I felt comfortable placing an order. So I tried to educate myself about what vendors to go with, before jumping in or asking questions. And it turns out there are a lot of great vendors who don't require FE. Now, even though I was a new buyer and didn't have any stats, by the time I starting placing orders I at least had some forum presence, probably like 50 posts. I don't know if vendors check the forum accounts of new buyers, but I know I would, and I think I'd be more comfortable selling to a member without stats if they at least had a bit of a forum presence. Also, starting small helps, I imagine. And it's also worth PM'ing a vendor before you place an order, so you can introduce yourself, make the case that you're an honest buyer and just want to make an honest transaction. Some established vendors on their vendor page will have that request in lieu of a request for new buyers to FE. It's just about doing the leg work to find those vendors that don't require it, build up a little forum presence to convey that you are legit, and then communicate with vendors before placing that first order.
That's all I've done. As far as leg work goes, imo it's a lot easier than finding dealers for all this stuff irl. And I've yet to FE, and don't plan to ever FE. So ya, it's definitely doable. :)
+1
A perfect example of how new buyers should go about things :)
yepyep! That's how I started out. Found a couple of up and coming vendors who looked legit and had a little bit of feedback, never FE'd and never lost any money (not yet anyway)
OP, we have a thread discussing MDMA vendors. It's good because one can see buyers' recent experience with the vendor. You might even be able to ask there if anyone knows a vendor who doesn't require FE for new buyers.
-
its fair if its international
how would you like to have to wait for your money up to a month? thats why i stick to domestic and have only FE for vendor b/c i was short and they made up the $2 and yeah i actually got the package
-
its fair if its international
how would you like to have to wait for your money up to a month?
I'd like it about as much as when I have to wait for a month for my package.
Both buyer and seller wait the same amount of time it's still more than fair to use the escrow system.
BTW, this is my first post in the forums but I have been using the road for awhile. In fact the last time I used FE was Tony76. (Who as many will recall went from high ranked seller who had been around for months at the end ran off with everyone, money...at least those who FE'd,) Lessons have been learned. "Trusted" vendors can still start scamming I only do business in Escrow.
I understand vendors not wanting to be scammed, but I've been burned and you've got to look out for yourself. Don't do business out of escrow. Most of the time its not any cheaper.
Besides you can always pump up your buyer stats with porn and eBooks. It may save you a lot of money in the future to spend a little now.
-
Yeah, it sucks, especially when you are new, since you don't want it on your reputation that you've gone into battle over product that doesn't show...but there's been excellent advice given here...our history is ripoffs on both sides--vendor and buyer--and that sort of "we're all in this together" attitude seems to have gone by the wayside. In early days, when it was vendors that seemed to be getting ripped off the most, when everybody stayed in escrow, hell it was *expected* that we stay in escrow, vendors had made several threads where we tried to find ways out of this. Some buyers, to show good faith, started finalizing early for trusted vendors. And somewhere in there, vendors started making it a requirement. Mostly for new buyers, but some smooth talkers--particularly in the heroin area, I'm sad to say--were able to get us to finalize early, usually so they could "get some fire" or blah blah blah, and they make off with tons of money...
But anyway, now there's a lot of mistrust, but again, the advice from several people above is sound. The bummer is, that often newbies purchase first, *then* come on the forums when their product doesn't show, rather than come here first, and learn the ins and outs. I've always wished they'd make that a requirement, that new buyers come here and read up before they go purchasing from some yahoo who just got the bright idea to buy a vendor's account and rip off a bunch of people....now it seems almost a 'rite of passage' to get ripped, and then come here...old saying: "act in haste, repent at leisure' or something like that...
Site is what it is...I'd get in the Security Forum and read from the beginning, takes a couple hours, but then you can see how this whole shitstorm evolved...there's good guys on both sides--vendors and buyers--and the site keeps evolving...best wishes to all.
