Silk Road forums

Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: Amarantii on August 28, 2013, 07:18 pm

Title: A few newbie questions
Post by: Amarantii on August 28, 2013, 07:18 pm
Hello all!

I'm new to this thing and I have a few questions. I have browsed around on my own the entire day and have learned a lot of stuff but a few things are not so clear to me and was hoping to get some answers.

1: I see vendors asking new members to finalize early. While I understand that new members is a risk when placing orders, why shouldn't escrow be an option to new members? If I understand it correct, when I place an order, my money is no longer in my possession. It's kinda "floating" in the air so to speak. Won't Silkroad release the money to the vendor once my package has arrived? (upon proof from the vendor that the package has arrived)

2: What is PGP exactly? I know it's a damn long-ass encryptic code which only the vendor can encrypt. But what's the purpose for using PGP? Is it simply to send an encryptic message to the vendor? Or am I wrong?

3: It will obviously be very nerv-wrecking for me to place an order since this is my first time. What I mean is that I'm afraid of the customs. If some of you could post a short story of how many orders you have placed, have many packages have been lost and simply your experience with Silkroad, good or bad. Would give me a good insight.

4: What's the best way to purchase bitcoins totally anonymous? I'm looking to get 17 - 18 bitcoins in order to place a big first-time order. I simply do not want to purchase a few grams of a certain product one at a time. That means I will have to order more which means I receive more packages which in return equals a bigger chance of the package to be seized by the customs and a friendly visit on my front door. A one big first-time order will do the trick. Then I won't have to make another purchase again for at least three months.
Anyway, I was thinking of simply going to the bank and hand them a handful of cash so they can deposit it to my account on a bitcoin exchange website. But that won't do the trick. Since I need 17 - 18 bitcoins, that's a pretty big number which means the bank will start asking questions and they might decline the deposit if I don't provide ID which I don't want because then it can all be tracked back to me if I get caught. I was thinking, a few smaller deposits, like 3 - 4 bitcoins at a time until I have 18 bitcoins would probably do the trick and won't raise much suspicion at my bank. But again, it would take a few days to finally have 18 bitcoins and I might be recognized by someone working over there who might be suspicious that I wish to deposit a few hundred bucks at a time to the same bank account.

Thanks for eventually answering my questions and if there's a FAQ somewhere in this forum which I may have missed, I'm sorry for that. All advice you can give me will be very appreciated.
Title: Re: A few newbie questions
Post by: FreeMarketEconomy on August 28, 2013, 07:26 pm
1. Vendors use finalize early to prevent getting taking advantage of from buyers.  However they can easily take advantage of you.  As a rule of thumb, just don't ever do it.  There are plenty of vendors out there that don't mind selling to first timers.

2. PGP is used to encrypt messages.  This way you can communicate more securely with a vendor. (I can provide much more on this if need be)

3. I have never placed an international order, because I don't want to have to deal with customs.  Maybe someone else can answer this.  I haven't ordered many items but I have yet to have an issue (other than getting fucked by a vendor)

4. Ordering $2k of any product to me seems risky.  While I understand wanting to do it in one big shabang, you raise the risk of getting fucked exponentially.  Why not do multiple orders, where with one big order if something goes wrong you are absolutely shit out of luck and just lost a large amount of money.  In terms of buying bitcoins anonymously, I've never seen the need.  It's not illegal to buy them, and tracing them and proving they were used here would be incredibly difficult.
Title: Re: A few newbie questions
Post by: rollnbawlz on August 28, 2013, 07:28 pm
1) You gotta realize that the vendors are the ones who are taking a bigger risk here. If a newbie with zero purchase history orders 1kg of MDMA, how is the vendor supposed to trust that this is a legitimate purchase? Once you FE, yes SR releases the money to the vendor. Which is why it is recommended (and usually required), to start of with a small purchase and FE for newbies, thus building trust with the seller & the vendor. HOWEVER - there are plenty of reputable vendors that will sell to newbies without requiring FE. Pick and choose your battles there.

2) In the simplest way possible - PGP is the process of encrypting messages to not only cover your ass, but the vendor's as well. If you don't know it, learn it. The guide I have in my sig is super simple to follow and will get you up and running with PGP in no time. For whatever reason, IF, and that's a huge IF, SR was ever compromised - you wouldn't want whoever breached it, seeing your messages you've sent back and forth to vendors, would you?

3) These are drug dealers. Burn that into your brain. While a TON of them have great feedback and reputation, some do not, and bad deals DO happen. For the most part, I'd go with a vendor who is already established - it's not hard to find what you are looking for from a reputable vendor. Occasionally new vendors pop up and do some free sample deal or something of that nature, to build trust in the community. Bottom line - it's always a risk.

4) I use coinbase or btcquick for my bitcoins. Can't speak on behalf of other sources.
Title: Re: A few newbie questions
Post by: Amarantii on August 28, 2013, 07:37 pm
4. Ordering $2k of any product to me seems risky.  While I understand wanting to do it in one big shabang, you raise the risk of getting fucked exponentially.  Why not do multiple orders, where with one big order if something goes wrong you are absolutely shit out of luck and just lost a large amount of money.  In terms of buying bitcoins anonymously, I've never seen the need.  It's not illegal to buy them, and tracing them and proving they were used here would be incredibly difficult.

Yeah well, I actually don't see a problem with placing a 2k order if the vendor is very reputable and is in the top 1% so to speak.
Title: Re: A few newbie questions
Post by: Amarantii on August 28, 2013, 07:41 pm
1) You gotta realize that the vendors are the ones who are taking a bigger risk here. If a newbie with zero purchase history orders 1kg of MDMA, how is the vendor supposed to trust that this is a legitimate purchase? Once you FE, yes SR releases the money to the vendor. Which is why it is recommended (and usually required), to start of with a small purchase and FE for newbies, thus building trust with the seller & the vendor. HOWEVER - there are plenty of reputable vendors that will sell to newbies without requiring FE. Pick and choose your battles there.

2) In the simplest way possible - PGP is the process of encrypting messages to not only cover your ass, but the vendor's as well. If you don't know it, learn it. The guide I have in my sig is super simple to follow and will get you up and running with PGP in no time. For whatever reason, IF, and that's a huge IF, SR was ever compromised - you wouldn't want whoever breached it, seeing your messages you've sent back and forth to vendors, would you?

3) These are drug dealers. Burn that into your brain. While a TON of them have great feedback and reputation, some do not, and bad deals DO happen. For the most part, I'd go with a vendor who is already established - it's not hard to find what you are looking for from a reputable vendor. Occasionally new vendors pop up and do some free sample deal or something of that nature, to build trust in the community. Bottom line - it's always a risk.

4) I use coinbase or btcquick for my bitcoins. Can't speak on behalf of other sources.

Thanks for your help and input.
Title: Re: A few newbie questions
Post by: FreeMarketEconomy on August 28, 2013, 07:43 pm
I was thinking more along the lines of having the post office lose it.  Also when people get orders confiscated it tends to be larger amounts.

Or course that is your choice, just thought I would mention it!
Title: Re: A few newbie questions
Post by: Amarantii on August 28, 2013, 07:50 pm
I was thinking more along the lines of having the post office lose it.  Also when people get orders confiscated it tends to be larger amounts.

Or course that is your choice, just thought I would mention it!

I appreciate that but it's a risk I'm going to have to take. There's still a pretty large chance of the package actually arriving and the return of investment I make is worth the risk.
Before I made this thread I sent a PM to a vendor about the product I want to purchase. Didn't know about the PGP thing so I sent a regular PM to him. Damn I feel so stupid and he most likely won't respond. Lol :P