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[–]PounderMcNasty 241 points242 points  (33 children)

Can you send me some drugs?

Edit: Not a cop.

[–][deleted] 159 points160 points  (30 children)

Our vendors can.

[–][deleted]  (26 children)

[deleted]

    [–][deleted] 124 points125 points  (21 children)

    The road has more users, but our service is better (to put it bluntly). Here's a paste from a question below regarding just a few of our improvement points:

    There's a few benefits:

    We've had no downtime.

    Our site is much more responsive.

    We have cheaper commission rates allowing sellers to make more profit on their sales and buyers to buy them for cheaper.

    We have automated PGP encryption of messages for the members who refuse to send their messages using PGP. We have an advancement fan management system, allowing sellers to reach out to all of their customers.

    We have a more 'modern' user interface.

    We have buyer feedback (none of the other marketplaces have this functionality).

    We have an anonymous feedback system that allows you to determine is feedback is fake, but at the same time does not reveal anything about your buying patterns.

    We support Litecoin as well as Bitcoin (the first market to support multiple currencies).

    We listen to our user feedback, we have a rapid development cycle and new features are constantly being improved upon and added.

    [–]sirkazuo 34 points35 points  (6 children)

    We've had no downtime.

    What do you say to all of the rumors that you were funding the DDoS aimed at the Road when your site first came online to pull traffic?

    [–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (5 children)

    We released an official statement regarding those accusations, it can be found on our forum. In short: We had nothing to do with it. It was speculative rumor.

    [–]Sarastrasza 49 points50 points  (4 children)

    It would be almost like a real drug war!

    [–]DCdavid7 37 points38 points  (3 children)

    If the real drug war involved thousands of fake customers calling their dealers just to waste their time.

    [–]guestacc 27 points28 points  (0 children)

    "Hey... I was just wondering... How are you? Feeling okay lately? No man, just checking up on my favourite dealer... What are you wearing? Lovely weather outside, isn't?. No wait! Don't hang up. I just, you know... Want to talk a bit more."

    [–]Sarastrasza 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    So standard drug business then? :S

    [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    That sounds hilarious

    [–]RULESONEANDTWO 7 points8 points  (1 child)

    If I am not mistaken, the Black Market Reloaded also has buyer feedback.

    Not that I would know, as I never go to such sites.....

    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    I'm not sure, but I've heard its a haven for scammers, and they have no escrow process.

    [–]AwkwardCow 17 points18 points  (6 children)

    Let me ask again since you seem to have not seen my question below or ignored it...since up here, at least people will also see it:

    What are you doing to cut down on scams and discrimination against new buyers? If your rules are that vendors are not supposed to deal outside of escrow, what are you doing about those vendors who require it in their policies?

    [–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (5 children)

    "Yes we have caught scammers, but we've banned them swiftly. We pushed out new changes earlier that helps reduce the number of scams, all feedback contains the amount of the purchase, preventing users from leaving fake feedback on $0.01 listings. It also contains an 'anonymous' user ID so sellers/buyers can confirm whether the user leaving feedback has left feedback before. This helps catch scammers leaving fake feedback. The ID is unique to the seller/buyer combination, so it cannot be traced across transactions to determine a buyers buying patterns."

    Further to the above we've made it easy to report suspicious vendors, there's a button directly on their profile that will notify support.

    In regard to the vendors that require it in their policies, they will be warned or banned if they request FE without meeting our FE requirements (a minimum of 30 5/5 transactions). This system has already saved countless people from scammers.

    New buyers are encouraged to purchase small orders first to build their reputation and feedback and find vendors who are pleasant to deal with. I haven't seen a problem of buyer discrimination yet (apart from on scammer profiles saying 'you must FE because you have no feedback').

    [–]KungFuHamster 10 points11 points  (4 children)

    How about weighting reviews based on the amount of funds transferred?

    E.g., a $10 transaction review is worth 10x the review of a $1 transaction.

    [–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (3 children)

    This is a good idea, however this would impact the freshness of the feedback if we sort it by the value.

    [–]KungFuHamster 17 points18 points  (2 children)

    You could maintain it as a separate sorting option with a ? to click for an explanation; sort by Average Rating, Total Ratings, Weighted Rating (?).

    Also, 10x per factor of ten is a bit too biased toward the upper end. Maybe separate into tiers and award fractional ratings; $1-9 = 0.25 points, $10-99 = 0.5 points, $101+ = 1 point.

    So, I spend $5 and my 4 star review counts as 0.25 4-star votes. I spend $50 and my 4 star review counts as 0.50 4-star votes. I spend $250 and my 4 star review counts as 1 whole 4-star vote.

    I would use something like that if eBay had it. Too many scammers fluff their ratings with $1 items for a quick turnaround on high ticket items. Instead, I have to check their history, see how long they've been around, what they usually sell, etc.

    I don't really have a use for your service, but watching these kinds of systems evolve organically and giving input is fascinating to me.

    [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Well with upper end purchases there's a lot more risk, so I don't mind the 10X factor per factor of ten.

    [–]SelectaRx 45 points46 points  (2 children)

    to put it bluntly

    laf

    [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (1 child)

    Reddit mobile broke the the line of quoted text to display "bluntly" on the next line by itself. Made the pun even better.

    [–]runeks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    to put it
    
    (•_•) 
    ( •_•)>⌐■-■ 
    (⌐■_■)
    
    blunty
    

    [–]easysolutions 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    We have an anonymous feedback system that >allows you to determine is feedback is fake, but at the same time does not reveal anything about your buying patterns.

    Could you elaborate on this, please?

    [–]AdventureTimeSupply 32 points33 points  (3 children)

    I'm a vendor on Atlantis. I find that Atlantis is much less susceptible to scams. Buyers can be much more confident that they aren't going to get ripped off. Atlantis has a leader board which shows the top vendors, so buyers can go to one place to find the most reputable vendors. The Atlantis site is very fast compared to Silk Road, the site just works so much better. The development at Atlantis is top notch, and they are very receptive to ideas and fast at implementing them. As a vendor the fees are lower, so I can charge less. The Silk Road is what it is and will stay that way forever. It's a cash cow for DPR and he's not going to change or improve a thing. I think Silk Road will go the way of MySpace.

    Here's the Atlantis Vendor Leader Board: http://atlantisrky4es5q.onion/leaderboard

    And here's my profile for anyone interested: http://atlantisrky4es5q.onion/account/view/adventure_time

    [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

    Thanks for your positive feedback :)

    [–]TheFoxin 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    And here we are 3 months later, Silk Road shut down.

    [–]Lesbianchoclate 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    And atlantist, but that was 1-2weeks ago

    [–]im14 5 points6 points  (2 children)

    I'd like to personally thank you guys for everything you do to make online drug purchasing a safer and better experience. +/u/altcointip 1 ltc

    [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    That's very kind of you, thank you! :-)

    [–]ALTcointip 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    [Verified]: /u/im14 -> /u/atlantis_admin, 1 Litecoin(s) ($2.364) [help]

    [–]iCHRYST 10 points11 points  (1 child)

    PunderMcNasty, can you tell me where your favourite place to take illegal drugs is?

    I'm totally not a cop.

    [–]bmcnult19 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Yes I'd be interested in your favorite place to take marajuanas.

    [–]duvalin92 32 points33 points  (9 children)

    Why did you decided to accept Litecoin first? Also do you think Litecoin price will go up because of your site? Also how long did it take to prepare and set everything up?

    [–][deleted] 34 points35 points  (8 children)

    We wanted to promote Litecoin because it has a few awesome improvements over Bitcoin, so we started with Litecoin. I think a lot of the value has come from Atlantis already, and more will come from Atlantis with our growth. It's taken a year to get the site where it is at the moment with a few developers working on it mostly full time.

    [–]duvalin92 14 points15 points  (6 children)

    This makes sense. Litecoin does actually take less time to transfer than bitcoins do. Thank you for the response! I wish you great success to you and your team!

    [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

    Thanks for your support!

    [–]mbenify 34 points35 points  (18 children)

    How illegal is Atlantis? I mean, not for the vendors/buyers, but how illegal is it as the CEO of the website?

    (Basically, how much trouble would YOU get into, if shit hit the fan?)

    [–]mbenify 48 points49 points  (4 children)

    Ahh, so you'd be pretty screwed...

    [–]ibreatheweed 30 points31 points  (3 children)

    And screwed he is

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]blobbish 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      Due to "a possible LE (law enforcement) security compromise" and the mod who posted about it said he was going to "get his affairs in order and plan for the worst". So I wouldn't keep my hopes too high.

      [–]seditious_commotion 14 points15 points  (2 children)

      Wasn't this prior to bitcoin? Didn't they have to use western union/paypal/etc? Doesn't that remove a lot of the risk for you?

      [–]Boner4Stoners 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      To answer for him - yes. Paying using USD was a shitty idea. Bitcoin could have been used (past 2009) so i don't know why they didn't switch over to it.

      [–]futurefederal_Inmate 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      since they were dealing with stolen credit i dont think it mattered what payment was.

      [–]Gr1pp717 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Why are you not worried?

      Do you not care if you caught? Do you think you can't get caught?

      [–]Noturordinaryguy 30 points31 points  (9 children)

      what is the biggest security threat you have had?

      [–][deleted] 33 points34 points  (8 children)

      We did a lot of planning in relation to this and haven't had any security issues so far. Our biggest concern would be if a security flaw was discovered in the technology we rely on (e.g flaw in the onion routing protocol or the Bitcoin protocol).

      [–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (7 children)

      Aren't many of the Tor nodes run through government servers these days?

