Silk Road forums

Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Pol Pot Head on October 04, 2012, 06:34 pm

Title: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Pol Pot Head on October 04, 2012, 06:34 pm
<b>In what ways is it more risky or less risky for buying and/or selling illegal drugs online as oppose to doing it face-to-face in real life? </b>

I hope the following message my friend told me about Silk Road doesn't offend you guys because he is clearly ignorant on how Silk Road runs and therefore does not understand the potential of it. Anyways, this is how this story went in real life (not online) :

I told one of my illegal drug-using friends IRL that I visited Silk Road yesterday, and he replied back along the lines of "Silk Road is a waste of time. Why would anybody buy illegal drugs online when it is far safer to buy drugs with a dealer face-to-face. Besides I usually have a friend of a dealer buy the drugs for me, so that I get them at discount price. "  And then he mentions that "online illegal drug buyers, like the people on Silk Road, are bottom tier buyers and sellers in the drug world because the real buyers and dealers do it face-to-face."

And this is one of the most important parts of the conservation we had pertaining to Silk Road. He said, "besides I bet it is probably at least 3 to 4 times more likely to get busted by the cops from peddling or buying illegal drugs online than face-to-face in real life. That's because in real life you can at least see who you are dealing, buying, or trading illegal drugs with so you can at least have an idea of whether or not the other person can be trusted (i.e. is that person an under-cover cop or enemy of yours?). You can't do any of that online. You also can't prevent yourself from being scammed and there is a good chance of having the cops back-trace and find out where and who you are (for both buyers and sellers) when doing it online EVEN IF you are protecting yourself with various encryption and mailing-concealment techniques. That's because the cops already know their techniques especially when they discuss it openly on their forums online. On the other hand, in real life, you can at least hide the secrets of your drug trade from the cops, but you certainly can't do it online on a public albeit hidden forum like Silk Road. As such the cops can already find ways around countering SR user's various concealment techniques both online and in delivery"

Keep in that he is not only ignorant of Silk Road but also how TOR network operates since he barely knew anything about TOR before I mentioned Silk Road to him.  I am also pretty ignorant on how Silk Road operates (so I guess I'll read up on its Wiki before I plan on doing any transactions) from here, but I am also interested in weighing the pros and cons of buying drugs here rather than in real life. Obviously there is a market and demand for buying illegal drugs online (otherwise a site like this wouldn't even exist much less be thriving), but I would firstly need to understand the pros (and cons but mostly pros) of buying drugs on here.

<b>More importantly, is he actually correct that is more likely to get busted from selling and buying drugs online as oppose to doing it in real life even with the protection of PGP, Bitcoins, and Tor Network?</b>

Before I end this opening post, I will also like to mention, on a positive side note, that I was able to convince one of my IRL drug-using friends to buy some shrooms from this site. His transaction was successful, and therefore he was satisfied by this site's service. The main reason he bought the drugs off this site rather than in real life was because he was just curious on how Silk Road operated. He also mentioned that this site's main advantage is that "it offers a much larger variety of drugs than what I could find on the local streets. Other than that, I can't see any other advantages over doing it in real life".

Anyways, I hope you guys can help me out.

Sincerely Pol Pot Head

Stay safe.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Aidoneus on October 04, 2012, 06:55 pm
So I believe it's only appropriate to start the same way you did:
I hope the following message does not offend you or your friend:
Your friend is, largely, a moron. Silk Road is currently thriving (to the tune of ~$2M/month, if the folks at Carnagie Mellon are to be believed) because of the added security it provides. The Road, much like life, is full of give & take. There are pros and cons to everything we do, online and off.

That said, if you do what you can to protect yourself, I would have to say that operating on Silk Road is probably a bit safer than operating in real life... likely by the order of several magnitudes. Don't really care to go into the nuances for each side of the spectrum — buyer and seller — but the pros definitely seem to outweigh the cons if you use common sense.

Good day, sir.
.Hades.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: justanotherrandomuser on October 04, 2012, 07:06 pm
Your friend's arguments are so filled with ignorance and misinformation that it's a waste of time to address them all.

