The problem:
- markets spring up seemingly out of nowhere.
- usually run by mediocre programmers.
- front-end intentions are usually different than back-end actions.
- most of these markets either scam their userbase, shut down, are sabotaged by LE, or any horrible combination of the three.
The proposed solution:
- migrate to marketplaces that use multisig/p2p escrow.
- stop leaving money in on-site wallets(!!!)
- understand and appreciate the i2p network as a legitimate and useful alternative to the TOR network.
- utilize PGP data encryption software at all times.
- (optional) hold an email address hosted on a privacy-conscious, encrypted email service (such as safe-mail or riseup) so that others may contact you alternatively if needed.
I've been watching these markets rise and fall since the demise of the original Silk Road.
Doesn't it make sense that anyone with half an idea of how to code a darknet marketplace would want to? Knowing that gullible people will deposit lots and lots of bitcoins into their site wallets. These admins know they can pull the plug at any time and steal everyone's money; at the end of the day it comes down to weighing the risk vs. reward of keeping the market afloat for the long term, or making an excuse that the market was hacked or just bluntly shutting it down. The former is true for sites such as BMR and SR, while the latter is true for almost every other semi-popular market.
The fact that so many of these blatant scams and ripoffs are taking place is based on one word that unfortunately defines a lot of the actions in this community.
This word is trust.
- You trust a vendor that he will send you your product when you finalize early.
- You trust a marketplace to not run away with your coins when you fund your web wallet and/or place an order on their site.
- You trust that sending your delivery address unencrypted will be safe because you're using the TOR network.
Let's see what usually happens here...
- Countless vendors have asked for FE and scammed potential buyers.
- Countless users have been scammed and had their money stolen (recall Sheep Marketplace, etc.)
- I have no concrete stories to pull but this is generally a very unsafe action to practice. Encryption is your friend.
After all these things have taken place, I think we're at the point to where the community knows where we are headed.
It's just a matter of time for vendors and customers who have already done business in the past to utilize what they have available to them (PGP, sites such as The Marketplace in which transactions are not based on trust, etc.)
This is not an endorsement of The Marketplace. However, as far as I have seen, they have made the most improvements in terms of trustless transactions and escrow compared to other markets.
TL;DR: Stop using shitty marketplaces that pop up out of nowhere and want your business, promising a "secure" market and "caring" admins. It's a waste of time and you usually end up getting scammed or having your money stolen. If big vendors moved over to The Marketplace, customers would follow. Also, if these users learned multisignature/p2p escrow and PGP'd everything they sent, the likelihood of being scammed would fall dramatically.
Real TL;DR: Stop blindly trusting new marketplaces. Please.
edit: bold and italics
what is p2p escrow? i mean how does it works? for example at the marketplace