In anonymous marketplaces, reputation is currency. Without legal recourse or identity verification, buyer and vendor feedback systems become the primary mechanism for establishing trust. These systems have evolved to become sophisticated trust networks.
Reputation Fundamentals
Why Reputation Works
- Repeated interactions: Same pseudonym across many transactions
- Costly to build: Takes time and successful sales
- Easy to lose: One scam destroys years of reputation
- Publicly visible: All users can see feedback history
Game Theory
Reputation creates an incentive structure where short-term scams are less profitable than long-term honest trading—at least until the vendor decides to "cash out" via exit scam.
System Components
Typical Vendor Profile Elements
- Rating Score: 4.9/5.0 (aggregate)
- Transaction Count: 2,847 completed sales
- Member Since: January 2019
- Trust Level: Level 4 (Established)
- Positive Rate: 98.7%
- Dispute Rate: 0.8%
- Response Time: < 2 hours
- PGP Key: Verified ✓
Rating Components
| Category | What It Measures |
|---|---|
| Product Quality | Does product match description? |
| Stealth | Packaging security and creativity |
| Shipping Speed | Time from payment to delivery |
| Communication | Responsiveness and helpfulness |
| Overall | General satisfaction |
Trust Level Systems
Many markets implement tiered vendor levels:
LEVEL 1 - New Vendor
Requirements: Paid bond
Restrictions: Low listing limits
LEVEL 2 - Established
Requirements: 50+ sales, 90%+ positive
Benefits: Higher limits, featured eligible
LEVEL 3 - Trusted
Requirements: 200+ sales, 95%+ positive
Benefits: Lower fees, priority support
LEVEL 4 - Elite
Requirements: 500+ sales, 97%+ positive
Benefits: May request FE, lowest fees
Gaming the System
Common Manipulation Tactics
Shill Reviews
Fake accounts leaving positive feedback for themselves.
Review Buying
Paying for fake positive reviews or offering discounts.
Reputation Hijacking
Compromising established vendor accounts.
Negative Review Threats
Buyers extorting vendors with negative review threats.
Countermeasures
- Purchase verification: Only buyers with confirmed orders can review
- Sybil detection: Identifying patterns of fake accounts
- Review weighting: Recent reviews weighted more heavily
- Dispute history: Factoring disputes into ratings
Reputation Portability
When markets close, vendors lose their reputation. Solutions have emerged:
Cross-Market Verification
- PGP key continuity: Same key across markets proves identity
- Dread/Forum verification: Vendors maintain presence on forums
- Signed statements: PGP-signed announcements of market moves
- Third-party verification: Services that verify vendor identity
The Dread Effect
Forums like Dread serve as reputation archives. Vendors maintain profiles there as a "home base" independent of any single market. When markets close, their forum reputation persists.
Buyer Reputation
Some markets also track buyer reputation:
- Number of completed purchases
- Dispute rate as buyer
- FE eligibility (trusted buyers)
- Vendor feedback on buyers
High-reputation buyers may get faster shipping, better communication, or priority processing.
Academic Findings
Studies have found that darknet market reputation systems function similarly to legitimate e-commerce platforms. Reputation strongly predicts vendor reliability, and users rationally discount new/low-reputation vendors through lower prices and smaller orders.