      [–]fancy_pantser 13 points14 points  (0 children)

      Doesn't matter. Only the recipient can decrypt the original message. Each node inbetween just sees a layer of the [encrypted] onion.

      [–]smitus 31 points32 points  (3 children)

      What's the best selling item?

      [–][deleted] 59 points60 points  (2 children)

      The most popular item is Cannabis

      [–]Office_Zombie 49 points50 points  (13 children)

      So how is it possible to get delivery anonymously? i mean, at some point don't you have to give your name and address to the seller? And if they are ever busted and you are in their database as a customer; aren't you kinda...you know...fucked?

      Thanks for the AMA by the way.

      [–][deleted] 27 points28 points  (9 children)

      Some purchasers use fake names to hide their identity, others don't. We have a strict rule where vendors must remove all information about their clients once the parcel has been shipped (e.g from their computer). Also, once the order has been shipped, the address is automatically purged from our database.

      [–]wz_I68 33 points34 points  (7 children)

      How do you enforce a rule like that? what's to stop a vendor from simply writing an address down on a sticky note?

      [–][deleted] 31 points32 points  (1 child)

      Unfortunately we can't enforce it, we can only advise them to do it. Our system also permanently deletes this information after first viewing.

      [–]cc81 28 points29 points  (3 children)

      They don't. All they can hope for is that the vendor does not want to save evidence against himself in case of a bust.

      [–]DrugPorn 2 points3 points  (2 children)

      LEO have no interest in people buying personal amounts of drugs.

      [–]cc81 4 points5 points  (1 child)

      It is true I don't know how it would work in the US but in Sweden when an Internet dealer have been busted and been stupid enough to hold customer lists everyone on that list have been visited by the cops.

      In some cases people have just denied everything and they made it and in other cases they were stupid enough to actually do a bank transfer or pick up a "REK" (Swedish mail, the kind you need to sign) and they got caught by video when they signed for it.

      [–]thenightwassaved 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      In America the recipient of a package is not responsible for its contents as then anyone could get anyone else in trouble just by mailing them some drugs.

      If the package was intercepted at customs or the postal services they instead deliver a letter telling you about not being able to get the package.

      [–]OvidNaso 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      Packaging is a big factor in the review and ratings people give about vendors in the drug world. If the vendor is not under surveillance, then your package ships from some unknown city as millions of packages already. USPS will not open package unless there is something extremely fishy. That's why users are so concerned with proper packaging.

      You do have to trust that the vendor erases or doesn't keep records, but even then, unless you signed for the package (which you won't have to) the is an extremely small chance it will go beyond that.

      [–]dmv1975 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      One method that comes to mind is using a service like mailboxes etc., the ups store or something similar where you rent a mailbox but its not a post office box. I've never done this, but it would be the first thing I would research if I needed some anonymity.

      [–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (1 child)

      I've heard these sites are much more common than people realize. How much traffic do you guys get?

      [–][deleted] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

      We're one of the largest markets, and the most refined. We get thousands of visitors and hundreds of orders are processed through Atlantis a day.

      [–]greysky7 46 points47 points  (20 children)

      I've checked out atlantis, purely out of curiosity. I don't do drugs at all, but it seems that the prices are higher than street prices. Why do people prefer to buy on Atlantis? Is it due to knowing they're getting good quality? It seems riskier than buying drugs on the street.

      [–][deleted] 61 points62 points  (2 children)

      The prices vary, some are actually cheaper then what you can find on the street.

      Some of the main reasons why people choose to purchase off Atlantis include;

      1) Quality of the merchandise. Because of the sites feedback and reputation system, you can be certain that you will be receiving an unadulterated item.

      2) Order in the comfort of your own home and have the parcel delivered to you (with tracking).

      3) Thousands of items to choose from. Sometimes a local dealer will not have a product you are after.

      4) Deal with currencies which can be used to purchase items without the reliance of fiat.

      5) Encrypted correspondence, more secure then messaging/calling your local dealer.

      [–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (11 children)

      Greater quality, ease of access, safer than dealing with unknowns on the streets. A lot of people don't have access to a friendly in-person dealer.

      [–]Sheepies68 9 points10 points  (4 children)

      So you don't do drugs but you know street prices of illegal substances? I am confused.

      [–]JimmyJoeMick 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      He has to know what his competitors are up to, like any other business.

      [–]starrychloe 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Same here. My friend does a lot. I find it interesting, tried it, but not for me.

      [–]Atomic_Merp 65 points66 points  (47 children)

      Thanks for the AMA.

      I have a couple questions for you:

      • Aren't you worried about bringing more attention to your site by doing something like an AMA rather then just relying on word of mouth? By doing something like this don't you run the risk of law enforcement agencies paying more attention to the fact that you exist?

      • What made you decide to go into the business of running such a site? Just the money? Or other reasons?

      • Do you ever have to worry about something happening to try to drive your servers offline? Or someone trying to dox you for offering more competition in this market? (You could compare this to an established dealer breaking the kneecaps of someone new selling in his area.)

      • Do your users sell legal stuff? How's the split between legal and non legal? Which do you prefer your users sell? (If you have a preference at all.)

      Last question:

      • Are you hiring? =P

      [–][deleted] 76 points77 points  (46 children)

      Thanks for the questions:

      Aren't you worried about bringing more attention to your site by doing something like an AMA rather then just relying on word of mouth? By doing something like this don't you run the risk of law enforcement agencies paying more attention to the fact that you exist?

      We want to bring attention to the site and bring our vendors more buyers. Law enforcement is going to be aware of us (and probably already is) regardless of the way we choose to put our product out there.

      What made you decide to go into the business of running such a site? Just the money? Or other reasons?

      It was the appeal of providing a service that we believe in and a business decision. Prohibition is a backwards process.

      Do you ever have to worry about something happening to try to drive your servers offline? Or someone trying to dox you for offering more competition in this market? (You could compare this to an established dealer breaking the kneecaps of someone new selling in his area.)

      We have taken technical measures to prevent and offset these risks if they arise. As for our identities being revealed, if a competitor is able to do it then law enforcement would be able to do it. That would be of a larger concern to us. We take many measures to protect our identity.

      Do your users sell legal stuff? How's the split between legal and non legal? Which do you prefer your users sell? (If you have a preference at all.)

      There are many legal items for sale as well, but the bulk of our items are drug related. We have no preference over what gets sold (assuming it does not break our restricted items rules).

      Are you hiring? =P

      We are indeed. We're looking for a web marketer/SEO willing to be paid in Bitcoin.

      [–]1ceyou 21 points22 points  (12 children)

      Im curious as somewhat of amateur SEO marketer, how does one market a Tor Site? Surely it can't be done in regular ways such as adwords, keyword optimization, etc, etc.

      [–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (6 children)

      It is true that we can't use regular methods however we are after a person who can make YouTube how-to videos, create forum posts in various communities to increase the exposure to our site.

      [–]TuhHahMiss 1 point2 points  (3 children)

      So how many inboxes have you gotten from people asking for jobs? If you aren't sick of them already, I'm interested in at least more information. I'll send a message should you reply to this.

      [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

      We've received about 20, but we're still looking.

      [–]asdfasdf4r 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      Why only pay the SEO in Bitcoin? Litecoin surely is an option as well.

      [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      We do not receive enough commission in Litecoin to pay them in Litecoin. I'd say only around 5% of transactions are Litecoin.

      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

      [deleted]

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Based off previous work, and whatever data the applicant is comfortable providing.

        [–]almondj 7 points8 points  (3 children)

        SEO is purely focused on organic rankings. Adwords is SEM.

        [–]1ceyou 0 points1 point  (2 children)

        Either way its not like people can google up "Buy Illegal Drugs Online" and an onion site is going to pop up.

        [–]dbpcut 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        The Onion might pop up.

        [–]JonathanZips 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Google loves helping con artists sell fake prescription drugs online: http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/August/11-dag-1078.html

        I'm sure they would love to sell heroin too if they could get away with it. Which they can't.

        [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Well, there are Tor search engines as well for example.

        [–]Atomic_Merp 27 points28 points  (20 children)

        It was the appeal of providing a service that we believe in and a business decision. Prohibition is a backwards process.

        And that's why I support sites like these being around. Thanks for not just saying "It's the money".

        We are indeed. We're looking for a web marketer/SEO willing to be paid in Bitcoin.

        If you ever decide to offer training or paying for classes I'm sure you'll get your door knocked down with people willing do to it. Alas, my computer skills lay in other directions. Oh well.

        Thanks for the answers, and I wish you and your business the best of luck and high profits in the future.

        [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (19 children)

        Thank you for your support!

        [–]XProAssasin21X 26 points27 points  (18 children)

        What are your restricted items? And why don't you allow people to sell them?

        [–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (17 children)

        Straight from the sellers guide:

        Restricted items include anything related to paedophilia, poisons, loans, investment opportunities, assassination services or anything which can inflict harm on another person. If you infringe on these rules we will terminate your account instantly.

        Trading any digital currencies (for example Bitcoins, Litecoins, Ukash, Moneypak, Western Union, Moneygram, etc) is forbidden and will result in the items being removed and a warning or ban being issued to the vendor. This is to prevent scams.

        The trading of counterfeit money is forbidden, and will result in a warning or ban being issued.

        We also do not allow listings for 0.01 in the money section. Your items must have a full cost associated to them to prevent people processing transactions outside of the escrow system.

        Exceptions to the restricted items:

        We allow the purchase of physical fiat for Bitcoins and/or Litecoins (has to be legitimate currency; not counterfeit). This is the only exception to the currency rule. We do not, however, allow the reverse of these transactions i.e. customers mailing vendors real currency as this is outside the escrow system.

