Trading and escrow
How do I place a safe first order?
Answer
Small, cheap, standard escrow, address encrypted to the vendor key, and never finalise early.
Short answer. Keep it small and cheap, use standard shipping and escrow, encrypt your shipping address to the vendor key, and never confirm receipt before the package arrives.
Why small
A first order with any vendor is really a test of whether they do what they say. The right size is an amount you could lose without it mattering. Read the vendor page first.
Protect yourself
Encrypt your address to the vendor's PGP key before pasting it, so only the vendor can read it. Leave escrow standard and do not finalise early. If something goes wrong, you open a dispute, which is the path finalising early would remove.