-
First off, I'd like to say THANK YOU to all of you who replied. All of your information has been VERY helpful and insightful. I've done research on a lot of vendors and so far have completed 6 TRUE transactions. I say "true" because they didn't ask me to FE and I finalized as soon as their packages arrived. I've got another 3 or 4 that I've FE'd as a test. If the vendors are legit, they'll be seeing a LOT more business from me. One seller that I ordered an oz of mdma from is OA and he asked me to FE. I did but after researching him like crazy! The other 2-3 vendors asked me to FE because they're new vendors looking to up their rep. :-/ Kinda sketch, but at least it wasn't for any more than $25 US each time. If they aren't trust worthy, I'll blast their names on the forum so other buyers don't get robbed as well. Just hope it all works out and again, I appreciate all the feedback you guys have left!
Hope everyone had a great holiday and good luck in all your endeavors!
-mofo ;D
-
If you don't feel comfortable FE, then DON'T!!!! I don't recommend that anyone finalize early. Personally, I would move on to another vendor. I cant believe all the problems that are caused by FE. I sort of understand why some vendors want some to FE, for new members or to members with bad stats. But, I would say that 90 percent of all the issues buyers are having are because of them FE.
Just don't do it.. If you do, don't come complaining!!!
~FLUSH~
+1 for that.
i always mention to people that no matter what the drug, there is always someone willing to sell it to you within escrow.
-
If you don't feel comfortable FE, then DON'T!!!! I don't recommend that anyone finalize early. Personally, I would move on to another vendor. I cant believe all the problems that are caused by FE. I sort of understand why some vendors want some to FE, for new members or to members with bad stats. But, I would say that 90 percent of all the issues buyers are having are because of them FE.
Just don't do it.. If you do, don't come complaining!!!
~FLUSH~
Welcome Flush +1 from me too, I don't care how established a vendor is, I'll never fe, vendors can establish a reputation, then vanish in a flash, as soon as I've received (providing SilkRoad isn't down) I'll finalise. Trust works both ways :)
-
Yeah, it sucks, especially when you are new, since you don't want it on your reputation that you've gone into battle over product that doesn't show...but there's been excellent advice given here...our history is ripoffs on both sides--vendor and buyer--and that sort of "we're all in this together" attitude seems to have gone by the wayside. In early days, when it was vendors that seemed to be getting ripped off the most, when everybody stayed in escrow, hell it was *expected* that we stay in escrow, vendors had made several threads where we tried to find ways out of this. Some buyers, to show good faith, started finalizing early for trusted vendors. And somewhere in there, vendors started making it a requirement. Mostly for new buyers, but some smooth talkers--particularly in the heroin area, I'm sad to say--were able to get us to finalize early, usually so they could "get some fire" or blah blah blah, and they make off with tons of money...
But anyway, now there's a lot of mistrust, but again, the advice from several people above is sound. The bummer is, that often newbies purchase first, *then* come on the forums when their product doesn't show, rather than come here first, and learn the ins and outs. I've always wished they'd make that a requirement, that new buyers come here and read up before they go purchasing from some yahoo who just got the bright idea to buy a vendor's account and rip off a bunch of people....now it seems almost a 'rite of passage' to get ripped, and then come here...old saying: "act in haste, repent at leisure' or something like that...
Site is what it is...I'd get in the Security Forum and read from the beginning, takes a couple hours, but then you can see how this whole shitstorm evolved...there's good guys on both sides--vendors and buyers--and the site keeps evolving...best wishes to all.
+1 thanks for the history lesson. I was curious how the "never finalize early" theme came to take hold. I kind of took it up as my banner but it's good to know the progression that lead to it being such a oft quoted sentiment on the forum.
also thanks for the karma..and mofo it sounds like you've gotten a handle on things. And this is a great place when you do. 5 weeks and I've purchased weed, LSD, 25c, mushrooms, MDMA, liquid xanax, and opium without a hitch. just the beginning man, love this place
-
Thanks to everyone who posted here! Some awesome information that will serve noobs well in the future :)
I will be avoiding an FE if my first purchase is over $10 or so, but I'm hoping I won't have to worry about it much. Whenever I see something I like on SR, the first thing I do is search the username on here to see the reviews, and I won't want to order from anyone who's not exceptional on their shipping methods and has a high rate of successful deliveries. In my position in society, I'd be a little further up shit creek if I were busted compared to most people on here. Oh, the bricks that would be shat...