        As an example, if you were a vendor and you wanted to buy $1000 worth of Bitcoins/Litecoins you could do so by making a listing for $1000 labelled "Buying $1000 worth of Bitcoins/Litecoins", and then mail the real currency to the purchaser of your listing in exchange for their Bitcoins/Litecoins that are currently travelling through the escrow system.

        [–]SyncTitanic 7 points8 points  (2 children)

        What about fake Ids? Can you guys make/sell those?

        [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

        Our vendors sell a lot of those.

        [–]FacePudding 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        Yes they sell loads of those

        [–]XProAssasin21X 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        Thank you for that.

        [–]Lord_Osis_B_Havior 6 points7 points  (1 child)

        Why are investment opportunities banned?

        [–][deleted] 37 points38 points  (0 children)

        Because they're commonly used as scam tactics.

        [–]yoho139 1 point2 points  (3 children)

        Why is counterfeit money banned? Part of the "harm to others" rule?

        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        It's frequently used in scams. When we allowed it, 100% of the counterfeit money sales were scams. It's also hurting local businesses etc.

        [–]Sarastrasza 0 points1 point  (1 child)

        The system is based on trust, you cannot have trust in a system that allows counterfeit currency transactions to happen.

        [–]yoho139 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Not really. You trade in bitcoin, and you get what you asked for. The only thing you can buy with cash is bitcoins, and that's what MtGox is for, after all. That actually has a reputation for cash <-> bitcoin transactions.

        [–]Valkurich 0 points1 point  (2 children)

        Couldn't most of those drugs be used as a poison?

        [–]kataskopo 2 points3 points  (1 child)

        Yes, but then again to kill someone you just need to pour chlorine or rat poison into someones soup, and most houses already have that.

        [–]Valkurich 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Good point.

        [–]THE_REPROBATE 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Can't drugs inflict harm on another person?

        [–]majesticpenguins 9 points10 points  (1 child)

        Speaking of restricted items what happens to be on that list? Can't check the website; I'm on public computer, sorry. Also would you like to be the "best" and/or most popular site or do you like the fact that road has most of the popularity and most of the law enforcement spotlight?

        [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Probably Weapons like on SR IIRC.

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [deleted]

          [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

          Thanks for your interest plerer, please PM us with your experience.

          [–]Night_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          What does being a web marketer/SEO entail?

          [–][deleted] 52 points53 points  (3 children)

          We have a few lawyers using our platform to offer legal advice for a fee.

          [–]Orange_sandwich 64 points65 points  (2 children)

          Better call Saul!!

          [–]dormfair 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Greetings from Belize

          [–]zthousand 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Barry is very good.

          [–]kintu 20 points21 points  (7 children)

          How did you get your first customers ? How did you advertise the site like this in the first place and create the initial market base?

          [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (5 children)

          We posted an announcement in two cryptocurrency community forums and the news spread quite quickly.

          We also offered incentives for vendors at other market places to sign up and take advantage of trading with no commission fees.

          [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (4 children)

          Where does your revenue come from, if you have no commission fees? Is it purely from cost associated with becoming a vendor?

          [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

          When we were running the 3 month commission free special, our income solely came from the vendor registration fee.

          Our current commission structure can be seen below;

          Value less than or equal to $50 6% Value less than or equal to $150 5.5% Value less than or equal to $300 5% Value less than or equal to $500 2% Value less than or equal to $1000 1.5% Value greater than $1000 1%

          [–]Catarrius 7 points8 points  (0 children)

          Value <= $50: 6%

          Value <= $150: 5.5%

          Value <= $300: 5%

          Value <= $500: 2%

          Value <= $1000: 1.5%

          Value > $1000: 1%

          reformatted for easier reading.

          [–]worm929 3 points4 points  (0 children)

             Value Commission
          ≤ $50 6%
          ≤ $150 5.5%
          ≤ $300 5%
          ≤ $500 3%
          ≤ $1000 1.5%
          > $1000 1%

          [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

          Thanks for the awesome AMA and the info! I never would have thought that a vendor such as yourself would run promotions like commission free months or the like, but it makes total sense. Very eye-opening!

          [–][deleted]  (4 children)

          [deleted]

            [–][deleted] 42 points43 points  (1 child)

            Yes, vendors commonly offer free incentives to gather good reputation at the beginning of their seller career.

            [–]Boner4Stoners 46 points47 points  (0 children)

            WHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?

            [–]RowBoatCop1 14 points15 points  (7 children)

            Can't access your site (yet) but do you have vendors in Australia?

            [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (6 children)

            We have a few Australian vendors, yes.

            [–]nyanpi 7 points8 points  (5 children)

            You're probably not still around, but is it even possible to order items on your site from Japan? I have not even looked at Atlantis or SR because I don't think it's even possible.

            [–]OvidNaso 10 points11 points  (0 children)

            You probably don't want to receive anything illegal that comes from outside your country. These have a much higher probability of being opened and inspected by customs. It is still a small probability, but with Japanese drug laws, I would probably not risk it.

            [–]Autistence 5 points6 points  (0 children)

            Don't even risk it..

            [–]Impune 28 points29 points  (6 children)

            What does one sell on a black market that falls under the "Home & Garden" section...?

            [–][deleted] 40 points41 points  (5 children)

            Ikea lamps...

            ... And nutrient dense soil, growing equipment, CFL's, HPS lamps, etc.

            [–]yizarg 12 points13 points  (4 children)

            Why do buy / sell these types of items on the black market rather than any major online retailer?

            [–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

            Since we use cryptocurrencies its a good way for people to use them to buy other items. Think of it like eBay but with a twist.

            [–]yoho139 1 point2 points  (0 children)

            I would assume part of it is so that suspicious purchases (high powered lamps and nutrient rich soil) aren't noticed by people around you.

            [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            People stole that shit from somewhere and it's hot.

            [–]groomingfluid 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            People are likely using these to grow bud and don't want their neighbourhood garden store or credit card company having them associated with such purchases.

            Weed growers etc.

            [–][deleted]  (35 children)

            [deleted]

              [–][deleted] 184 points185 points  (34 children)

              Sure! Please follow the steps below;

              1) Download and install the Tor browser bundle - https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

              2) Download and install the Bitcoin client - http://bitcoin.org/en/download.

              3) You'll need to obtain some Bitcoins. The most popular exchange is MtGox (www.mtgox.com). They offer a few ways in which you can convert your local currency to Bitcoins.

              4) Using the Tor browser, visit Atlantis (URL can be found at /r/Atlantis)

              5) Create an account

              6) Click on the deposit BTC link under account settings and transfer your Bitcoins to that address. You'll need to wait for 1-2 hours before the transfer propagates across the network.

              7) You can then shop for any items you would like whilst being confident on security and privacy.

              Please let us know if you have any further questions.

              [–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (3 children)

              I've heared that SR has a built in coin tumbler, do you offer a similar service?

              [–]420burritos 4 points5 points  (2 children)

              I too would be interested in a coin tumbling service. At least until the advent of technology like zerocoin.

              [–]bruestle2 1 point2 points  (1 child)

              Blockchain.info has a good bitcoin mixer.

              [–]420burritos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

              if only they supported litecoin... I'll send em an email and show a little support for the litecoin community. I encourage others to do the same.

              [–][deleted]  (8 children)

              [deleted]

                [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (7 children)

                You're welcome!

                [–]neoburge 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                Thank you for the information on getting started on the deep web tor stuff

                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                You're welcome!

                [–]DohRayMe 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                How can I obtain Cash for Bitcoin in UK ?

                [–]Cyamos 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                This comment has been overwritten by an open source script to protect this user's privacy.

                If you would like to do the same, add the browser extension TamperMonkey for Chrome (or GreaseMonkey for Firefox) and add this open source script.

                Then simply click on your username on Reddit, go to the comments tab, and hit the new OVERWRITE button at the top.

                [–]woody2107 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                Thanks!

                [–]DuaneBrady 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                Excellent guide

                [–]FistedByAHorse 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                Someone help me with step 3? Its just telling me I cant open the program.

                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                That step is optional, you don't HAVE to use PGP. Especially if you just plan on having a browse.

                [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                [deleted]

                  [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  ;-)

                  [–]Boatfighter747 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Doing the same!

                  [–]rathead 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  good idea

                  [–]abbuj 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Simple!

                  [–]refeer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Just download RES to save comments.

                  [–]goretsky 66 points67 points  (0 children)

                  Hello,

                  A few questions:

                  1. Are you the founder (or a founder) of Atlantis?

                  2. How did you get started in this business?

                  3. What are the five most common items sold?

                  4. What is the largest (most expensive) sale?

                  5. What are the most common mistakes new vendors make?

                  6. What are the most common mistakes new buyers make?

                  7. What is the strangest item you've had to prohibit the sale of?

                  8. What has been the most difficult part of running Atlantis for you?

                  9. What has been the easiest part?

                  10. Do you have an "exit strategy" or plan for when you'll leave the business?

                  Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

                  Regards,

                  Aryeh Goretsky

                  [–]badfontkeming 23 points24 points  (15 children)

                  Are you worried that your usage of Tor contributes to undermining its image as a legitimate utility for online anonymity, in the same way that Bittorrent is often immediately associated with piracy?

                  [–][deleted] 32 points33 points  (13 children)

                  We hope that our usage does not tarnish its perception of being a legitimate tool. The core of our operation is to give people access to a 'true free market' whilst still protecting our users and ourselves. However just like a knife - it can be used for good and for bad.

