Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: professoryoke on January 20, 2013, 09:29 pm
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So i've heard a lot of talk about how you should never FE, but I see a lot of reputable vendors requiring new members to do it.
Is this just vendors being scammy, or is it common practice?
In other words, should I expect to have to FE for my first few transactions or is that just opening myself up to being scammed?
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No. Don't finalize early, unless the vendor is established, has 99% rating or above, and is offering you something in return for FE (such as free shipping or 10% off).
You can build an order history in a matter of minutes by buying 5 ebooks. There are some good books for sale for less than a USD$1.
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Dont do it. Virtually every scam you hear of on here has been due to FE.
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Dont do it EVER!
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Anyone can create an account, make a purchase and then claim that their shit never arrived, locking the funds up in a dispute, or getting the dealer to re-send the goods in different packaging. This is unlikely to happen if you're selling mushrooms or a bag of weed to some hippies who can't score, but is extremely likely if you're sending gear to junkies who will try to rob you.
You've got idealists who love the escrow system and you've got vendors who are jaded by dealing with scumbags. Dealers who protect themselves from the escrow system won't get ripped off by customers trying it on and can therefore sell cheaper because they lose less, but they also protect themselves from the rating system and may be tempted to sell shit stuff.
New vendors who demand that you finalize early are usually scammers. I prefer to work inside the escrow system even with trusted vendors as those who operate outside it have false ratings. Finalizing early is promoting a type of dishonesty that I actually give a fuck about as a buyer.
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Yes, I agree with awhiteknight. It's also worth pointing out that there have been a couple of cases of established sellers demanding FE from all buyers over the course of a week and then vanishing with hundreds of thousands of dollars cashed out.
It's all about risk and its analysis.
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the eBook method of getting stats up is a good idea if you really need your transaction count up. Also I reference my eBooks a lot, so I would recommend getting a few packs of books even if you have enough transactions because most of them come out to like $0.50
As has been said 1000's of times on the main forums "Don't FE if you can't afford to loose the coins"
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I really don't like finalizing early. It ruins the entire experience of using SR. With that said, I have done it for the first time just a couple days ago. The vendor had months of rep and not a single bad word said on the forum. As such, I feel confident that the product will arrive. I still don't think that I'll do it again in the future if I can help it as I've been a nervous wreck ever since I hit the finalize link...
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Even if the vendor is 100% i still wouldn't do it, i did it w/ foxbelle but i thnk shes jumped ship and im out some BC. I say just pay the extra for escrow, its worth it
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Don't FE. I am new and I have never once had to FE.
FE leaves you way too vulnerable, in my opinion.
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NEVER EVER DO IT!
I did once, and got burned.
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Yeah plain and simple, do not FE, ever. I mean if you were buying street drugs, would you give Dealer Joe $100+ up front and ask him to deliver you weed? No, thats ridiculous. I think we need to pool together a list of vendors from varying drug markets that do not require FE, ever.
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also i m farily new here and had some good transactions already... 1 vendor asked me to FE and cause their amazing stats and comments i did so... should get here this week so hopefully will all go well.. magicpearl x
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don't do it, and you'll be safe
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Yes, I agree with awhiteknight. It's also worth pointing out that there have been a couple of cases of established sellers demanding FE from all buyers over the course of a week and then vanishing with hundreds of thousands of dollars cashed out.
It's all about risk and its analysis.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars? Over a week? ???
If that's the case, I'm in the wrong line of work...
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Dont FE!! and certainly dont come here crying if you do do it
that being said, I have FEd for some known and trusted vendors, only in an effort to help them out . I imagine the BTC to cash process isnt the easiest.
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Never FE! There's never a need to. Generally you can find a vendor that will accept a n00bie without demanding you to FE, & if you can't it's really not worth the gamble in the first place!
We never require anyone to FE, we actually request that customers NOT FE because it makes transactions harder to follow, & most people will never go back to change the feedback which doesn't look good or give any positive info for those who are trying to gather info on a vender by looking at their feedback.
NCK
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As long as you do your research, and KNOW after reading on the forums and the review pages on the sellers on the road, you can FE.
Butt obviously, that won't always be the case.
If you're not comfortable doing it, find a different seller.
My first buy was an FE, but my second and third weren't required for it.
Just do your research.