Get a clue, than try to give your friend a clue, explain about bitcoin and tor and pgp and escrow and when he doesn't listen, get all your drugs off SR, practice good security and when he ends up in jail, try not to say I told you so.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: CoolGrey on October 04, 2012, 09:35 pm
I think it is safer to buy online for various reasons.

- You can shop from your home, you do not have to come face to face with a drug dealer, who often do business in shady neighborhoods.
- A dealer on Silk Road cannot offer bad quality drugs, as this ruins his reputation and his business. The chance that you get drugs that are mixed with harmful substances is a lot smaller.
- Because of current unbreakable encryption technology (like Tor, GPG and BitCoin), it is very hard to obtain evidence incriminating a Silk Road buyer.

A disadvantage of Silk Road is that you have to provide a shipping address to your drug seller. When you buy drugs face to face, you do not have to provide any information. However, a PO box is a simple solution if you are concerned about that.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Breaking Bad on October 04, 2012, 10:48 pm
Is it SAFER? Kinda, yes.
Neither are safe, your buying drugs. You can have your money stolen from at any time either way.
There's a sense of freedom that comes when you no longer need to drive with drugs on you too.

Is it easier? Better quality? Yes, it may be slow, but it's easier to not leave your house, spend that gas money, and time. A feedback system, and variety; There's competition online, so if you don't like quality from one seller, another is going to be right there to show you something better.

It's all about trust. If you trust your seller, it's as safe as you can get, especially anything domestic.

Not to mention, just the fact that your are using bitcoins to purchase your products, you're ditching whatever bullshit currency that is decreasing in value daily and taxes... You're saying that bitcoins are worth MORE to you than your currency.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: HeroinLover on November 12, 2012, 06:24 pm
Warning for depressing angst message! This is the best thread I found for this.

I tried to buy drugs on the street today. I have not had the energy to try it in a month or two, but today it just happened. I'm afraid of my supply running out and there just came an opportunity. These people sat next to me in the bus when I was coming home. First it seemed like it would succeed, but then some problems showed up like they always do.

The place where I live has a very shitty and complex drug culture. I'm not going to explain it more but the crucial point is that the dealers almost never have the stuff with them! So there's always more or less hassle. I have been in other countries and it has often been much easier there. It seems it's extra hard for me to score, probably cos I'm young looking, friendly, small, always score alone, a bit shy and don't look junkie enough. Don't know if that's how it is but anyhow it's always very hard for me. And I just don't have that good contacts because I don't spend time with other users. People try to cheat me all the time. I'm just so tired and don't really like to play I'm the cool gangsta dude. I have to stand being cheated, lied to, stolen, threatened and even to stand physical abuse, I always have to be at risk and be afraid. That's what buying drugs is like for me. That's what these drug laws do.

So today I tried my best but was still ripped off and got nothing. I stayed there waiting for an hour after they left with my money saying they just go around the corner and I just couldn't stop them. I had the guys belongings that I had required to hold until I would get the shit but that didn't help. I just stood there crying with his things and trashed them in the ground as I left.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Errl_Kushman on November 12, 2012, 07:27 pm

To me, 100% safer. I don't travel with drugs, ever. The stupid drugwafs invented so many BS ways for police to arrest you and get into your vehicle, I find it safer to just not travel with drugs at all. If im in a car, i might be trafficking, dui, who the fuck knows.

But it totally depends. If your dealer delivers, I'd say safer that way. If your dealer is in the ghetto, id say possibly safer ordering via SR.If you're ordering 3lbs, maybe safer IRL.

As coolgrey said, one huge disadvantage is that you dont know who your dealer is, and you're giving him or her an address.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: The Consultant on November 12, 2012, 07:57 pm
As long as you're not stupid, and you take the right precautions, you're not going to get caught buying drugs online. A dealer gives the security of familiarity, but the risk of getting too close to bad people.

- The Consultant
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: WinterMoon on November 12, 2012, 09:09 pm
Personally, I think it's much safer to walk into a ghetto with a pocket full of cash alone & unarmed at night to score some shit-quality drugs from an armed junkie than it is to sit in the comfort of your living room browsing & then encrypting an order for top-shelf drugs from a stealthy SR pro with 200 + successful transactions.  But these are just my personal opinions. 