                  We can only hope that the media and government doesn't portray Tor as a tool used by 'terrorists and criminals'.

                  [–]Lord_Osis_B_Havior 54 points55 points  (10 children)

                  We can only hope that the media and government doesn't portray Tor as a tool used by 'terrorists and criminals'.

                  LOL, good luck.

                  [–]MealPlan 27 points28 points  (7 children)

                  To be fair, the criminal part is pretty spot on...

                  [–]escalat0r 6 points7 points  (6 children)

                  I think those are the three kinds of people who (ab)use Tor.

                  • People who want to buy drugs or do other illegal things

                  • Pedophiles

                  • People who actually want to get around the Firewalls or opressive regimes

                  [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 2 points3 points  (5 children)

                  And the ones that simply want to stay anonymous.

                  Also warez downloading.

                  [–]UncontroledSubstance 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                  VPN > TOR, when it comes to any kind of downloading.

                  [–]racinggerbils 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Or ants.

                  [–]ifishforhoes 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  But you are using tor for illegal activities even if you are the middle man?

                  [–]drewdontcare 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  Thats what he means by Free market. The governments idea of what is legal is much different then what an individual might think is legal therefore believing that they have the right to regulate their own access to something they want to do. Tis being Free.

                  [–]escalat0r 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Wow, that's a good question.

                  [–]mklieber 22 points23 points  (2 children)

                  Do people sell organs on your website?

                  [–]thenewmeredith 179 points180 points  (0 children)

                  Nah, just regular pianos

                  [–]worm929 13 points14 points  (0 children)

                  why, what do you need?

                  [–]anon_litecoin_guy 12 points13 points  (7 children)

                  How much does your physical location matter to run a business like yours? Would it be any easier/harder if you were in say, Somalia or on a ship in the ocean in International waters?

                  [–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (6 children)

                  We have team members in various different countries. I would say physical location is relatively irrelevant. We can access our systems from anywhere, and our location and the server location is protected by the Tor hidden service network.

                  [–]Norph00 1 point2 points  (4 children)

                  I'm not understanding how a server can be completely hidden. If that is possible then why doesn't The Pirate Bay hide their servers in a similar way? More of a rhetorical question I guess since you can't exactly answer for them.

                  [–]fancy_pantser 2 points3 points  (3 children)

                  Because it takes a lot of setup to access TOR sites and TPB wants to be "one-click & you get it".

                  TPB has servers in several countries and a failover that redirects to the mirrors if anything happens to one country's servers.

                  http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/05/pirate_bay_reemerges/

                  [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

                  TPB still relys on a single /24 IP range though, that could be simply revoked by the European Internet Registry (RIPE).

                  [–]runeks 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                  Nope. All the torrents from TPB are available for download (plus the actual website, ie. PHP code, as far as I know). This is an example of a mirror with a completely different IP: unblockedpiratebay.com

                  [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Uh, not good that you tell me - i always thought these were just reverse proxies, but if they are actualy websites i have to force my customers in future to shut them down on abuse :(

                  [–]duvalin92 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Interesting. I've always wondered about this.

                  [–]1MA9FAG 10 points11 points  (7 children)

                  What is the craziest item you have ever sold?

                  [–][deleted] 127 points128 points  (1 child)

                  The ones from Atlantis are prettier.

                  [–]UncontroledSubstance 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  If they have cryptocurrency to spend, easier to buy on Atlantis than on eBay.

                  [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                  Fig tree cuttings? Is that code for something?

                  [–]FUCK_THEECRUNCH 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Pewbs

                  [–]darkangelx 41 points42 points  (7 children)

                  Aren't you worried the authorities are tracking this ama?

                  [–][deleted] 163 points164 points  (6 children)

                  They probably are. We aren't worried.

                  [–]ThingsTrebekSucks 135 points136 points  (4 children)

                  Not a singe fuck given.

                  [–]Chispy 24 points25 points  (3 children)

                  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAND HE'S GONE!

                  [–]1ovelyjubbley 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  rip

                  [–]get_the_feeling 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                  hahaha like a ghost

                  [–]KingTalkieTiki 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  pls rspnd

                  [–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

                  baddass my brother

                  [–]Triplekia 10 points11 points  (2 children)

                  Had anyone ever been caught in sting operation?

                  [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

                  We haven't had any incidents reported to us yet (most vendors are very careful and security conscious) however we have read a case in the past where a vendor was caught on a different market place. The market place wasn't to blame, it was just that the vendor wasn't careful with his operation and thus got discovered.

                  [–]britishotter 11 points12 points  (8 children)

                  Regarding the IT infrastructure, Do you own the servers that host the website? How are the servers connected to the internet? Is it a corporate leased line or just some dodgy hacked cable modem :)

                  Fascinating AMA, thanks.

                  [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (7 children)

                  Without going to depth, we use dedicated servers provided by a hosting company. All servers are equipped with a 100Mbit WAN link.

                  [–]britishotter 7 points8 points  (3 children)

                  Thanks for your reply!

                  I'm probably misunderstanding Tor a bit here then, but how come the hosting company doesn't get into hot water and told to stop hosting Atlantis?

                  [–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

                  Tor traffic looks similar to SSL and our hosting provider doesn't snoop on our servers :-)

                  [–]escalat0r 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  You can read up on this if you want, a well known and rather sophisticated hoster is used to be Freedomhosting (I hope I'm not out of date with this information) and they also host CP, so drugs is not the biggest deal I guess.

                  [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  He means a normal dedicated server provider (like Softlayer or OVH) though, not a Tor internal hosting provider.

                  Tor internal sites can be hosted anywhere and cannot be traced (unless PHP or similar exposes the server IP - ALWAYS run the webserver at a RFC1918 IP and use (source) NAT) so the hosting provider does not matter.

                  [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (2 children)

                  Do you pay for that in bitcoins? Is the server encrypted such that someone with physical access couldn't discover its contents, should they choose to?

                  I'm not sure if the second is possible whilst also offering an internet service, you must have unencrypted stuff in RAM?

                  Edit. To me hosting seems to be the weakest link in your personal security (I'm sure users are fine with your encrypted messages). Have you considered distributed hosting on other darknets like freenet?

                  [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (1 child)

                  We pay for the servers via anonymous methods and the disks are encrypted. However when running certain applications, the vulnerable point would be RAM.

                  We also monitor the data center for unauthorized access.

                  For all the services we offer, we have redundant servers ready to fail over to.

                  [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Best would be to colo a server, this is the only way you can be sure that no cold-freeze attack (rip power - add liquid nitrogen into the server - remove ram - read out encryption key in external dumper device) can be made (by gluing the RAM sticks on the mainboard, best case rather invisble so they shut it down and then only realize it - a freeze dump must be done in less than ca. 60 seconds)

                  [–]mzt1 9 points10 points  (1 child)

                  Do you by any chance automatically strip the EXIF data that's in the pictures used on your site? It seems that this could be used to track ppl quite easily since some contain GPS data, name, etc.

                  [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  We do.

                  [–]EvilTech5150 11 points12 points  (0 children)

                  I need about 120 kilos of cloned stem cells to replace, uh, everything. :D

                  [–]r4gt4g 20 points21 points  (1 child)

                  Without going into any personal details (obviously) what brought you to this biz? I.e. formal versus informal education... comp sci vs. Mba-type edu... or whatever ur able to say

                  Also, as someone who is intrigued and has made half-assed attempts to get a bit/litecoin account setup and given up after hitting various obstacles, am I right to assess your biggest barrier to growth are the hurdles customers need to jump through to make transactions? Or am I just a stupid brain?

                  [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

                  Can't go into education specifics sorry.

                  If you'd like any assistance getting set up let us know, we can point you in the right direction. The seeming complexity of cryptocurrency is definitely a barrier to growth. It's all relatively simple once you get your head around it though. Bitcoins/Litecoins are far easier to obtain in certain countries than others.

                  [–]Bubuloo 9 points10 points  (1 child)

                  Did you have a history with drugs or black markets before setting up Atlantis?

                  [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

                  Recreational use only.

                  [–]ILOVELSD 16 points17 points  (7 children)

                  When deciding for your brand or website name. What other names did you consider besides Atlantis? I like the name it has now just curious to know of the brainstorming behind the site. Also I love your website! Thank you!

                  [–]AgentBoJangles 22 points23 points  (0 children)

                  Relevant username.

                  [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (5 children)

                  I can't actually remember any of the other names we considered, probably because they were all bad. Atlantis stuck from the beginning!

                  And you're welcome, thanks for using it.

                  [–]Zalwol 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                  Isn't Atlantis the formal name of Galt's Gulch in Atlas Shrugged?

                  [–]earthmoonsun 18 points19 points  (3 children)

                  Are you a regular customer at Atlantis yourself and what do/did you buy?

                  [–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (0 children)

                  We do everything on Atlantis except for buying products on it ;)

                  [–][deleted] 17 points18 points  (7 children)

                  Do you have a retirement plan? Like quit and let someone else take over in a year?

                  Everyone does gets busted in the end. Hell even anonymous. Usually via neverending greed or pride.

                  [–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (4 children)

                  We don't plan on retiring anytime soon, we've only just begun :)

                  [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                  [deleted]

                    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                    Thanks for your support!

                    [–]MisterCroyle 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                    that's awkward...

                    [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                    Exactly what I was thinking XD

                    [–]mikeno1 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                    On the anonymous thing the only busts have been as a result of idiots being sloppy then turning government informant to hand others over. Atlantis and For are on a whole new level of anonymity. Fuck Sabu.

                    [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                    [deleted]

                      [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (2 children)

                      Incognito mode.

