Silk Road forums

Discussion => Silk Road discussion => Topic started by: rise_against on April 06, 2012, 03:30 am

Title: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: rise_against on April 06, 2012, 03:30 am
are bitcoin vendors defeating the purpose of btc exchanges?  is this good or bad for the btc economy?  anyone think btc vendors should be banned from SR?  i'd like to hear other peoples opinions on the subject.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: mdmamail on April 06, 2012, 03:59 am
They are the people who anonymously sell to you so you don't have to register on some exchange.
Bitcoin was designed to eliminate banks and middleman. You should be able to look up a local BTC exchanger on a centralized site near you, and then go trade with them in person for cash.

There' s a few sites like this (bitcoin near you) but they haven't caught on yet. I imagine they will soon
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: OldGuard on April 06, 2012, 12:05 pm
are bitcoin vendors defeating the purpose of btc exchanges?  is this good or bad for the btc economy?

 anyone think btc vendors should be banned from SR?


  i'd like to hear other peoples opinions on the subject.

Absolutely not, people need to get bit coins anyway that is convenient for them. I do not use exchanges where I have to register and never would. Just like I never use SR vendors for bits and never would but not everybody does the research to find other ways to get bits or are just in a hurry and do not mind paying the extra to buy bits from SR but for some people it is the fastest and easiest way to get them. The last thing we need is to make bits even harder to get but as with anything else you have to be careful when buying as there is always the chance of a bit seller going rogue like we have seen in the past.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: dman420 on April 23, 2012, 07:29 pm
i think the btc vendors are an asset to the road. they make the whole thing possible for alot of the buyers, not to mention it seems more annon. than any thing else ive come across. the fees are acceptable for the convience and most give better rates at on larger orders. without them i personally think there would be alot less business for the vendors because the less tech. savy people like myself would have a frustrating time obtaining coins. iv never been really sure how the vendors cash out but it seem like it would be a helpful circle of life or the coin for it to go from exchanger to buyer, buyer to vendor, vendor exchanges coin to the exchanger for cash in mail or western union or wtf ever works, then the cycle repeats coin to buyer to vendor then back to exchanger to provide more coins for buyers. ive had very positive experiences with btc buddy, weve done plenty of large transactions, i trust him more with my money than "friends" iv had for years and hes basically a stranger.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: cacoethes on April 23, 2012, 08:48 pm
are bitcoin vendors defeating the purpose of btc exchanges?  is this good or bad for the btc economy?  anyone think btc vendors should be banned from SR?  i'd like to hear other peoples opinions on the subject.

Why ban them?  They provide quick, legitimate, valuable service.  I'd like to know the percentage of SR coin funded by btc vendors vs exchanges...  I've never funded my account any other way.  They also provide a layer of anonymity that's tough to beat without jumping through hoops.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: simplyanon on April 23, 2012, 08:54 pm
My opinion: If not for MP - BTC vendors, a LOT of people wouldn't have been able to partake in the 420 festivities, myself included. Although they are a bit of a ripoff, they help in a pinch.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: Geminyi on April 24, 2012, 01:27 am
BTC vendors are not a bad idea at all... they can be used as the middle man to enhance security and anonyminity, and not sure about anyone else but setting up my btc account from a registered btc company was absolutely retarded. ID, banking info, service of terms agreements, and over a week and a half to process it all.

I would have gladly thrown a couple bit coins to a vendor and wait a couple days for my coins to arrive after he does all the banking transfer crap under his name, and having a services related purchase with paypal. Soooo much simpler ;)

Keep in mind that it will not hurt the btc market as these people are registered with a btc company rather than miners directly paying out to you.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: Gupta on April 24, 2012, 01:35 am
BTC Buddy is my main source for bitcoins. MtGox and Dwolla suck horribly and know who you are. I will pass on that fiasco. When done properly, SR BTC exchangers are the way to go. All about levels and layers.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: blahftw on April 24, 2012, 09:13 am
i use mtgox.  i use one of their partner sites, fill out how mang coins i want, then print a deposit slip.  i then drive an hour to the nexr town over, and make an anonymous deposit into an account tied to my mtgox.  my name is on nothing.  after my coin is at mtgox, i transfer it to yet another wallet, which is also anonymous.  then i get on tor, and send my money from there, to the road.  my name is never on anything.  accepting paypak, paypal, western union, leaves a paper trail, and that bothers me.  if you made it here, you can aquire your own btc.  and if you can't figure out how to get them to SR completely anonymously, without paper trails, maybe you should stick to street dealers.  leo could set up as an exchanger, and collect info from chit chat while processing your over priced coin. 

but, thats just my 2 cents, take it with a grain of salt.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: teepls on April 24, 2012, 10:52 pm
im talking with surgar mamma..is everything still cool with this BTC vendor? im looking for 40 coin and have the MP.

just want anyones opinions
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: cacoethes on April 24, 2012, 11:19 pm
im talking with surgar mamma..is everything still cool with this BTC vendor? im looking for 40 coin and have the MP.

just want anyones opinions

Yep, she's cool.  I've personally had many successful exchanges with her, and to my knowledge she's yet to screw anyone out of anything.  You can trust her, might just take a while if she has a large MP queue.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: invisibleman_007 on April 25, 2012, 03:31 am
I've used btc king and UnderGroundSyndicate.  I must say my preference is UGS, because he's also a vendor and doesn't just sell btc.  that's good news because he has a stake in selling his wares and not just btc.  He has 100% feedback.   And even though he's been around for 1 month i've only read nothing but great things about him.