Seriously, dude - once you buy from SR you'll NEVER go back to street vendors, eh?  Buying from trusted friends?  Maybe.  Buying from street dealers?  Not a chance.  Stick around for a while; read, educate yourself & take the plunge.  As long as you use PGP you should be fine. One thing is for sure:  When you buy on SR you're not going to end up with a bullet in your head or a knife in your gut or drugs that will land your ass in a hospital bed.

Cheers ~
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: philter3 on November 13, 2012, 12:44 am
If buying on the street is easier and safer... how come half of some folks income derives from gear they bought on SR and then resold IRL to people without access to that type and quality of gear?


I want to see the motherfucker that can score a book of NBOMes or 100 grams of pure dutch molly "round the neighborhood".

SUUUUUUURE.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: HassleHoff on November 13, 2012, 01:42 am
Safer ? Well I guess if you have a long term relationship with a dealer you trust perhaps that would be safer. No need to deal with bitcoins or give anybody your address. Buying drugs here is definitely safer than buying from a stranger on the street. Ive bought drugs on the street and the risk of getting ripped off or arrested is very high. Here you might be ripped off , but the risk of a buyer being arrested would seem to be much lower than a street drug deal. Also you wont get beat up, robbed, stabbed or shot here.

I would argue that selling drugs here is much safer for the sellers. The fact that your buyers don't know who you are gives you a layer of protection you would not have in the real world. There is no way to sell drugs in the real world without giving people information about who you are. Your cellphone or e-mail , your car , what you look like and so on. If you sell drugs in the real world you know sooner or later one of your customers is going to get busted carrying drugs and the first or second question they are going to ask him is 'who did you get this from ?' .
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Nakorx on November 13, 2012, 03:27 am
It still amazes me that people continue to ask such self evident questions/ Do people not bother to read or (more importantly) use the search button on the top right hand side.????
I don't mean this remark to be derogatory in any way, in fact it is very informative, just wish all these posts could be collated in some way instead of being spread out all over.
But I would say three things about this:-
1) SAFER
2))SAFER
3)SAFER
But that is just IMHO!
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: fractalglobal on November 13, 2012, 04:20 am
Collect qualitative and quantitative data based on each hypothesis
Verify
Draw conclusion

"Is this used car dealership better than that used car dealership?"

"Is this string longer than that string?"

Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Naughty Dog on November 13, 2012, 02:14 pm
depends on the persons IQ
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: Delta11 on November 13, 2012, 03:53 pm
Online of course, especially off SR because

A) We have awesome vendors
B) We have reviews
C) We have a feedback system
D) We have a great community
E) We have variety  ;)

I always got anxiety getting into my car to go and buy drugs off a dealer, that's just me though  :D
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: talawtam on November 13, 2012, 09:29 pm
This makes no sense! How can you answer "Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL? " with a yes or no?...
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: TheGoodSon on November 14, 2012, 03:58 am
You need new friends.
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: TheGoodSon on November 14, 2012, 04:17 am
This makes no sense! How can you answer "Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL? " with a yes or no?...

Because grammatically, "yes" or "no" satisfies the question as asked.

If you haven't taken a logic course yet, the logical "or" is satisfied in the following manner:


INPUT   OUTPUT
A   B   A OR B
0   0   0
0   1   1
1   0   1
1   1   1

(^ Taken from wikipedia)
Title: Re: Is It Safer to Buy Drugs Online or from a Dealer from the Street IRL?
Post by: PaperStreetSoapCompany on November 14, 2012, 05:45 am
I didn't select an option on the survey, sorry, but I feel that buying on SR is way safer. Most people who get busted get busted because someone snitched. The cops and DAs love to give lighter sentences to snitches.

On SR, as long as you PGP, there is no snitch. Nobody knows what I'm doing. As far as the post office is concerned, I'm receiving a package from an Ebay seller.

If you buy from your friends, you take a huge risk. Then there's the ride home, unless you're having it delivered. Lots of cops on the road love to search cars.

SR is way cheaper, which is why I'm here. Please come back up soon!