                      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                      [deleted]

                        [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                        Haha, you're welcome :-)

                        [–]Tylerddrummer 20 points21 points  (13 children)

                        What non-legal things other than drugs are done through your site specifically what's the most common things non-drug?

                        [–][deleted] 21 points22 points  (12 children)

                        Popular non-legal items other then typical illicit drugs include money handling services, identity services (generating passports) and cybercrime (malware).

                        The most common popular legal items include books, digital goods, legal money services and erotica.

                        [–]Tylerddrummer 12 points13 points  (11 children)

                        Can you add some detail to "money handling services"

                        [–][deleted] 24 points25 points  (10 children)

                        I could be mistaken, but this might mean money laundering.

                        [–]Tylerddrummer 12 points13 points  (9 children)

                        I'm thinking that too but I might find out about ninjas or something I want secretly

                        [–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (8 children)

                        Non-legal services include mules and offshore bank accounts. Legal includes virtual credit cards, exchange services and gift-cards.

                        [–]Raptor5150 9 points10 points  (3 children)

                        Whats a "virtual credit card"?

                        [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (2 children)

                        Prepaid virtual credit cards aren't issued by a bank, have no contract, usually have a set amount and can be used online.

                        [–]nickrenfo2 3 points4 points  (1 child)

                        Would this be closer to a virtual debit card then? Similar to the prepaid visa cards you can buy at many convenience stores?

                        [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        It is exactly that, just naming differs between EU, US and UK.

                        [–]Tylerddrummer 7 points8 points  (3 children)

                        That's actually pretty cool, thanks. Oh also what made you want to get into this buisness?

                        [–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (2 children)

                        We love cryptocurrency, libertarianism, technology and saw an opportunity to make a free market place when SR was experiencing frequent down time.

                        [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        Who is your favorite libertarian philosopher?

                        Do you ever communicate with the Dread Pirate Roberts or any of the others from the Silk Road?

                        [–]Tylerddrummer 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        You sir, are a genius.

                        [–]boringaccount 5 points6 points  (5 children)

                        How much do you get paid, and how do you as a business generate revenue?

                        Also, who'd you vote for in the last US Presidential election? (or would have voted for if you're not into disclosing your location).

                        [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (4 children)

                        Unfortunately we aren't able to give you financial information however most of our profits have been used to enhance our business. This includes hiring people (we are currently looking for a marketer) and improving our infrastructure as we continue to grow.

                        [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                        [deleted]

                          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                          That's a really good idea. Do you know any gangsta rappers?

                          [–]drambox07 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                          How does a typical black market starts up?

                          [–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

                          For us, we love cryptocurrency, libertarianism, technology and saw an opportunity to make a free market place when SR was experiencing frequent down time.

                          [–]earthmoonsun 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                          If I pay in bitcoins, one can check where the bitcoins come from and eventually who changed his $ into said bitcoins. How can I stay anonymous?

                          [–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

                          Do a quick Google search of 'bitcoin fog'. It will remove all traceability of your coins.

                          [–]piezod 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                          Is there anything that you will not sell on your website?

                          [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (1 child)

                          Straight from the guides:

                          Restricted items

                          Restricted items include anything related to paedophilia, poisons, loans, investment opportunities, assassination services or anything which can inflict harm on another person. If you infringe on these rules we will terminate your account instantly.

                          Trading any digital currencies (for example Bitcoins, Litecoins, Ukash, Moneypak, Western Union, Moneygram, etc) is forbidden and will result in the items being removed and a warning or ban being issued to the vendor. This is to prevent scams. (See exceptions below for exceptions to this rule).

                          The trading of counterfeit money is forbidden, and will result in a warning or ban being issued.

                          We also do not allow listings for 0.01 in the money section. Your items must have a full cost associated to them to prevent people processing transactions outside of the escrow system.

                          Exceptions to the restricted items:

                          We allow the purchase of physical fiat for Bitcoins and/or Litecoins (has to be legitimate currency; not counterfeit). This is the only exception to the currency rule. We do not, however, allow the reverse of these transactions i.e. customers mailing vendors real currency as this is outside the escrow system.

                          As an example, if you were a vendor and you wanted to buy $1000 worth of Bitcoins/Litecoins you could do so by making a listing for $1000 labelled "Buying $1000 worth of Bitcoins/Litecoins", and then mail the real currency to the purchaser of your listing in exchange for their Bitcoins/Litecoins that are currently travelling through the escrow system.

                          [–]piezod 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                          Thank you

                          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (8 children)

                          What is the most absurd thing you know that was sold on your platform?

                          [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (7 children)

                          As previously stated the top two items would be used sex toys/underwear (female vendor) and fig tree cuttings.

                          [–]minos16 5 points6 points  (6 children)

                          Used underwear wholesale is in very high in demand...I sold it by the ton legally and openly across borders

                          Fig tree cuttings confuse the hell out of me.....might be code word for some banned service or meeting.

                          [–]LeahBrahms 3 points4 points  (1 child)

                          Fig tree cuttings sound like code for pubic hair to me!

                          [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (3 children)

                          Yeah, there's definitely a market for it, we just weren't expecting to see it so early on.

                          [–]minos16 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                          Weird thing.....eBay and other legit providers allow you to sell them just fine.....

                          [–]worm929 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                          yeah, but if you are buying used underwear i think you would want a little more privacy

                          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                          My question may have gotten buried so here it is again: You say that a tracking number must be provided by the vendor to release escrow funds. Doesn't this compromise the whole process? A tracking number has an origin and a destination...

                          [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                          A tracking number doesn't have to be provided by the vendor to release the escrow funds. If the person who purchased the item receives the item, they are able to release the funds to complete the order.

                          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                          Sorry, I'm basing my question off this

                          In the event the item does not arrive, and you're within escrow, the seller will need to provide proof of shipping (such as a tracking number). 95% of scams are users breaking our rules of finalization.

                          So the tracking number is only provided between the vendor and buyer? That seems legitimate enough. Thanks for your time!

                          [–]jcy 16 points17 points  (12 children)

                          how pure is the coke?

                          [–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (11 children)

                          It depends on the vendor. They advertise the purity on their product, the majority of it seems to be in the 85% range.

                          [–]Detached09 -3 points-2 points  (10 children)

                          Why would the purity matter, and wouldn't someone prefer 100% pure over something that was cut with other items?

                          [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (5 children)

                          Purity matters because you require less of the drug to get the same effect. Other than that it's mostly irrelevant. Yes, you would prefer 100% purity. 85% purity is very high compared to most street cocaine. On average, street cocaine is around 50% purity.

                          [–]Detached09 4 points5 points  (4 children)

                          What exactly is usually put in cocaine other than coke to dilute the purity?

                          [–]kintu 2 points3 points  (9 children)

                          How much do you make ?(give us a range ?) Is the money vs risk worth it ?

                          [–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (8 children)

                          Unfortunately we can't give you specifics on how much we earn however all of our profits have been used to enhance our platform. We take more pride in forming a true free market place rather than the dollars earned.

                          [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                          In other words... a lot

                          [–]anxiousalpaca 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                          you're a good person

                          [–]iCHRYST 7 points8 points  (6 children)

                          What does "confirmed member" mean?

                          Have you caught any scammers yet?

                          What's the benefit of Atlantis over SR?

                          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (5 children)

                          "confirmed member" (I'm presuming you mean Verified Seller?):

                          A verified seller is a member of another blackmarket with a high amount of reputation and positive feedback. A user on our website with a verified seller badge must use the same username they use on the other market to carry their reputation with them. This allows buyers from other markets to be certain they are dealing with the same seller if they see the same username on our market.

                          Yes we have caught scammers, but we've banned them swiftly. We pushed out new changes earlier that helps reduce the number of scams, all feedback contains the amount of the purchase, preventing users from leaving fake feedback on $0.01 listings. It also contains an 'anonymous' user ID so sellers/buyers can confirm whether the user leaving feedback has left feedback before. This helps catch scammers leaving fake feedback. The ID is unique to the seller/buyer combination, so it cannot be traced across transactions to determine a buyers buying patterns.

                          There's a few benefits:

                          We've had no downtime.

                          We have cheaper commission rates allowing sellers to make more profit on their sales and buyers to buy them for cheaper.

                          We have automated PGP encryption of messages for the members who refuse to send their messages using PGP. We have an advancement fan management system, allowing sellers to reach out to all of their customers.

                          We have a more 'modern' user interface.

                          We have buyer feedback (all other markets only have seller feedback)

                          We support Litecoin as well as Bitcoin (the first market to support multiple currencies).

                          We listen to our user feedback, we have a rapid development cycle and new features are constantly being improved upon and added.

                          [–]iCHRYST 1 point2 points  (4 children)

                          I did mean verified seller; it's been a while since I logged in.

                          Whilst you have swiftly banned sellers, can't they just make a new account? With the nature of TOR you couldn't ban their IP could you?

                          For people who have never purchased anything from deepnet (in particular Atlantis) how do you suggest they find the correct seller and make their first purchase?

                          [–]Bownz 15 points16 points  (29 children)

                          How come you can post this here and not be instantly arrested?

                          [–]Farn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                          Same reason rappers can rap about doing drugs: saying you did something isn't sufficient proof that you actually did it.

                          [–]HMS_ 12 points13 points  (5 children)

                          Hi. I have never posted/commented on reddit before, after about 5 years of being a lurker. This is too cool an opportunity not to.

                          How many hours a week on average do you work? What do you do outside of work for fun? What kind of music do you listen to?

                          [–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (4 children)

                          It's progressed to a full time job for us at this point. There isn't a day we aren't working on Atlantis.

