Silk Road Basics

This guy's mistakes:
Getting 41 pounds of weed sent to him. That's a lot of weed.
Getting weed sent through the mail at all (it's easy to detect).
Signing under a false name.
Signing for a package at all.
Had a scale in his house at the time of delivery.
Never sign for packages. Never get them sent under false names. Do not open them immediately. Never have paraphernalia or anything incriminating in your house at the time of delivery. Always use bitcoin. Use PGP wherever possible. Always ask for a lawyer but otherwise don't talk to cops.

Be sure to read both the guides for seller's and buyer's on Silk Road.
Make sure that your vendor ships via USPS. Rationale: USPS must get a warrant to open your mail. Also, USPS handles much more mail than UPS or FEDEX. I don't know this for sure, but I'd bet their screening/tracking of suspected drug importers is probably laxer than UPS/FEDEX.
Open a large PO box (big enough to hold a USPS Priority mail envelope (11.625" X 15.125) without folding. Rationale: Most samples will fit in an envelope less than this in size. Ordering a big mailbox means that you don't have to go to the counter to pick it up.
Open your box at a "Mom and Pop" service, not a UPS store or USPS PO Box. "Mom and Pop" shops don't have the resources to track suspicious packages. And USPS PO Box's won't accept packages from UPS or FEDEX. (While you specify that you only accept USPS, you should be prepared to accept packages from other vendors.)
Make sure you have 24 hour access. Rationale: Pick it up after hours without meeting face to face. Also allows for faster pickup--the less time spent in the system, the better.
Send a test package before ordering drugs. Rationale: You want to make sure you can receive mail at that address without problems before ordering drugs.
Order only from domestic sources. Rationale: If it doesn't cross an international border, it doesn't have to go through customs screening.
If you must order from overseas, order from UK or Germany, not Netherlands or other common drug source country. Rationale: Anecdotal reports suggest that shipments from common drug source countries get closer screening.
Order small amounts (gram or less). Rationale: Law enforcement has limited resources. Odds are, they're not going to bother with small amounts.
Use your real name and address on all forms. Rationale: Anyone (such as a vindictive ex, or an enemy) could send you drugs. If you get caught receiving mail with drugs in it, you can deny that it's yours. A fake name destroys your plausible deniability, as it indicates an intent to deceive.
Order normal stuff to your box on a regular basis. Rationale: You want to make your box stand out as little as possible.
Refuse to sign for any drug package. Rationale: Remember, those drugs aren't yours. If you sign for it, it's evidence that you were expecting the package.
Don't order too many drugs at once. Rationale: Many vendors don't include any identifying info., so you may end up with a bunch of packets of white powder, with little idea of what's in each packet.
Use GPG to encrypt your messages to the vendors. Rationale: While this doesn't protect you if the vendor is compromised, it does prevent your name and address from being stored 'in the clear' in Silk Road's database.
Don't order out of escrow. Rationale: Your only protection from bad vendor behavior is their reputation and escrow. And some vendor's don't care about their reputation.
Read up on vendor's in the forums. Rationale: You'll get a much better idea of their product quality than you can get from their official ratings/reviews alone.

Credits go to some guy on Reddit. Sorry for stealing it. If you read this, feel free to e-mail me if you'd like for me to take it down.