He makes getting btc quick and anonymous with no need for an email, registration or anything of that nature.  So I believe btc vendors are an asset.  There are some risks but everything we do concerning the Road is risky, it's up to us to minimize the amount of risk we take, or at least be ok with the level of risk we take :)

Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: killboy on April 25, 2012, 04:26 am
What if a fed becomes a bitcoin vendor?
He could start logging all the cash in the mail adresses. He could start making records of all the western union wires. Vendors using these services all get there doors kicked in.

Follow the money, right? Being a vendor has to be sketch, at the very least, im sure being a vendor is a pita when trying to remail anon.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: invisibleman_007 on April 25, 2012, 04:39 am
What if a fed becomes a bitcoin vendor?
He could start logging all the cash in the mail adresses. He could start making records of all the western union wires. Vendors using these services all get there doors kicked in.

Follow the money, right? Being a vendor has to be sketch, at the very least, im sure being a vendor is a pita when trying to remail anon.

well btc king and ugc use chase bank, so I'm not sure that would be in play
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: Mecajesus on April 25, 2012, 05:51 am
I've been using BTC vendors a lot lately.

I don't see the harm in them?
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: rise_against on April 25, 2012, 07:20 am
yea, i've thought about it more since originally posting this topic, and i definitely see how they're an asset to this community now.  if only we had more vendors selling gold and cash for btc.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: philter3 on April 25, 2012, 10:41 pm
Having been scammed by a BTC Vendor the very first thing on S.R. I am highly suspicious of them (the BTC Vendors). It's not my house, and it's not my rules.  But finding a way to make the BTC Vendors (like BTC Buddy) do all of their work INSIDE OF ESCROW like the other product vendors would go a long way towards making them less likely to scam newbs.

 As long as the BTC Vendors are working out of escrow new vendors will always take the view that it's "one set of rules for me and one set of rules for these other guys? Hmmm.... ". If there are BTC Vendors they should have to work inside of escrow or else put up a sizable BTC bond of some kind with SR Support so their customers can make them follow a dispute resolution system when (not IF) they get ripped off.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: kissbang on April 26, 2012, 03:14 am
I do have to wonder how many BTC sellers are really LE. It's the perfect inroad... They get huge rep by fulfilling orders, and then they fish for the vendors who need to exchange their BTC for cash...

It's really the only way LE could effectively go after SR/TA. I'm very hesitant to swap out any of my BTC with them.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: themessenger2 on April 26, 2012, 04:16 am
Having been scammed by a BTC Vendor the very first thing on S.R. I am highly suspicious of them (the BTC Vendors). It's not my house, and it's not my rules.  But finding a way to make the BTC Vendors (like BTC Buddy) do all of their work INSIDE OF ESCROW like the other product vendors would go a long way towards making them less likely to scam newbs.

 As long as the BTC Vendors are working out of escrow new vendors will always take the view that it's "one set of rules for me and one set of rules for these other guys? Hmmm.... ". If there are BTC Vendors they should have to work inside of escrow or else put up a sizable BTC bond of some kind with SR Support so their customers can make them follow a dispute resolution system when (not IF) they get ripped off.

Quoted for the truth. Great idea about the bond. The only way I could think of an escrow system is someone from SR validates MP codes and worth, vendor pays buyer, escrow release codes to vendor. Unfortunately that takes actual manpower that SR probably does not have.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: Mrfungi on May 01, 2012, 05:44 am
Transfer funds, in one form or fashion, from one place to another, to another, taking days, then a few more? FUCK THAT. I can cash out, completely anonymously, and randomly scrambled, in less than 30 minutes 90% of the time. The other 10% takes 45 minutes.

BTC Buddy is the best thing that ever happened to SR vendors. You are just a stubborn nut if you don't agree. I don't know what happened to the poster above, but if you didn't get your BTC from BTC Buddy I'm going to have to assume that your moneypack did not work. Every now and then one just won't work, it hasn't been cashed already, it just says "we cannot process this reload". It's not him ripping you off if that happens. It's greendot ripping you off, and you need to take it up with them.

I've done enough business with him that I don't think twice about sending him hundreds of BTC out of the blue, at any odd hour. I'll send him coin, then a message saying "Hey bro, sent some coin"

Within an hour I have US dollars in my hand. The guy is straight up, shit he's more than straight up he's overly generous. I'm always trying to pay him more than he he'll accept. I don't think I've ever said, in my entire life, that someone wasn't charging me enough. That's how I feel when I do business with him.

I am ashamed at how much I am sounding like a commercial here. I can't help it though. The above post got me excited. Shit, if he's not going to let me pay him what I feel he's worth to me, I'll just have to be a damn commercial every now and then.
Title: Re: bitcoin vendors good or bad?
Post by: Gupta on May 01, 2012, 12:20 pm
I've used btc king and UnderGroundSyndicate.  I must say my preference is UGS, because he's also a vendor and doesn't just sell btc.  that's good news because he has a stake in selling his wares and not just btc.  He has 100% feedback.   And even though he's been around for 1 month i've only read nothing but great things about him.

He makes getting btc quick and anonymous with no need for an email, registration or anything of that nature.  So I believe btc vendors are an asset.  There are some risks but everything we do concerning the Road is risky, it's up to us to minimize the amount of risk we take, or at least be ok with the level of risk we take :)

Buying directly from a seller is a good way of getting busted. You can't trade your MP for contraband. You trade your MP for BTC then trade for ....  MINIMIZE your risk. Why don't the top vendors do it? Think! There is a reason.