                          I'd love to answer those questions but they're a bit revealing sorry.

                          [–]BigMikeMac 18 points19 points  (2 children)

                          This makes me laugh. The topic of the AMA was so exiting to him, he just HAD to create an account to ask about two completely different subjects. Lurker for 5 years, mmhmm.

                          [–]SchunderDownUnder 21 points22 points  (1 child)

                          Smells like pork in here

                          [–]JonathanZips 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                          Yeah I'm sure LEO has better things to ask about than the number of work hours, and musical tastes.

                          [–]HMS_ 8 points9 points  (0 children)

                          Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for the AMA and keep up the good work.

                          [–]pimpingken 6 points7 points  (2 children)

                          i'm pretty sure this is a "noob" question, but what the super secret URL to atlantis. i'm familiar with sr, and how to get there. i'll accept a PM, please and thank you :DD

                          [–][deleted] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

                          You can find it in the sidebar of our subreddit /r/atlantis :-) Keeping this thread clean of URLs.

                          [–]escalat0r 13 points14 points  (0 children)

                          When you've found the link you can just add a

                          .to
                          

                          at the end (after .onion) and the guys at onion.to will show you what it looks like, you won't need to install Tor if you just want to take a peek.

                          [–][deleted]  (6 children)

                          [removed]

                            [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (5 children)

                            Never too late. It's quite scary actually. Tor, SSL, PGP, OTR, all of these technologies are your friends.

                            Although I will say this is nothing new, the NSA has been doing this for years now. I guess it's finally caught up to them.

                            We haven't started taking any new precautions as a result, we were already using them.

                            [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                            [removed]

                              [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                              Definitely, with PRISM making headlines this week its always good to protect your privacy.

                              [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                              FYI, yes, after this leaks the Tor network had a high traffic influx, i actually had to add more middlenodes as mine maxed out their 100Mbit links.

                              [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                              [removed]

                                [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                Unlikely, mainly due to the high ping and low speed (relatively, in a good chain Tor can do 25-50Mbit with multiple data streams but usually at least one node in the chain is a DSL/Cable connection with max. 5-10Mbit upload) but yes, i would guess that the usage will continue to increase like it did over the last years, with some more spikes and a general higher growth rate by 25-50%.

                                Most of this new usage will be "low traffic" however, like normal browsing, instant messaging etc. - YouTube and similar services will likely not be used over Tor due to the speed/RTT "problems" involved. This however will benefit the Tor network (more exposion, more users and, good for tor, more entry/middle/exit operators/supporters), the new users (with their newly found anonymity) and the old users (more capacity available due to more nodes being added).

                                This is sort of speculative (as we simply can't predict that the network expands as required to support more users) but a reasonable assumption with a (my personal prediction) 80:20 chance.

                                [–]spadinskiz 2 points3 points  (13 children)

                                So say someone bought some drugs on your website and it gets caught by the postal service. What happens to the buyer? The vendor can obviously get away easily if he has half a brain, but the buyer is pretty much fucked.

                                [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (11 children)

                                If the parcel is flagged by customs, the buyer will be sent a seizure notice advising them that contraband was discovered in a parcel addressed to them. Depending on the country, some will charge a fee for disposing of the goods. Others will just warn the buyer and no further action is taken unless you continue to generate them.

                                With domestic shipments, there is no way for them to prove that it was you who ordered the item since anyone can send parcels to another person.

                                [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (10 children)

                                People pls. dont trust this man. I worked for customs in a European country. If we catch a package you will end up in court.

                                otherwise everyone would just go to columbia and send home 2kg cocaine and if caught claim that they dont know who sent it.

                                [–]CCCPironCurtain 12 points13 points  (1 child)

                                So you are saying that all I have to do to get someone arrested is to address some weed to someone in the EU? How can you prove that the person that sent illicit materials is the same person that is receiving it?

                                [–]anxiousalpaca 10 points11 points  (1 child)

                                are you serious? so i can send drugs to people i don't like and they'll get shit for it?

                                [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                In the United States, they are generally not caught, and even if caught, it usually ends up the way that /u/atlantis_admin detailed, although if it is a large shipment it may be monitored. Theoretically one could be charged with possession of whatever drugs they are purchasing if the police and the Postal Service (and customs if you are shipping from outside the country) decide to literally follow the package to your home and wait for you to open it, but I have only heard of this happening once.

                                Shipping from outside of your own country is much more risky than shipping from inside, but it's really not very risky either way unless you are ordering a whole lot of different packages in quick succession, or large packages.

                                [–]ifishforhoes 7 points8 points  (0 children)

                                never trust a drug dealer

                                [–]Saracantstop 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                That's Europe. In the US, the letter and no further action is exactly what happens. A friend of mine ordered contraband from the road and showed me the letter he got, and nothing else happened.

                                [–]Nikkitom 1 point2 points  (2 children)

                                Okay, so I hate Joe. I can fuck him by getting people to send him drugs?

                                Awwwwright! Joe's going to court.

                                [–]Tao_of_Meow 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                I think this is the tor market version of physically planting drugs on someone you don't like in hopes that they will get arrested. It's plenty possible, but not something I usually worry about.

                                [–]mikeno1 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                Yes normally but because of the nature of the technology being used there is no evidence. Many packages have been seized and controlled deliveries done and I am yet to hear of a single buyer to actually go to court. Basically as long as proper precautions are taken you can get away by not answering questions, claiming ignorance and of course, never ever signing for a package.

                                [–]UncontroledSubstance 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                Unless the buyer has been observed receiving multiple packages beforehand, nothing happens to them - as long as they deny everything. Anyone can send anything to any name, at any address. How do you go about distinguishing between someone ordering drugs and someone who had drugs shipped to their name & address in a defamation attempt?

                                [–]datshitberacyst 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                                What do you do to prevent cops from running sting operations on your site?

                                [–]UncontroledSubstance 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                Nothing. The way the system is set up, it wouldn't matter if they did. Vendors are safe as long as they aren't stupid about how they ship shit.

                                [–]datshitberacyst 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                I'm more concerned on the customer side, but i read further down and saw that there are ways to figure out if the sellers are reputable or not.

                                [–]gordoodle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                How is it that Atlantis isn't just undercover law enforcement buying from undercover law enforcement?

                                [–]CaptainCunnigulis 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                whats stopping the dea from simply setting up a sting and crack down on your buyers ?

                                [–]UncontroledSubstance 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                How are they going to do that? By setting up a fake vendor account that never sends any real drugs? Or how?

                                The DEA is allowed to do whatever it takes in pursuit of catching drug dealers, as long as they never put any drugs back out on the streets.

                                [–]-goodguygeorge 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                So if I were to order from this site, what are the chances of me being arrested?

                                [–]mikeno1 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                You mentioned tracked delivery, is it a rule that your vendors must use tracked? I ask because wouldn't this mean the customer would have to sign for the delivery? In that case in the event of a controlled delivery the buyer is fucked.

                                Edit: Bonus Question. Do you have a cool nickname like DPR? If not may I suggest Poseidon?

                                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                It's not a rule, but it definitely helps a vendor in the event of a dispute.

                                [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                For someone wanting to learn more about how cryptography works and would maybe want to take a job or something in it, are there any books or websites that you recommend?

                                [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                All of the resources can be found on Google. I'm not aware of any books that cover all of the topics, although I'm sure there are some out there. A deep understanding of Tor is not a mandatory requirement for using it, but it definitely helps if you're hosting a business on the Tor network.

                                [–]senecaa2015 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                how discreet is the shipping? on average

                                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                It's entirely variable and dependant on the particular vendor you use. The best vendors go to extreme measures to ensure the product is very stealth. Lots of them will not disclose their stealth measures so they cannot be read about by customs or law enforcement on the site.

                                [–]fdsafsgfdg 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                Remember kids.
                                US dollars are probably the most traded currency in illegal activities.
                                Don't let that fail argument 'tarnish' things like bit-coin or other technologies.

                                [–]ogbrien 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                                What is stopping a fed from selling drugs and busting people?

                                [–]Sara_Tonin 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                Nothing at all. Same with SR and the rest

                                [–]koxar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                Once a cop becomes a vendor the whole website is pretty much useless. That is of course, if they haven't infiltrated it already.

                                [–]Adventcybernetic 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                This seems like a precursor to the government fully cracking down on bit coin...maybe it's by design...

                                [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (5 children)

                                Do you have vendors in India?
                                Share some tips on being anonymous on the web.

                                [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (4 children)

                                Currently we have no Indian vendors however over time this will change. There are plenty of vendors who will ship to India though.

                                Some tips for being anonymous on the web include using trustworthy VPN's, proxy services and Tor. We would also recommend disabling third party browser add-ons which have the potential to leak your IP address (Java/Flash).

                                [–]escalat0r 6 points7 points  (3 children)

                                Which VPNs would you personally reccomend?

                                [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                Buy a VPS (better dedicated server) with Bitcoin from a trustable provider (i.e. hostigation) and run your own.

                                Paid VPN providers are never secure.

                                [–]escalat0r 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                haha like I'd trust any US based hoster (right now).

                                [–]WilliamSI[🍰] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                Good point, was just the first one that came to mind that accepts Bitcoin - i'm sure more do and i'm fairly sure the Bitcoin wiki has an entry for it.

                                [–]dredawg 6 points7 points  (3 children)

                                How does one connect to this 'marketplace'? I keep getting errors when I try to connect to any links to items and webpages.

                                [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                                You need to use the Tor browser bundle: https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en

                                Alternatively, you can access it in your regular browser by appending .sh to the end of the URL. i.e. http://***.onion.sh -- This will tunnel your connection through an online Tor proxy service.