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Depends on the vendor maaaaan
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fe bad
not fe good
Frankenstein hate fire
Fire bad
20 post left
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fe? FEET
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dont fe
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dont fe
This. Just find another vendor who doesn't require FE and you're set.
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dont fe
This. Just find another vendor who doesn't require FE and you're set.
i am a vendor
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i am a vendor
My bad. A compromise I've seen is vendors requiring FE a) if the buyer's got less that X previous transactions, or b) if the buyer is ordering a larger amount.
Requiring FE on all transactions will send a bad signal methinks and scare off some customers.
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My opinion is to never FE. Move to a different vendor if he requires FE. Not worth the risk.
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It's not good. I've learned from experience.
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FE? Fuck No! Never have, never will. You think you are doing some vendor a favor by finalizing early? Well you're not, even if the vendor is a stand up, trustworthy motherfucker with good feedback and all that good shit. If he or she is at the top of their game they'll have no problem working with in the escrow system. These guys are making mad cash, and fuck yeah that's great but FE is total bullshit. Even if you don't get ripped off and everything goes perfect you are still fucking yourself over and every other buyer up here by finalizing early. Think about it. The only reason so many vendors can demand it is cause so many of you lames think you have to do it. The Escrow system is there for good reason, don't shit all over it and yourself because you are desperate or whatever the hell your problem is. You ain't doing anyone any favors, least of all yourself.
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only FE if you can afford to be ripped. it defeats the whole purpose of the road for me.
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It really depends how you look at it , there are also many junkies here that try to fuck vendors over , and its as simple as that .
its a free drug paradise for them here when they can always claim something and get thier money back .
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i'm pretty sure its a bad idea, even for new users. Just made my account 1.5 weeks ago have already made 4 orders from various categories (and 2 pretty big ones) NO ONE has made me FE even though i'm a new user. And right they did, not to brag but I can be quite a good customer in the future and will certainly finalize the moment I receive the package(and SR starts working, i'm on it as soon as it is though lol!)
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i have used FE twice. once in order to get bonus product ($35 FE) and the other was with a vendor i used in the past and trusted ($160 FE). i will mention when the latter was 2 days late i was nervous as hell! not good for your health haha
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I have finalized early once and only once i have not received my order, that was when i finalized early.
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I think you have to look at from the sellers POV. When you are in this business as a seller there are a lot of scumbags out there. If a seller wanted to rip someone off he could send you a package full of nothing. Tracking would show it was delivered. Then what? Buyers and sellers have to be on there toes. Just saying.
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tru dat
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Do not FE!
If you are at your first order and is a big one I understand the vender' s concern about you , but
if you have a small one I don't see the reason to FE.
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I (usually) never FE on my first order with a new vendor. If I have established a relationship with the vendor and I have made multiple orders (through escrow) with him, THEN I will be comfortable with FE on orders.
Hope this helps! :D
<3 Rose <3
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if they require it then you've gotta do it if you want the goods
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I did because I'm new.
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My first order ever, I FE'd with nevita. Everything went splendid and arrived under a week from overseas to US.
I'm glad I didn't get screwed, but after hearing these horror stories on the forums, I probably won't ever FE.
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Like everyone says, never FE.
If the seller is saying everyone needs to FE, simply dont do it, find someone else. But, I wouldnt be opoosed to FEing for a vendor ive used before and DIDNT ask me to FE, as long as its not TOO much money (i guess we all have different ideas about what is TOO much).
But uhm.. yeah i guess its safer to say this: NEVER DO IT.
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I see no problems with FE as long as the vendor has enough reputation etc. If you ask me, its the buyers fault for getting scammed on a FE order...Any buyer should be able to realize the risk of FE and therefore spend the time to research which vendor to use...As long as you do that you simply WILL NOT be scammed...
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i never FE, if the vendor requires it, i find another one.
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my opinion is dont do it!
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The beauty of SR is the escrow. Never finalize early.
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These are my stats as of today Januarty 26th
Total transactions: 57
Total spent: $18117.19
Refund rate: 0%
Auto-finalize rate: 2.87%
Member for: 2 months
When you first start in SR you have to take a Leap of Faith, you dont know if your product will be good or if the vendor will actually ship your drugs. You have to take a leap of faith, its like when you buy street drugs and you dont know the dealer that well, or if his products are as what he advertises, we had to go through those who at a young age started getting drugs from street dealers.
