Source
r/DarkNetMarkets•
sapiophile

An end to exit scams: Could markets with very high vendor bonds be a realistic option?

NSFW

So clearly, exit scams and selective scams are still a really big problem.

One thought that I've been playing with lately is the idea of a "Premium" market that charges a very high vendor bond (perhaps 20 BTC or even more) in order to combat this. Of course, the market would have to be run by trusted operators, or very few vendors would take the plunge - perhaps it could be a second category of vendors on an existing, popular market like Agora or Evolution. Or, a new market could start with no or low vendor bond, then slowly increase the bond amount up to a high level (say, 0 BTC the first week, then 1 BTC the next week, 2 the week after, and so on up to 20+), allowing some vendors to get in early for less, but still cost quite a bit if they wish to "re-invent" themselves later after a scam.

There would definitely be fewer vendors, but they would be big players, with strong reputations - and strong incentive to preserve them. Perhaps it would be like eBay's "Top Rated Seller" designation or similar.

Buyers could purchase from these high-bond vendors with confidence, and vendors who engaged in the program would probably get a lot more sales.

So, what are the reasons why this wouldn't work? Should we start thinking about increasing the vendor bond on some or all the markets, or creating some exclusive, new markets with a very high bond?

Posted Mar 2, 2015, 1:18 AM UTC · edited

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[deleted]

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theseeker01•

Yeah fuck higher bonds. Imagine paying 2x the price of a oxy and still getting a fent fake press?

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

-1
theseeker01•

Someone one here literally got leafs like as in raked from a yard instead of weed.

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UDNM•

no they didn't, they got trim instead of shake and it was rectified.

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GrandWizardsLair•

No, somebody here got a bag of shake and trim that was heavy on the trim. TorCollective then sent a more satisfactory bag after his complaint.

This is the kind of bullshit that makes this subreddit worthless. The Grand Wizard was hoping that after the "PFM SENT COPS TO MY HOUSE!!!" debacle people would be more careful about repeating unfounded rumors. But it looks like we're still going to be flooded with useless crap from the "Burn your house/Never FE/SAND SAND SAND!!!" crowd.

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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dnmreview666•

Exit scams can make 40k+ Sooo....

5
GrandWizardsLair•

Only a fairly big operation could afford a 20+btc vendor bond. And before they ponied up that kind of money they would want some assurance they would be earning it back bar FBI operation or emergency. This means that a market with 20+btc vendor bonds would need a lot of customers on hand -- otherwise we're paying $5k+ to vend on an empty marketplace. And to get lots of customers we need lots of vendors, not just a few of the big guys you find on every market. Which means this new high-bond market would have problems attracting customers. Which would lead to problems attracting vendors. (Look up "vicious circle").

tl/dr; good idea, probably impossible to execute.

5
pinkprincess1•

If I were a vendor id be extremely concerned at the prospect of having that much of a bond tied up in a market that could either vanish or be seized at any given time.

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MLP_is_my_OPSEC•

...or people could just avoid FE-only listings, and do their research before buying.

4
blabberdoodle•

FE should be a choice, not a requirement.

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Trance_Forming•

Nono... That's a lot of work dude.

Edit: /s

1
Vendor_BBMC•

I had to sell my car for the Silk Road vendor bond. 5 weeks later the FBI had it and I paid another to sheepMarketplace. Then to SR2. Then to Agora.

I like to see vendor bonds high, although I don't pay vendor bonds now myself.

I assume their must be an American Tor Vendor's Association which negotiates with new marketplaces on behalf of vendors like..er..all those great, professional and prompt darknet vendors you have.

If I had to pay 20BTC, I'd have to pull an exit scam to afford it.

Did you know that most scammers long for respectibility, and have one identity that they intend to run legitimately, financed by the scams.

Really, they're only fooling themselves. If they've done it once they will do it again.

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FagDamager•

Aren't you from the UK?

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sobulbous•

This would just put the exit scam leverage in the hands of the market admins rather than vendors. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. 20 BTC is way too high but some kind of premium tier around 5 BTC for FE privileges and a way to make sure that bond covers outstanding orders could work.

I know vendors are worried about markets going down and don't want to put enormous trust in admins but when they complain about putting up a few hundred that they should be able to make back fairly quickly... it makes them look less than professional.

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sapiophileOP•

Really good input, thanks. The idea of a higher bond for FE privileges is a good one, in my opinion.

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noobiedazeh•

I'd like a market dedicated to wholesalers that's invite only.

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clairvoyance1•

There are I'm sure

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noobiedazeh•

Well I wish I knew where those were. Something just happened to my private wholesaler last month and they've been completely out if contact.

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clairvoyance1•

If it was easier to find, more risk for everyone involved.

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noobiedazeh•

Oh I know about that. I just have no more time to dig like I did 7 years ago. Cheers

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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Alejer•

It's not just that simple you know. Agora is still building on their security and it has been around for a while. I don't think any vendors would trust a new dnm site with their bitcoins like that.

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sapiophileOP•

Many already do, on a regular basis, just with what's held in escrow.

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UDNM•

I don't see how the trust issue could be overcome...

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