Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: gustono on February 22, 2012, 11:53 pm

Title: Big purchases.
Post by: gustono on February 22, 2012, 11:53 pm
How do you guys make big purchases? My last thread was on how a buyer could easily scam a seller, but it's just as easy the other way round. For big purchases, there are so many risks.

Sellers risks :
Sends package, genuinely gets lost - has to refund
Sends package, doesn't get lost, trusted buyer is an asshole - has to refund

Buyers risks :
Doesn't come
Every once a while a trusted vendor decides not to send a package, claims it was caught by customs - Doesn't come

What are the chances of a trusted vendor actually not sending a package (big value, would be pointless doing it on small orders), would the success rate (dictated by comments/ratings) be a lot lower than a genuinely trusted vendor as packages do actually get lost?

I wish customs were 100% specific on drug policy - if drugs are sent to your house and caught - you 100% get a letter, then we would actually know.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: human5 on February 23, 2012, 04:52 am
Yes, I was worried about this as well. I've started poking around checking quality of purchase, about to get my first QP's soon- will update. (100% Success so far, 10 or so packages recieved, OZ of shrooms the largest, all reputable dealers)
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: Laughing Man on February 23, 2012, 05:03 am
DCN numbers are extremely useful in these situations.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: Tommyhawk on February 23, 2012, 05:42 am
DCN's and Escrow make it pretty safe.

There is always a level of trust required... and I admit it can be nerve racking as you start making large purchases.... but in the drug business, trust is everything. Build up a relationship with your vendor and do your research. Be extremely attentive to his reviews, what people say about him on the forum, etc. Trust.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: gustono on February 23, 2012, 12:24 pm
DCN's and Escrow make it pretty safe.

There is always a level of trust required... and I admit it can be nerve racking as you start making large purchases.... but in the drug business, trust is everything. Build up a relationship with your vendor and do your research. Be extremely attentive to his reviews, what people say about him on the forum, etc. Trust.

DCN's are for signed delivery, right? I don't see what is so bad about signed delivery with tracked order, if the package takes unusually long to arrive you will be checking the tracking anyway so if it does take unusually long, or the postman is different now, then you can just not sign the delivery.

However I can see how not signing might be really hard, because you've spent a lot of money on it for one, you're never 100% certain if it's real or not (unles you know your postman very well), and you could essentially be throwing away lots of drugs for paranoia.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: OldGuard on February 23, 2012, 01:02 pm
No sig for DCN, only for express.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: gustono on February 23, 2012, 01:06 pm
No sig for DCN, only for express.

Oh. How to know if a seller will do this or not? Does it cost more?

What are the associated risks / benefits etc?
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: OldGuard on February 23, 2012, 01:16 pm
DCN is an extra like 60-80 cents depending on whether it is First class or priority, I know some use it others do not depends on size of order. Many will not give you the dcn, they keep it for use if the buyer claims non delivery as SR will accept it when a dispute is filed. Some sellers will use them when asked others won't you have to contact the seller and ask what their policy is on them.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: gustono on February 23, 2012, 01:33 pm
DCN is an extra like 60-80 cents depending on whether it is First class or priority, I know some use it others do not depends on size of order. Many will not give you the dcn, they keep it for use if the buyer claims non delivery as SR will accept it when a dispute is filed. Some sellers will use them when asked others won't you have to contact the seller and ask what their policy is on them.

What? If there is a non-delivery then why would DCN provide proof that the buyer is scammer? It got caught by customs, surely the buyer deserves a refund?
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: czxtvr on February 23, 2012, 03:27 pm
The buyer does deserve a refund but I don't think it will be 100%...
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: wretched on February 23, 2012, 04:02 pm
I wouldn't say the customer "deserves" a refund with a customs nab. You know there is a risk of that happening when you order across borders. That doesn't mean that sellers shouldn't ease the blow for the buyer. Now if the seller has a track record of interceptions, that is another story all together, in that case, the buyer DOES deserve a refund.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: gustono on February 23, 2012, 07:54 pm
True. How comes some sellers won't do DCN for smaller orders? If the buyer pays for it then what is the issue?
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: Angelology on February 23, 2012, 08:02 pm
How do you guys make big purchases? My last thread was on how a buyer could easily scam a seller, but it's just as easy the other way round. For big purchases, there are so many risks.

