Escrow...(Disclaimer; NEWB)

Okay so... is there any markets that I can use that won't rip me off? I am super new to this shit. Been lurking for a while. The Trade Route seemed really cool, so does Alpha Bay and Hansa. But there are a shit ton of people saying that you just deposit Bitcoins into them and them POOF they are gone. I am new to this shit and currently not a rich man. It is also very hard for me to get my hands on Bitcoins as is. I see a lot of mentions of Escrow, but perhaps everyone means something other than Escrow.com?

Are there any sites that have a non-Bitcoin option? Like any were a buyer and seller could potentially use a cash service like Escrow.com? Or is this whole bitcoin robbing bullshit not really a concern?


Comments


[5 Points] TonyPitsacotta:

/r/DarkNetMarketsNoobs


[2 Points] Sourcery_Market:

Nobody here means Escrow.com. I don't think they'd protect drug purchases. Before making a purchase, you really need to make sure you've done your homework to understand safety, opsec, and of course how things work.

When escrow is mentioned here, they are talking about the various Darknet Markets and their primary function which is to provide escrow for purchases. However, there are two main types of escrow: Multisig and Central escrow. With central escrow, you deposit coins into a market controlled wallet, you get credit for those deposits, and then do your shopping.

With multisig, you deposit coins controlled by multiple parties (usually 2 or 3). If a market is offering multisig, it will be a 2 of 3 multisig transaction. This means that it requires two of the signatures to release funds from that address. If all goes well with a purchase, the market will sign a transaction to release funds to the vendor, then the vendor will sign it and that would meet the 2 signature requirement and release funds to the vendor. If the buyer disputed and won the dispute, the market would sign a transaction directing funds back to the buyer, and the buyer would sign it which would release the funds. And the main benefit of multisig is if the market gets seized or is unavailable, the funds are not lost. With central escrow, a market can run off with your coins or if the market is seized you lose your coin. Multisig (if implemented properly) prevents the market from stealing your coins. But properly implemented multisig takes more steps to release funds than central escrow.

The main benefit of central escrow is that its easy. You send coins to market, market credits your account, you buy. Vendor ships, you finalize, and vendor makes a withdrawal from teh market to get their coin. The downside to that convenience is potential loss of coins. You really have to trust the market to be safe (not get seized) or to get greedy or hacked and take off with your coins.

Multisig properly implemented prevents the market from controlling your coins completely. If the market is seized, the coins can still be transferred to vendor (or buyer if a refund) without the market. But the price to that security is that it takes more steps to complete a multisig process. From a buyer's perspective its not a big deal (except they should validate the multisig address to ensure the right signers are on that address). But aside from that, they send coin. The workload increases a little for the vendor in these types of tranactions. But again, the vendor can rest a little easier knowing the market can't take his coin.


[1 Points] AutoModerator:

Because you are using a brand new account, your submission has been automatically hidden from public view and is awaiting moderator approval.

If this message disappears, you will know your post has been approved.

If it doesn't disappear and you are not given a reason for your submission's removal within 24 hours, you can try reposting your thread. Accounts must be at least 7 days old to post unrestricted on /r/DarkNetMarkets.

Please see this modpost for more information and make sure to read the rules of our subreddit. If you are new to this community, please check out /r/DarkNetMarketsNoobs to get started on your journey.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.


[1 Points] My_s3cr3t:

Please make sure you have read the DNM bible: https://www.reddit.com/r/darknetmarketsnoobs/wiki/bible/buyer This is to keep you safe

The escrow you hear everyone talking about is built into the markets. If ordering always choose products that have escrow, do not buy products listed as FE until you have more experience(and maybe don't do it then either).

The easiest market to use imo is Hansa. The money stays in your wallet until you actually purchase, so you never deposit money into the market account. There is a hansa sub /r/HansaDarknetMarket top post shows the purchase process