Silk Road forums

Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: BobhBob on May 05, 2013, 01:44 pm

Title: Newbie with questions
Post by: BobhBob on May 05, 2013, 01:44 pm
OK - I am a newbie to all this - but truth be told, I am old enough to be your father and for some their grandpa!  And I ramble like Grandpa before I get to the questions...

The frau got a job in the big city, taking me away from my friends in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  No bud for a year!  So I heard of this crazy SR but never thought it was possible, and lo and behold - I be here!

Of course it was a f-ng nightmare just getting BTC - I was caught in the middle of the run-up.  The when I finally get 4 BTC, the SR goes black.

When SR comes back to life, I get a quick order in - get a quick reply to my message.  SR goes black again and this morning I see "In Transit."  As a courtesy I FE'd the vendor.  Not because he/she asked, but because the blackouts and such.  The vendor has a stellar rating and was kind to this old codger who can't get PGP to work on his computer.

TL/DR
Question one:  Did I f - up by finalizing early? I am not going to be a quantity buyer - I'm old, I don't do that much;  I only smoke a little now and then.  I thought I needed to get a good buyer's rep going and that would be the way.
Q2: Gddmn GPG crashes when I start it.  There's nothing out there that I can find that describes a solution.  If I buy the commercial version - does that work with everyone?

Any advice for anything will be appreciated.
Title: Re: Newbie with questions
Post by: D3xalias on May 05, 2013, 01:49 pm
you should never FE only when you have recieved the product
in transit doesn't mean he or she already shipped the product
Title: Re: Newbie with questions
Post by: cerealbox on May 05, 2013, 01:52 pm
Bitcoin market's always been up and down, though it seems to get particularly volatile the higher it's value becomes. As for messing up, depends on the vendor, I guess. It's not likely that someone's going to go "oh, he finalized early, I don't have to send it now!" The scammers tend to be the scammers. Generally the good vendors don't just sell to "good buyers." Some of them may require early finalization or not ship large amounts or whatever, but it's just a precaution that they'll get their money, not that they're trying to form a secret club.

You should be fine, though with pot I'd recommend you check out the rumor mill before ordering. Packaging is notoriously difficult with marijuana.
Title: Re: Newbie with questions
Post by: ScorpiaMuEre on May 05, 2013, 02:15 pm
Hey OP.
If you have a windows pc, create a virtual machine and install kleopatra for your PGP needs. If you're on linux, do a VM wine-style and do the same. Kleo really is a no brainer. Here's a good reference (clearnet):
http://www.reddit.com/r/SilkRoad/wiki/guides/multiplayer_dreams_/guide_1#wiki_encrypting_your_address

As for the FE, as long as your researched your vendor and overall it looks good, you should be fine.
Title: Re: Newbie with questions
Post by: Wepromisetwenty on May 05, 2013, 02:31 pm
If the vendor has a stellar rep you should be fine - 4 BTC is quite a lot to FE on though at the current market price. Im sure the vendor won't mind you sending them a quick message for peace of mind, if they're reputable.

Weird that GPG crashes for you. Have you got the latest nightly build? That fixed everything for me

<<clearnet>> https://nightly.gpgtools.org <<clearnet>>