Lucky for me on SR i have never been scammed, I only went to resolution center twice so far, but just to extend due dates because of christmas delays.
When i first started, lucky for me i found trusted vendors who i had to FE with, none of them scammed me. There was only 1 order that it never got to me 1g of MDMA, but that was when i first started 2 months ago, and i was like a kid with a new toy with SR, so i ordered a lot of shit from different vendors and sometimes the same stuff, so i got some MDMA, but there was only one package missing of MDMA but i will never know whose package was, because they all were from the same country , haha.
Nowdays, im not required to FE by most vendors and we remain in ESCROW , and i even FE sometimes with my favourite vendors even though im not required to do so.
My tips for SR are:
1. Always stay in ESCROW whenever possible.
2. If you find quality vendors STICK with them, you dont want to use a new vendors whose stealth packaging methods are not known for you, they can fuck up bigtime and flag your address forever. Which could lead to packages not arriving to you from your quality vendors!
3. Dont trust ANY of the bitcoins threads that have been around the forums lately, because they are all scammers.
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Dont.
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Dont.
Sound advice.
Also This is 49. Looks like our fight is never going to happen. :(
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Escrow is an amazing thing, finalizing early to save a few bucks isn't worth the risk for me. Even if I've had 10+ transactions with a vendor.
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Finalizing early is a mistake. No point in risking your hard earned BTC!
Escrow is the reason why I love using SR. Protects you more than some situations IRL.
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I say I require FE for BRAND NEW buyers, but I rarely enforce it. NorCalKing is correct, it makes organizing business hell trying to figure out who has FE'd or not. Sometimes it is simpler if you just stay in escrow then everyone is happy :)
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NEVER FE!
I don't understand why people act as though you "MUST" FE if it's your first order or your first few orders. I didn't have any trouble making orders in escrow from day one. It could also have something to do with the fact I had everything figured out beforehand, chose my vendors carefully and didn't make any mistakes in my orders.
And plus if you're on your first order and NO ONE will take you, just buy one of the cheap digital items for a like .05 BTC like a porn collection or something like that. Do that a couple times and you won't have any problems.
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NEVER FE!
I don't understand why people act as though you "MUST" FE if it's your first order or your first few orders. I didn't have any trouble making orders in escrow from day one. It could also have something to do with the fact I had everything figured out beforehand, chose my vendors carefully and didn't make any mistakes in my orders.
And plus if you're on your first order and NO ONE will take you, just buy one of the cheap digital items for a like .05 BTC like a porn collection or something like that. Do that a couple times and you won't have any problems.
You're the exception. I wish that all new buyers were like you. I would never have to ask for someone to FE again.
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If you make the effort to do the proper research before your first purchase anyway, you'll end up selecting one of the few vendors I wouldn't have a problem FEing for. And then they won't even ask you too.
Don't do it, there are plenty of vendors to choose from. Do your research, read reviews, check transaction history.
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don't fe
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You're the exception. I wish that all new buyers were like you. I would never have to ask for someone to FE again.
Man. It's like a weird paradox. You have to be able to follow simple directions just to access the site in the first place... so how do you get here and then be incapable of following additional directions that are equally simple? God damn it, I'm stumped. ::)
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I say I require FE for BRAND NEW buyers, but I rarely enforce it. NorCalKing is correct, it makes organizing business hell trying to figure out who has FE'd or not. Sometimes it is simpler if you just stay in escrow then everyone is happy :)
^^^^ +1! ^^^^
Now to add to that . . . I believe too many n00bs get caught up in the glitter of the candy store! Don't be swayed by your virgin emotions!!!
Take your time, educate yourself, do your homework, instigate communication with a vendor you have done your homework on, & make sure that what they are offering is exactly what you want, not what you would settle for, & try to open a line of communication with them respectfully. Be respectful of their time, but on the other hand, there is no need for most vendors to require all n00bs to FE if they get a good feeling from you.
In regards to buying several D-ticket items to boost stats . . . If we required 5 + transactions before allowing a n00b to purchase from us, we would cancel the order based on the fact that their total purchases don't average what our minimum orders are, & what we are actually looking for is a consistent address that for sure works. So seeing 5 transactions with less than a total expenditure of at least $350 - $500 would be suspect. We do allow n00bs to order from us without the track record, but we ask that they read & promise to put into practice our requirements for shipping. What we do find is that there are an incredible amount of noobs that dont understand the tiny art of finalization once they receive their item!
