Silk Road forums
Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: Thizzelle686 on February 21, 2012, 05:42 am
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So i have been browsing SR and the forums for over a week and i think im ready to take the plunge but i need some help first. After becoming a memeber of SR, i quickly ran over to Mt. Gox and started an account. I soon realized that i could not deposit funds directly from Mt.Gox, so i then made an account over at Dwolla. Dwolla scared me when they asked for my ss# or a photo id, so i began to do more research. I found Bitinstant.com and that seems to be the best way to transfer money to bitcoins. This is where i currently stand. I hope tomorrow i can go down to the bank and make a cash deposit into Bitinstant.com, where i will then transfer to mt. gox, then to SR. Does this all sound right?
My other question is that i do not see any encryption on sellers page so will i need to worry about un-encrypting his info or encrypting mine. Im not sure if he requires it or not. I would like to do my 1st purchase without the encrypting stage. I know it not reccomended but i just want to get my feet wet.
Thanks for the help guys. Still lots to learn.
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I use dwolla, as do a lot of people with no problem. They don't ask for any ID or anything unless they catch you using your account through tor (just use a normal browser) or you want to withdraw over 10k a month from them.. which as a buyer you won't be doing.
Encrypting is very very simple. Download a client, put their key in. Type your stuff out, click encrypt. Done. This way if SR gets compromised whoever took it doesn't have your name and address.. that could spell a lot of jail time for you if it's LE or something along the lines. I wouldn't give personal info without encryption.
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Dwolla asked for both my ss# and a photo id. What did i do wrong?
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I have no idea.. were you using a regular browser and not tor? If you use tor they will flag you and make you provide documents, otherwise you shouldn't need them.
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I was definitely using my tor browser but not a tor email. Even still, bitinstant.com seems to be an easier route. How do you get money into dwolla? Thanks for the help and quick replies!!
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You can link a bank account or credit card to dwolla and do direct transfers
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you CANNOT use the tor browser on dwolla, they will lock your account and ask you for ID.
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...you don't have to mention the vendors you are buying from or what you're buying exactly, there are also issues disclosing the amounts you're moving around..
-its best for you to edit your post and remove the detail....best for yours and the vendors security.
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I use Bitinstant and have no problems with it! It's super quick. Every time I've used it funds have been available during the trip back to my computer from depositing cash to the bank.
Firstly, you MUST use Mt.Gox OUTSIDE of the Tor browser. Mt.Gox is completely safe to use in the clearnet. There is absolutely nothing incriminating in using Mt.Gox to purchase Bitcoins. Know this! Using Mt.Gox within Tor will allow them to freeze your account.
That being said, set yourself up with a Mt.Gox account (maybe use a throwaway gmail account when making an account as well as a different name that's not at all associated with this site or Tor in general.) Mt.Gox doesn't need any personal information other than an email.
Go to Bitinstant (you can use Bitinstant through Tor if you'd like) select "Cash Bank Deposit" as the Payment Method and select Mt.Gox as your Destination. Figure out the Destination account # which can be found while logged into Mt. Gox and put that into the Destination field. Use whatever email you want for the Email field (you can use Tormail if you want, or the throwaway gmail account you used for the Mt.Gox account.)
Enter the amount of money you wish to deposit. And yes, it's a good idea to put in around an extra 10$ than the cost of the item on the SR market as you'll have to not only take into account the ebb and flow of Bitcoin fluctuations but shipping costs (which usually range from a bitcoin or 3 depending on where you live in accordance to your vendor.) You can always check that by placing the item in your cart and then checking the shipping costs. I feel it's always good to have an extra bitcoin or two than required for a bit of cushion cost that you never know could pop up. I personally got screwed over cause I purchased coins the day Tradehill went down and the price of coins dropped dramatically.
Follow the Bitinstant instructions and select a bank near you using their affiliate Trustcash. Eventually you'll get an invoice with the total amount to deposit at the bank as well as an account number to deposit to (obviously this is important.) Write this shit down before heading out to the bank. Go make your trip to the bank you chose, fill out one of their deposit slips with the amount to deposit and into the account number it told you deposit into. Don't act like a socially awkward sketchy fuck and hand it over to the cashier. You're not doing anything wrong, so chill.
Go back home and check the email account that you told Bitinstand and in it it'll tell you the transaction was complete and give you a coupon code for Mt.Gox. Login to your Mt.Gox account and go to the "funding" button and then in there you should find the option to deposit via coupon code or some such. Use that code to add your funds to your Mt.Gox account. Buy some coins, send them to an instantwallet account if you want before Toring them around to your SR account.
Note that if you send some coins to an instantwallet account it may take about an hour or so for them to be "confirmed" before you can send them off someplace else (like your SR account.) Even when you can send them off to your SR account it make take another hour or so for it to appear there. Don't fret.
Pretty much all the basics you need to know.
~Greck
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I really appreciate all the help. Its not easy being a noob, but you guys made me feel more comfortable. Thanks for not flaming me.