While Agora takes a break, how do you rank the other markets?

*If this post is redundant, stop me know and I'll delete this, and I apologize in advance. *

Uptime notwithstanding, how would you rank other markets? With Agora either taking a nap or in the process of fucking everyone, looks like most of us are looking for viable alternatives. I don't use anything but Agora, so I'm eager to get your expert opinions on the other markets.

For example: Where do you weigh in on Abraxas as an alternative? What's the verdict on them? I've read some posts from the last year or so that seem to strongly call into question their security and thus they strike me as substandard.

Please weigh in...


Comments


[18 Points] bhothrow:

For me, knowing my money will be safe, and that the site is secure, are by far the most important factors. It amazes me how people complain about UI. This is why I choose Middle Earth

Middle Earth seems to be the most reliable out of all the alternatives. It has been up for quite some time, and there have been no major security flaws. The UI isn't perfect, but UI isn't nearly as important as security of money.

Nucleus is riddled with scammers and rumors of selective scamming by admins. IDK about you, but I want to be able to trust my admins. I fucked up creating my ME account and admins had the problem fixed in under 24hours. (I had over 2btc in limbo that could have easily been stolen)

Alphabay looks like a possibility, been around for a while and I have seen little to no reports of security flaws. One exemption being a clear-net IP leak. Not sure if that was rumor or truth-based (That WAS abraxas.... not ALPHABAY)

DHL - Dark Heroes League? This one kind of came out of nowhere, for me at least. Seems to be getting good reviews for UI which is nice, but I'd like to wait until it is more established. Am I missing something about DHL?

Check out the market SUPERLIST on the side, although I couldn't find any info on DHL there.


[8 Points] AnonyMe4Life:

I have found abraxas to be very solid thus far also.


[4 Points] turned_wand:

kinda feel like this is a little bit of sweet redemption.. hella ppl being kinda elitist about their agora accts. (which i suppose they may have spent significant time waiting to get so may deservedly have been stoked about their access) and which vendors are best for what stuff and what reasons and being inclusive or w/e (or maybe i just felt excluded?)

but all of a sudden its ok to go to one of the other markets just because the go-to is awol

/rant


[6 Points] Mrg13:

One thing I do not seem to see mentioned in this whole fiasco...

Should any hidden service (market or otherwise) be trusted right now? Would they not be open to the attacks Agora fears?


[4 Points] free-agent:

We can analyze markets all day but don't most of the issues come from shitty vendors and not shitty markets?


[5 Points] huu_hoo_huu:

OK so I have kind of had a hobby of going on various markets and look at the different features and stuff so I'll post a little summary I've got about each. Sorry for the markets I haven't visited I'm sure you're great, muchos love.

Alphabay is ugly and often slow, but it definitely has the biggest choice after Agora. Being kind of a jack-of-all-trades it's reliable and efficient if you know where you're going, but lacks when browsing to find what you want (mainly due to just how large of a selection there is (use grams)). Has an active fraud forum if you're looking at getting into that stuff. Features on grams which is nice.

Abraxas is pretty much always lightning fast, but I might have just caught it at the right times. The forum is a bit lacking but the layout is nice and the selection is nice too (the selection has grown quite a bit since Agora announced it was going dark too). Features on grams, which, again, is nice.

Middle Earth has a polarising layout as I'm sure you've seen on here. It doesn't have a very good review system that acts as a kind of anti incentive to reviewing. The vendors are pretty dedicated on middle earth though and you can easily find what you want. Features on grams which is nice.

Nucelus has had some major problems and the admins are often described as incomptent, but god damn the community on their forums is my favourite by far, but that might be because it's the only thing the admins haven't used their anti-midas touch on. If you're willing to risk a purchase (there have been reports of selective scamming by the admins) then don't go big. Features on grams which I like.

DHL I'm fairly new to, it seems like it has a good selection and will grow quickly from the DNM reddit so it will probably be good for US customers as Agora is down. The layout is alright and all, but it lacks grams integration which isn't very nice.