Cheers all!
-Ph
-
In my position in society, I'd be a little further up shit creek if I were busted compared to most people on here.
I dont know about that. We're not all TrainSpotting Junkies ;)
-
I dont know about that. We're not all TrainSpotting Junkies ;)
You're right. I was quick to judge and it's a very naive trait. Hopefully it's not my downfall! :P
-
As a seasoned vendor, I would have to say that whomever INVENTED the F.E. invented a -scam-.
I started-out well-setup. I was ready to ship and trust the escrow system, I didn't need THEM to "just trust me". As a vendor, I assume very, very little risk on the deal. That's trust enough. That's all I need.
If they say "F.E.", say "F-you".
-
When I first started purchasing products on SR I was never asked by a vendor to FE. Most of the good vendors who run a tight ship and really mean business will generally ship to new buyers and not require you to FE (unless you have 0 stats and you're making a gigantic first order).
There are PLENTY of vendors who DO NOT require new buyers to FE so if you're a newbie to SR...please go with a reputable vendor who won't make you FE.
My rule of thumb for buying is to....get ready for it.......NEVER FE FOR ANY VENDOR NO MATTER HOW TRUSTED THEY ARE! If you do FE you're taking a risk and you should only do it with money you're prepared to lose. I have only once FEed for a vendor (Hatter26) and I did it on my own accord to help him out during the SR downtime.
-
You know, even if they mean well, a trusted vendor could get busted, either here or real life. If you FE'd the night before, you could be set back (read: ripped-off) unintentionally because they're in jail and can't make the drop they were supposed to.
It's just safe; it's just common sense. Don't FE.
-
Yeah, it sucks, especially when you are new, since you don't want it on your reputation that you've gone into battle over product that doesn't show...but there's been excellent advice given here...our history is ripoffs on both sides--vendor and buyer--and that sort of "we're all in this together" attitude seems to have gone by the wayside. In early days, when it was vendors that seemed to be getting ripped off the most, when everybody stayed in escrow, hell it was *expected* that we stay in escrow, vendors had made several threads where we tried to find ways out of this. Some buyers, to show good faith, started finalizing early for trusted vendors. And somewhere in there, vendors started making it a requirement. Mostly for new buyers, but some smooth talkers--particularly in the heroin area, I'm sad to say--were able to get us to finalize early, usually so they could "get some fire" or blah blah blah, and they make off with tons of money...
But anyway, now there's a lot of mistrust, but again, the advice from several people above is sound. The bummer is, that often newbies purchase first, *then* come on the forums when their product doesn't show, rather than come here first, and learn the ins and outs. I've always wished they'd make that a requirement, that new buyers come here and read up before they go purchasing from some yahoo who just got the bright idea to buy a vendor's account and rip off a bunch of people....now it seems almost a 'rite of passage' to get ripped, and then come here...old saying: "act in haste, repent at leisure' or something like that...
Site is what it is...I'd get in the Security Forum and read from the beginning, takes a couple hours, but then you can see how this whole shitstorm evolved...there's good guys on both sides--vendors and buyers--and the site keeps evolving...best wishes to all.
Good advice Phubai - and nice to see you around again.
-
FE has its place, and sometimes there are reasons to use it. but if a vendor requires the blanket use of FE for all orders, thats a huge red flag.
-
Use only reputable Vendors and you won't have any problems. You can build up your cred and if you feel compelled to use someone newer, you should have enough successful transactions that they won't require it.
-
What I've noticed is the vendors that consistently deliver great products, fast shipping and competitive prices never require FE, the ones that seem to ask for it are hit and miss, what incentive does a vendor have to deliver your order if they already have your money and know you can't go to SR support for resolution if they don't deliver. Escrow protects both sides and is there for a reason use it, I've never had good luck FE'ing and theres a very good reason for it.