Sellers risks :
Sends package, genuinely gets lost - has to refund
Sends package, doesn't get lost, trusted buyer is an asshole - has to refund

Buyers risks :
Doesn't come
Every once a while a trusted vendor decides not to send a package, claims it was caught by customs - Doesn't come

What are the chances of a trusted vendor actually not sending a package (big value, would be pointless doing it on small orders), would the success rate (dictated by comments/ratings) be a lot lower than a genuinely trusted vendor as packages do actually get lost?

I wish customs were 100% specific on drug policy - if drugs are sent to your house and caught - you 100% get a letter, then we would actually know.
I don't care what any of these people say; Chances are, if you order $1,000+ of product you have a good chance of getting scammed. It's free money, and your dealing with drug dealers. Would you give your dealer $1,000 upfront? Now there is the escrow, but theres ways to get around it.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: atlas on February 23, 2012, 08:05 pm
You can ask your vendor to create a couple listings for you and send you multiple packages over a week or 2.

I do this for my QP purchases  ;)
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: fumanchu on February 23, 2012, 09:52 pm
Know your vendor, that's all I can say.

There are certain few vendors who've cornered the bulk sales niche here, and do their jobs with utmost professionalism.

If the vendor doesn't have feedback from transactions that amount to over $1,000, I personally would not trust that vendor with large sums of money.. just because there is a greater chance that if the vendor doesn't often get big sales (like $1,000+) they might see it as the perfect scam opportunity; they'd only get one negative feedback from the transaction and could steal thousands of dollars. Not to say all vendors would do this, but unless they have a solid history of perfectly rated transactions for orders over at least a thousand dollars, I can't afford to take the chance with them.

Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that a lot of vendors that we consider reliable and "good"  would probably run with the money if they had a chance and the sum was large enough. Know your vendor is all I can say. Tracking information helps; but ultimately doesn't mean anything either.

I have made several large orders with 100% success thus far.

I am currently in the middle of my biggest transaction yet on the Road; $2,800. Keeping my fingers crossed and good vibes flowing. I have total confidence in my vendor and his ability to ship large amounts and do so in an unbelievably clever and discrete manner. I stay in escrow on all large transactions though, and make sure (beforehand) that I am clear on the vendors refund/reship policy for such large amounts.


Also, you have to remember when dealing with large amounts of product; every box that is delivered successfully is you getting lucky. Yes, the vendor may have clever packing methods, printed labels, etc.. but ultimately the reality of it is that you are simply getting lucky every time you ship a large amount and it makes it to its destination. Its so easy to start receiving packages and forget what it really means to have received that package... It means that it passed through any and all security measures put in place by the USPS (or whatever postal service) and they didn't catch it that time. You never know when this could change, and its best to never forget that - especially if you're ordering product internationally and dealing with customs authorities.

When going for your first BIG purchase, don't put all your eggs in one basket. What I'm saying is; make sure you're not throwing every nickel you have into this purchase and hoping and prayed you don't get scammed and your shipment doesn't get seized. Leave yourself some "oh shit!" money to fall back on. Plan ahead. Make sure you have enough to get back to where you were, should something go drastically wrong. The bottom line here is that you're taking a big gamble on large orders. You probably wouldn't go to a casino and bet your entire life savings on a hand of blackjack, so don't put up every penny you have on a large order because the reality is that you are still taking a gamble with it...

But like I said, some vendors have built solid reputations based on their successful bulk sales. These are the people you want to order from, not the guy who usually lists quantities under $200 but all the sudden has a bulk listing for $2,000... that's just a risk you can't afford to take.





Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: BenJesuit on February 23, 2012, 10:16 pm
Buy small, buy often.

I get that one might be looking for the volume discount. But it's better to spread the risk using smaller orders and to just think of the increased cost of buying smaller, insurance.
Title: Re: Big purchases.
Post by: TalkingHead on February 23, 2012, 11:00 pm
Well here's a question then, since I've never bought more than a 1/2 oz at a time myself, how do you know a vendor's large order history? Only a couple of weed vendors offer QPs and such in the listings so how do you know who to approach for bulk if you don't want the particular products offered by those specific vendors? Do you go through every line of their per item feedback hoping to find a large order with good feedback?