                                [–]dredawg 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                Thanks for the reply! The appending isnt working for me, I use chrome for my web. I will give the tor browser a try.

                                [–]snowball666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                You need to be running the tor browser. OP did a nice full guide above.

                                [–][deleted] 12 points13 points  (18 children)

                                A screenshot of a website doesn't really prove anything.

                                Do you have any proof that you are the CEO of this company?

                                [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (7 children)

                                How do you usually guarantee the safety of your "company' and the buyer?

                                Do you ever deliver in bulk?

                                Are there any suppliers that you deal where they are a legal company on the surface?

                                What are your personal political views? What about certain topics like child pornography, necrophilia or any other cultural taboos that are usually at the expense of another unwilling person?

                                What are your top non-drug related products?

                                How did you get into this business? Do you wish you could be doing something else with your life that doesn't entail the possibility of arrest?

                                Is your company white collarish or do you have people who work with you that use violence and intimidation?

                                Is government bribery common with your company?

                                I doubt this person can really give proof simply because of the nature of what s/he does, either way it's interesting. Real or not.

                                [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (6 children)

                                How do you usually guarantee the safety of your "company' and the buyer?

                                We use a Tor hidden service to hide our service from the prying eyes of government officials: https://www.torproject.org/docs/hidden-services.html.en

                                This allows our servers IP address and location to remain hidden.

                                Users must access our site using the Tor hidden browser, protecting their identity: https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

                                Do you ever deliver in bulk?

                                We don't deliver anything, but our sellers commonly deliver in bulk. We facilitate the platform, the sellers are from the general public.

                                Are there any suppliers that you deal where they are a legal company on the surface?

                                See above.

                                What are your personal political views? What about certain topics like child pornography, necrophilia or any other cultural taboos that are usually at the expense of another unwilling person?

                                We do not allow listings such as child pornography and necrophilia. We do take a moral stance, there's a large difference between child pornography and drugs.

                                What are your top non-drug related products?

                                Probably porn.

                                Is your company white collarish or do you have people who work with you that use violence and intimidation?

                                We don't use violence or intimidation, nor do we have any need to. We're an online platform. The idea is to move away from the violent streets.

                                Is government bribery common with your company?

                                No, that doesn't happen (or hasn't happened yet).

                                [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (5 children)

                                Oh I see so basically your site is like the middle man am I correct? Alright that does make a lot of my questions moot.

                                [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (4 children)

                                That's correct.

                                [–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (3 children)

                                Have you had any scares before?

                                [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (2 children)

                                None.

                                [–]JonathanZips 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                how do you morally justify selling counterfeit bills, which you used to do? people paid with those bills can be working housewives etc who get ripped off $100

                                [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                We don't. That's why we don't allow their sale any more.

                                [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                [deleted]

                                  [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                  Glad you are enjoying it!

                                  [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                  [deleted]

                                    [–]PCTamer 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                                    If a security flaw was found and exploited in the application (not TOR, .onion, but Atlantis) it could make a lot of damage (loss of bitcoins, reputation etc.). So my questions are:

                                    What steps do you take for making the web applications secure? Do you have a team on it, or how do you go about security?

                                    And if you was "attacked", I'm guessing that you couldn't go to the police, or other authorities?

                                    I have always wondered about these things. Thanks for your time - and good luck with the business :-)

                                    [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                    We've taken security measures to protect our systems in the event of a compromise, I'm not really comfortable going into the technical specifics of how though. We have an experienced team with years of experience in the security sector.

                                    In the event of a compromise our reputation would be severely damaged. And you're correct, we couldn't go to the authorities. Regardless, I'm confident in our preventative measures.

                                    [–]Catan_Settler 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                    And Silly me was going to ask how much you charge for runescape gold.

                                    [–]Fallen_Milkman 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                    I understand the anonymity of Tor and Bitcoin and how the seller can protect themselves by not having a return address and using prepaid envelopes....but....How do the packages of some of the drugs not get nabbed in the mail? Weed/cocaine/heroine/ketomine all have a scent that a dog could easily pick up. Do the seller just wrap it well?

                                    Are the sellers able to provide a guarantee that their package will be delivered? And if the package is discovered, what is to stop the law from just showing up at your doorstep after it is delivered and arresting you?

                                    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                                    [removed]

                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                      At the moment we make nothing. It's taken a year to get where we have, and all of the funds we earn go straight back into the project. We may make some profit in the future though.

                                      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                      So PGP is automatic when sending messages? How does that work?

                                      [–]HansardBlues 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                      Honeypot?

                                      [–]VirtualMoneyLover 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                      How easy it is to use a webservice like this to frame someone? If person A hates person B and orders drugs to his address, it is really hard for person B to prove he didn't do those illegal purchase....

                                      [–]sicapat 4 points5 points  (23 children)

                                      what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

                                      [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (2 children)

                                      I believe it's 11 meters per second.

                                      [–]assreee 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                      African or European?

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                      european

                                      [–]Mound0 0 points1 point  (11 children)

                                      What do you mean?

                                      An African or a European swallow?

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (10 children)

                                      lets try this from the beginning

                                      What is your name?

                                      [–]Mound0 0 points1 point  (9 children)

                                      My name is Sir Lancelot of Camelot!

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (8 children)

                                      what is your quest

                                      [–]Mound0 0 points1 point  (7 children)

                                      I seek the Holy Grail!

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (6 children)

                                      what is your favorite color

                                      [–]TryToMakeSongsHappen 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                      Blue. No yellow!

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                      Go on. Off you go

                                      [–]Mound0 0 points1 point  (3 children)

                                      Blue.

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                      off you go

                                      [–]Mound0 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                                      Oh, thank you. Thank you very much.

                                      [–]LeahBrahms 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                      What do you mean, an African or European Swallow?

                                      [–]sicapat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                      well i don't know

                                      [–]dr_van_nostren 9 points10 points  (28 children)

                                      So...you're an online drug dealer? How is this legal or how are you skirting laws to keep yourself from prosecution? I don't know of any countries/territories where selling Heroin would be legal.

                                      [–][deleted] 34 points35 points  (25 children)

                                      We're not a dealer, we provide the platform for dealers to sell their products in a secure environment. The Tor network hides our service from government officials. You can have a look into "Tor hidden services" if you're interested.

                                      [–]KingdomofTards 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                      It's not legal but it is accepted that people sell opium and heroin in Afghanistan I think. The government turns a blind eye.

                                      [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

                                      In one of your other posts, you mention that sellers ship their orders to buyers.

                                      Wouldn't this allow police, posing as buyers, to locate and identify sellers?

                                      [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (2 children)

                                      It is possible for police for purchase items from vendors however with no return address, they could not find out where the vendor lives.

                                      [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

                                      Though they could find out where the package began its journey, which would give them an approximate location, even if it wouldn't give them an exact one. It would also give them an idea of when the package was dropped off. They could then look at surveillance footage from the shipping place to find out who dropped the package off. I can't think of a way to pay cash without going inside (unless using stamps and USPS). If they shipped from a drop-off point somewhere, they would need to pay using a credit/debit card, which could also be tracked (I don't think shipping companies accept bitcoin).

                                      It certainly wouldn't be as easy as looking at the return address, but it's not something that police couldn't do if they were motivated to catch someone. And on that note: has any thought been put into creating/offering a shipping service that operates as a physical analog to Tor?

                                      And an unrelated question: in another post, you say that:

                                      Weapons, poisons and assassination services are prohibited.

                                      You also mentioned that child and necrophilic pornography are prohibited. What other rules are there for your black market? (I'm sure there's a rules section somewhere on the website you can just copy/paste to answer this one.)

                                      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

                                      How safe (in terms of getting in trouble with the law) is it for users to register and purchase products?

                                      [–]Zarcand 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                      If you let me buy cryptocurrencies using my bank account (like coinbase does) I am forever yours.

                                      [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

                                      Maybe if we ask HSBC / Wachovia (now Wells Fargo) they might be able to give us a special deal like they've done in the past ;)

                                      In all seriousness though, we can't offer this service unfortunately. You'd also be depositing directly into the bank account of a drug related website, seems like a good way to get caught.

                                      We'll gladly accept your coin transfers from Coinbase though!

                                      [–]hyperlips 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                      ITS A TRAP!

                                      [–]Jeklah 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                                      Do you have any UK vendors?

                                      [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                                      We have quite a few UK vendors.

                                      [–]Exducer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                      What does your résumé look like?

                                      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                      [deleted]

                                        [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                                        [deleted]

                                          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                                          If you take a look in our subreddit /r/atlantis you'll see the address in the sidebar.

                                          You'll need to use the Tor browser bundle to access the site: https://www.torproject.org/download/download-easy.html.en

                                          [–]MattWithTwoTs 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                          Do I have to register in order to check it out?

                                          [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                          That's correct.

                                          [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                          [deleted]

                                            [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                            We started the market place with libertarianism in mind. Ironically, we believe the war on drugs is a a failure and does more harm then good.

                                            Although there is a potential for helping someone potentially dangerous, we don't list items which can inflict harm on others. These include weapons, poisons or assassination services. Generally speaking, 99% of the people we deal with on a daily basis are nice, friendly people.

                                            [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                            Has there ever been a situation where your entire operation was nearly taken down?

                                            [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                            Thankfully we've never reached this point. A lot of work goes into quality assurance before we release new features or when we perform infrastructure upgrades.

                                            [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                                            [deleted]

                                              [–]escalat0r 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Since TheNumber8's comment will probably be deleted you should look at this: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1fwi48/im_the_ceo_of_an_online_underground_black_market/caek6zz

                                              [–]bctTamu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Do you have approved vendors? If so, what is the screening process?

