Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: hector on June 24, 2011, 05:44 am

Title: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: hector on June 24, 2011, 05:44 am
Since SR is protected by escrow, should I feel safe buying from sellers without ratings? Are there any scamming possibilities that escrow is vulnerable to that I should be aware of?
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: sauc1er on June 24, 2011, 06:32 am
It is always possible for a vendor to create fake ratings by "buying" his on stuff. So better ask for a small quantity, just because there is an escrow system it does not mean you get all your btc back if you are scammed. Am I wrong? Correct me!
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: rake on June 24, 2011, 06:39 am
correct.  You "may" and I stress may get all your btc back if a trade with a new seller does not work.  But it is also possible that the complaint is resolved by dividing the escrow funds 50/50.
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: cronus12 on June 24, 2011, 03:25 pm
There is nothing wrong with new vendors and many may be great vendors in the end.  The one rule with a new vendor is to start small, order a sample or two of their various products and rate them based on your experience and quality of product.  Then slowly move up to larger quantities once you feel you have enough trust.
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: Chekhov on June 24, 2011, 03:44 pm
The other thing that new sellers can do (and, so far, haven't seen a lot of) is offering discount samplers and advertising this in the Product Offer subform.  That'd be the best way to quickly legitimize yourself.
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: GreenCo on June 24, 2011, 07:33 pm
Watch out that anyone you buy from has access to sensitive information like your address.
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: phubaiblues on June 26, 2011, 06:51 am
Watch out that anyone you buy from has access to sensitive information like your address.

And that's the weakest link in the chain, to a buyer...glad you mentioned it...we can spend--and I do--hours daily tightening up tors and trying out different linux distros, isolating and encryting away...but there's the real danger right there...the one thing that gives me serious pause...
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: WiseCanine on June 27, 2011, 08:00 am
It's kind of a catch 22.  We are afraid to buy from new sellers, but if no one buys from them they will never get ratings and become established.  I'd suggest sending them a message and discussing your purchase as well as purchasing a small quantity to start.  Get a feel for the seller to determine if you are comfortable buying from them.  I've had positive experiences with established sellers as well as new sellers by simply getting a feel for them before purchasing.
Title: Re: Sellers Without Ratings
Post by: phubaiblues on June 27, 2011, 08:30 am
It's kind of a catch 22.  We are afraid to buy from new sellers, but if no one buys from them they will never get ratings and become established.  I'd suggest sending them a message and discussing your purchase as well as purchasing a small quantity to start.  Get a feel for the seller to determine if you are comfortable buying from them.  I've had positive experiences with established sellers as well as new sellers by simply getting a feel for them before purchasing.

I think a lot of it is just wariness, right now...all that hype and media attenion made us a bit, u know...distrustful...plus several of us got burnt on BlackMarket...but I agree with what u posted...probably just take a bit of time, make sure we are going to survive, both sides, buyers and sellers...we're protected from doing major harm to each other...but we're also kind of 'protected' from totally trusting anybody.  Once things cool off, a seller who has the right product, and is reasonable, and starts small, will build up a rep quick enough...get rid of the quick buck scam artists, and make sure LE isn't one of the sellers we know and trust ;) ...