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No. Don't finalize early, unless the vendor is established, has 99% rating or above, and is offering you something in return for FE (such as free shipping or 10% off).
You can build an order history in a matter of minutes by buying 5 ebooks. There are some good books for sale for less than a USD$1.
I agree on this. but not with the 99% and + - even tho im still "new" i felt comfortable with FE with the vendor i bought from with a little over 97%
also policy was to FE.
in general tho i would prefer not to FE and dont recommend doing it either - but if i search and see its trusted vendor and been here for long i will do if requierd due to his/her policy.
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i wouldnt even FE on those vendors with 99% good ratings.
i just dont pay for stuff until i get it, and that goes for everything i buy, anywhere..
either if its on buying a car, the local supermarket or on here, i give money when i get the stuff i bought.
so i only choose vendors that doesnt require FE. a good vendor should never require you to FE.
thats my two cents..
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I FE'd for my first couple of orders and didn't have a problem. I always look for vendors which don't require FE now though.
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I never had to FE from my first order. I don't understand what's up with that. There are plenty of vendors, even H vendors, who will not require it. I did FE once but it was a situation where I had dealt with the vendor before and felt comfortable doing it.
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I'm actually about to do an order and it requires FE...
I'm still contemplating it. :(
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Perhaps some folks enjoy the rush of gambling......like betting on that "long shot" at the track! Not me.....I will play it safe! I respect SR and it's safeguards!r
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Not smart to FE, I will try to avoid it from now on as my latest order was probably never sent. The seller just disappeared from the market as with his ad for selling cocaine? Luckely I didn't spent too much but this should be a warning to everybody else not to FE easily like that.
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I never FE early, no exceptions. It's for my own peace of mind.
Doesn't matter if they have 100% feedback.
You're doing so at your own discretion.
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I'd ordered from a vendor several times and the transactions between us had always ran smoothly- while in Escrow.
The last order I placed with him I Finalized Early, mainly because I thought he was legit and I felt comfortable doing it. And guess what? I never received the product. Long story short the vendor was banned by support for faking his feedback.
Lesson learned, I will never FE again.
Another vendor I have had several successful transactions with (while staying in Escrow) has recently stated he requires FE on all orders. Feck that, I'll take my business else where.
Never FE! You'll end up getting ripped.
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I've only FE'd early with people that I've worked with 5+ times. Usually smaller orders anyway.
I tend to look at their rating as well before deciding that but most good/great vendors tell you not to FE for obvious reasons.
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I feel like FE right now on a top 8% stellar vendor because of bitcoin drops. But seeing that order page go blank with nothing in my hands is disturbing no matter what the vendor.
should i do it? leaving up to you guys if anyone even cares that is.lol
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I dont ask anyone to FE, but i keep it within limits and NO REFUND POSTAGE OPTION MEANS JUST THAT NO REFUND. :)
But i also offer the opportunity for safe signed for options.
This cuts out the need to scam for a gram!.
ohh did i just coin a phrase?. ::)
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Look I've F/E 'd all my transactions ok every one of them. I've never been stung, I had to F/E with low transaction history.
I will say this: you say F/E I say F you
Getting me to F/E is like getting a dog to play a trumpet, not happening.
But when alls said an done you fucking have to because no cunt will deal with your new fish ass!
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If it wasn't obvious by now, it seems to be common wisdom to not FE, and I'll stick to that advice.
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most vendors require to FE - at least when its coke. usually for the "new" members/ those with 5-10 transactions and so on.
as said already then i obv would prefer not to, but i trust these i buy from by little re-search first and if i feel good about it
i will buy & FE - still i would never recommend anyone to FE.
but i do understand why they ask/require us to do since some persons feel the urge to either try or do scam
on one or another way, which ruins it for everyone else.
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My problem with FE is this: A vendor can have 100 feedback over 300 transactions member for a year ect ect.
What happens when hes done selling? Wouldnt be hard for him to post some bullshit sales get 100s of orders and just dip. Thats right it has happened. Or at the very least he.she.heshe. sells his account and the new person doesnt give 2 fucks about you. I personally only buy oil/wax/shatter and occasionally some E so I would never settle with a vendor that makes you FE
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even the owners of SR say to not FE. So you are an idiot in every single way if you do.