This is an interesting discussion here.
The sources that have been on this board for a long time share a common trait in being good businessmen. It’s not in anyones best interest to raise prices to try and rip off customers by creating some fearful scarcity event like what is going on now in china. The narrative going on with some guys saying ‘sources are just trying to rip us off by raising prices’ is ignorant. No one is forcing you to order from ‘your source’, if you don’t like their prices then choose another one to order from.
Yes, there are a lot of suppliers/sources on Pro M now, and I think the mods here do an excellent job policing them and trying to keep things in order here. Guys forget how it was back in the day when you were sending an envelope full of cash to a PO Box and you had a 50/50 chance of getting anything in return! I feel like the way things are now on the forums customers basically have their hand held for them through out this whole process making is extremely easy for them with almost zero risk. When I was young, if you wanted to get steroids you either had 'a guy', or you used those back of the being mag mail order services, or you drove across the border to TJ and tried to haul it back yourself!.
We have been on here for a while and I like to think of us as one of the med-long tenured suppliers on here. We are certainly not the cheapest source here. When I see the sources popping up selling gear for dirt cheap it used to scare me, and cause some panic but after a while the cream separates from the milk and the bad sources end up falling by the wayside. This may sound bad, but all of the new sources that pop up for dirt cheap are prob good for this space as a whole as they are generally inexperienced, and will get busted or fuck up somehow and be an easy target for LE. Its much easier for LE to go after the low hanging fruit than it is the more established sources who run their program correctly and as safe as possible.
A source that is running their program as safe as possible is doing many many little things along the way that end up costing them time and money to accomplish, but it keeps their program, and customers safe… hence the reason they will charge more for their products. If you have been in business for a while, then you’re better able to handle these down turns in the market, ORD type of busts, and issues like this china export ban. If you know what you’re doing you should be prepared for this and have a few contingency plans in place.
The comment on the private boards being a better option to find trusted sources kinda makes me laugh too. I agree with K1 on this, as the private and public boards are pretty much the same. The discussion on both private and public forums are the same, theres just more conspiracy theories on the private boards and the members seem to think they are part of a super special club lol.. There are scammers on both of them. I don’t think some of the guys understand that you’re not a ‘good source’ or a ‘scammer’ from day one and thats how you always stay. 99% of scammers start out as good sources with good intentions. They get into a bind and then turn scammer. We’re all super tough, non snitching badasses until we are facing 10 years in prison, then your morals begin to change a little lol.. So there would be no way for a forum owner to be able to decipher who is legit and who is not if they were going to try and limit the amount of sources on their forum. The way Big A does it here is smart and effective. If you notice, the long term sources are generally the ones with the better advertising slots. The better advertising slots are the ones the cost the most. You have to be making good money and making it for a longer time frame to afford those advertising slots. To make good $ you have to be a good source, take care of your customers and offer good products. Its just like any other open free market, it just works itself out. The reason this board has so much traffic is because it has great long term members/mods, 20+ years of great info, plenty of sources to choose from and the staff/owner has been able to navigate the tricky waters to keep the board up and running for such a long time.
As far as the china ban goes, I have spoken with our suppliers and plenty of others. The consensus from them is the same here, they know the ban went into effect 1/1/20 but they don't know how hard it will be enforced, or what will happen when things settle down. I think the china men are interested in money like many others said here and they will find a way to continue on selling like they have been. Wether that means all the little factories will need to get a 'license' to sell/export or if they will set up shop in another country I don't know, but in the 20 years I have worked with them over there, I know they don't leave money on the table very often. I think this ban is just to make it appear like they are cracking down on fentanyl and other illegal drugs being produced and sent out of china, but it will be business as usual once things settle down.
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That would suck lol