                                              [–]snowglobe13579 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              I'm curious, if you receive through mail couldn't authorities back trace the product?

                                              [–]LikeTheTiger 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              Can you persuade me to use atlantis rather than the silkroad?

                                              [–]PichinchaV 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              So how do you go about finding and hiring qualified employees? I imagine it is more difficult to do so given the hidden nature of your business than for most internet companies.

                                              [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                              Most of our employees are blood related :-) It makes it easy.

                                              [–]kingjevin 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              how many times have you gotten in trouble with the law?

                                              [–]magnagan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Quite a interesting AMA. I had no idea anything like this even existed!

                                              My question is, would you ever consider going "legit"? Leaving this business behind and starting a new one that is much more legal and lucrative? You seem to really know your stuff when it comes to running a business.

                                              [–]Staying_Anon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              How does this stuff get delivered to one's front door without the contents being discovered somewhere along the way by authorities (and on such a consistent basis?)

                                              [–]mind_overmatter 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              Forgive my ignorance but how does one find out the website so we can visit it?

                                              [–]PichinchaV 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              It's in the sidebar of /r/atlantis

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Can I have a job?

                                              [–]obx-fan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              How would one know whether or not this was an operation by law enforcement to gather information on drug buyers?

                                              Just asking a question.

                                              [–]Pantalooney 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              How much is your profit margin on some of the items you sell?

                                              [–]hridindu 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              How do you keep the feds off your tail?

                                              [–]UsernameNumbers 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              How many people (friends/family) know what you do? And what do you tell people that ask? Thanks for this AMA. It's really interesting.

                                              [–]Louisiana_Gent 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                              What is the URL of the site?

                                              [–]PichinchaV 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              It's in the sidebar of /r/atlantis

                                              [–]Louisiana_Gent 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                              Thanks!

                                              [–]throwaway_atlantis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Thank you for doing this Ama. One thing that is an especially interesting vendour service is fake IDs. How reliable/real/complex are fake IDs on your market? Isn't it dangerous/garuanteed to be found out since a picture of yourself is provided with the purchase?

                                              [–]LongLiveThe_King 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              How can you ensure buyer security when you have built in encryption?

                                              I read a story recently about a vendor who would pull his listings off the site but he would still get orders. Can you comment on that? If I am buying I want to know that the vendor is ready to deal.

                                              Last, why should I use Atlantis over SR?

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Our built in encryption technique does not allow us to decrypt anything. It still relies on the private keys of the seller or buyer, and as such all of the data is 100% unreadable by us under any circumstances.

                                              As for that story, we've received 0 reports of that, so if it was a bug we'd have heard about it by now. It hasn't come up in our testing either.

                                              There's a few benefits:

                                              We've had no downtime.

                                              Our site is much more responsive.

                                              We have cheaper commission rates allowing sellers to make more profit on their sales and buyers to buy them for cheaper.

                                              We have automated PGP encryption of messages for the members who refuse to send their messages using PGP. We have an advancement fan management system, allowing sellers to reach out to all of their customers.

                                              We have a more 'modern' user interface.

                                              We have buyer feedback (none of the other marketplaces have this functionality).

                                              We have an anonymous feedback system that allows you to determine is feedback is fake, but at the same time does not reveal anything about your buying patterns.

                                              We support Litecoin as well as Bitcoin (the first market to support multiple currencies).

                                              We listen to our user feedback, we have a rapid development cycle and new features are constantly being improved upon and added.

                                              [–]witoldc 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              Is there a good how-to written about road or atlantis for someone who isn't up to speed on these technologies?

                                              I remember trying to figure out road out of curiosity. No idea how to search. It seemed very, very slow. Etc.

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              1) Download and install the Tor browser bundle - https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

                                              2) Download and install the Bitcoin client - http://bitcoin.org/en/download.

                                              3) Download and install a PGP client - http://www.gnupg.org. Once installed, you will need to generate your own key using its wizard.

                                              3) You'll need to obtain some Bitcoins. The most popular exchange is MtGox (www.mtgox.com). They offer a few ways in which you can convert your local currency to Bitcoins.

                                              4) Using the Tor browser, visit Atlantis (URL can be found at /r/Atlantis)

                                              5) Create an account, upload your PGP public key and enable the automatic encryption feature if you wish for all incoming messages to be encrypted.

                                              6) Click on the deposit BTC link under account settings and transfer your Bitcoins to that address. You'll need to wait for 1-2 hours before the transfer propagates across the network.

                                              7) You can then shop for any items you would like whilst being confident on security and privacy.

                                              [–]cheeseburger1096 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                              Would you consider yourself a "normal" person other than the fact that you are in this business?

                                              [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                              Probably not :-)

                                              [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                              [deleted]

                                                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                No, some people sell legal products.

                                                [–]leros 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                How risky is it to ship illegal goods through thirty party shippers?

                                                [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                I'm not sure on the risk levels, but I imagine that's what the majority of those shippers exist for.

                                                [–]l_o_l_a_LOLA 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                Saving.

                                                [–]_Katipo 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                If possible, can you name the strangest item that you have seen on your site?

                                                [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                                Used female dildos and fig tree cuttings.

                                                [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                                [deleted]

                                                  [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  It's very possible, but time will tell.

                                                  [–]greysky7 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                                  Not sure if this AMA is still continuing, but thought I'd ask anyway. I see that anything pedophilic is restricted, which is good. Though after checking out Atlantis, I noticed that there is incest pornography for sale on the site. Do you think that should be restricted as well?

                                                  [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                  Incest is between two consenting adults. Adults is also the key word there.

                                                  [–]roionsteroids 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  There is incest porn on every porn site. Do you really think anything for that is real? ;)

                                                  [–]conchoso 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                                  What do you think will happen to you if you are caught? Have you deeply pondered this possibility? What do you think is the probability of you getting caught? Have you prepared yourself in any way for this possible eventuality?

                                                  [–]bobroberts7441 0 points1 point  (5 children)

                                                  FYI I tried to access your site and your CAPTCHA was not visible, so I couldn't register. Turned off adblock but no help.

                                                  [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

                                                  Hi,

                                                  Did you give it a minute to load? The captcha image can be quite slow some times if you're loading it on a slow Tor link.

                                                  [–]bobroberts7441 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  I will give it another try. Thanks.

                                                  [–]bobroberts7441 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                                  No, gave it 20 minutes. No go. Will try again tomorrow.

                                                  [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                  Interesting, I'm unable to recreate the problem. My suggestion would be to make sure you have the latest version of the Tor browser installed: https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en

                                                  [–]bobroberts7441 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  I built a new VM and installed the browser package. Works fine now. Tks.

                                                  [–]sikeman214 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                  I always imagined you guys smoking cigars with italian-Bostonian accents. To talk to you, you have to get patted down and then allowed access from you personally. Is this how it is?

                                                  [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                  We do have a similar procedure for meetings, although I'm not much a fan of cigars. This is more a result of our past careers, doesn't really have anything to do with Atlantis though.

                                                  [–]coolcityboy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  Two questions:

                                                  1) Do you think that there will be a significant increase in Tor browser usage over the next 12-24 months because of the NSA spy debacle?

                                                  2) What are your thoughts on Tor2Web proxies?

                                                  [–]TheWhitestWhiteMan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  how did you end up in the position you are? how much money do you make?

                                                  [–]theattackofzach 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                  How do you not get caught? Interesting concept, but seems like it would be easy to get busted.

                                                  [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                                  What is/was your favorite recreational drug to use?

                                                  [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                                  LSD!

                                                  [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                                                  [deleted]

                                                    [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

                                                    George. George Bush.

                                                    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                                                    [deleted]

                                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                      Several. I personally assassinate people daily.

                                                      [–]BaconBeard 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      Noice

                                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      What is the likelihood you could get caught?

                                                      [–]MagiDidymusJames 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      I know I'm late to the party, but I had a question:

                                                      You've no-doubt heard of silkroad and BMR, what separates your service from theirs?

                                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                                      How do you guarantee the security of your built-in PGP encryption?

                                                      You, as admins of your own website, can edit the javascript code that encrypts in the client-side and it's unlikely that people will verify if it's working the way it should.

                                                      You can render the encryption useless whenever you want. You can target whoever you want, anytime you want, and read its communications and there's a big chance that nobody will notice.

                                                      It seems to me that this built-in PGP encryption only gives your users a false sense of security.

                                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                      You should take a look at how our feature works. There is no Javascript involved. We simply encrypt the inbound messages using the receivers public key. We don't have access to their private key, so decryption is not an option.

                                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      Is it a .onion website or a regular domain site? Nevermind, got the answer to that.

                                                      EDIT: How do you know the sellers are legit? Or better yet, how does one sell? Is it a system similar to silkroad?

                                                      [–]TooBlazed420 0 points1 point  (2 children)

                                                      How does one purchase Litecoins? I am new to this online black market.

                                                      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

                                                      Hi. You can purchase them on an exchange like www.btc-e.com -- we also accept Bitcoins. You can purchase those in many different places. The best way to do it would be to do a Google search for 'buy bitcoins in X' where X is your country.

                                                      A commonly used Bitcoin site is www.mtgox.com

                                                      [–]TooBlazed420 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      Thank you. The site is great. Keep up the good work.

                                                      [–]AbleistKinkshamer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      I'm not sure how, but I bet SRS is very angry about this.

                                                      [–]oxyhooter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

                                                      No downtime huh? I have not been able to access the site for 3 days now.

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