Outlaw market is put to shame by Alphabay in how bad it's layout is, but its security is praised to be stellar. I don't think it has a massive selection and is one of the smaller markets, but if security is your thing then outlaw market is your thing. Doesn't have grams integration.

East India Company was recently hacked and they lost some of their own bitcoins due to a bug. No users' coins were lost. Good for EU users and has a nice layout. Doesn't have grams integration.

Hopefully I've covered everything.


[1 Points] Trappy_Pandora:

By what metric would you rate markets? I prefer /r/alphabay above all, but you should assume I'm a tiny bit biased as I'm also alphabay staff.


[3 Points] None:

I've used Alphabay a couple of times and had good experiences. Nucleus has most of the vendors I like.

Middle Earth literally makes my eyes hurt.


[1 Points] xlr8888:

Ive read that a lot of vendors go to abraxas.

Created an account on middle earth to check it out, any opinions on abraxas?


[3 Points] monsda:

I'm just using grams to lookup the people I liked on Agora. Seems like most of them have accounts on Abraxas and/or Middle Earth.


[4 Points] n_l_i_s_s:

If you are not located in the US, East India Company is by far the best choice. They have the best UI of any market right now, they have 2-of-3 multisig escrow with timelock transactions and partial refunds. They have the most advanced weight and regular sorts. They group listings to reduce clutter. They have a chat, forums and excellent support. Vendors who are established get free accounts and get 2% fees which is the lowest available.


[2 Points] srthrowaway667:

It's a shame that Agora is down. I was with them since the very beginning, when nobody else really trusted them. I do hope they come back. I've had accounts on other sites for a long time too, but never bought anything. It looks better when a buyer with no purchase history has had an account for several months before the first purchase versus a brand spanking new account. The places I've tried are:

Middle Earth - seems to have the most variety of what I've seen so far. A lot of familiar vendors are on here. Bought a couple of things and I'm waiting on them. The interface is cruddy, especially the non-javascript version. I haven't tried the javascript version at all. However, it loads super fast and the mods seem nice like the Agora mods. I know that's stupid, saying they "seem" nice, but with Agora I could sorta tell the admins were decent people, versus with other sites I just got the feeling they were scumbags - Atlantis, Sheep... idk they just never felt right.

Nucleus - Everyone hates it, but I have bought twice on it before this Agora meltdown. I've used it only with vendors I know from other sites, when those sites are down. For example a while ago when agora was ALWAYS down and I needed something pronto, I just went to the same vendor on there and he came through. Today I ordered from a different vendor that I also knew from Agora. I think if it's a trusted vendor, then it's not a big issue. I always look for exactly the listing I want, then transfer almost exactly the btc I need for it. I don't feel safe leaving any money in there. I did feel safe leaving small amounts of money in my Agora wallet. Stupid, I know, but hey I'm lazy and it was only ever the leftover "change" from purchases.

Abraxas - Didn't have as much variety as Middle Earth in terms of what I was specifically looking for. Also I haven't been able to reliably connect to it easily.

That's all I've tried for now. So far, so good!


[2 Points] NoWayGringo:

I think the question you should be asking is which other markets do you think are viable given Agora is spooked? Me personally I'm going to sit back and see what happens first, I seriously doubt any of the other markets have the same level of security as Agora so until more is known about what got Agora pulling the plug I'm going to hang back a bit.


[2 Points] NOT__LE:

NucLEus I recommend ;)


[1 Points] None:

[deleted]


[1 Points] None:

[removed]


[1 Points] None:

I always liked nucleus but got spooked when a bunch of vendors got hacked i stopped using it. DHL looks promising and i use alphabay but dont trust it


[1 Points] obsidianchao:

None. I'll use markets/grams to find vendors, but with Ag being out I'm not trusting fucking anyone to keep my coins in a market wallet. Direct deals, baby.


[1 Points] saddatay:

Well, that's it. Agora just went down. Bye bye sweetheart. We love you, we'll miss you. Please be smart, travel safely, and don't do anything foolish, no matter what your friends want to do - use your head. We'll see you soon.


[0 Points] NOT__LE:

With almost over 50 markets now it makes you wonder how many of them are operated by LE.