Apologies if this is in the wrong section but its all we have access to for a few more hours.
We would like to take this opportunity to announce that The FreeMarket is being launched within 6 weeks (June 12th 2013).
Following months of planning and development we shall be launching the latest online marketplace that is 100% crypto-currency focused. Although hidden on the TOR network for privacy and anonymity reasons we are not entirely focused on the contraband market, however The FreeMarket will only restrict sales of the following items;
- Firearms.
- Chemical Weapons.
- Weapons of Mass Destruction.
- Child Pornography.
- Any item designed to cause harm to another human being.
Users have the option to "opt-out" of viewing any of the listings that are classed as contraband in many countries.
AccessibilityOur initial thought was that by providing a hidden tor service, it would immediately restrict the amount of people we could attract to the site so to address these issues we shall be releasing a modified version of the TOR Browser that automatically loads The FreeMarket upon startup. This modified browser will be shared by Torrents and the source code will be freely available for examination by everyone.
We have also started to develop "The FreeMarket" Android app that will incorporate TOR connectivity without the need of running any other third party software to make the app functional.
VendorsVendor accounts are available for a $10 refundable deposit. The deposit is refunded automatically upon the vendors feedback rating reaching 10.
Vendors have the option to peg their listing against the USD to protect against any drop in the exchange rate of BTC/LTC/PPC.
Vendors can choose which Crypto-Currencies they wish to accept for their listings.
Vendors also choose which fiat currency they wish to set the price of the item using. The buyer will see the price of the item in their chosen default currency.
Vendors can set their default refund policies and early finalization policies to save time when creating new sales listings. These can be edited for each item if required upon creation of the listing.
Vendors can offer up to 5 different shipping options and also list up to 5 shipping exclusions.
Upon receiving an order the vendor is presented with all the information about the buyer so they can make an informed decision as to whether they wish to request early finalization, accept with additional terms (Buyer will be requested to accept these terms), accept the order or reject the order.
Early finalization can be completed in a percentage and not in full, no vendor or product feedback is required to be given until the item has been shipped and the escrow balance has reached its final destination.
Vendors can also add shipping discounts and product discounts. Upon the discounts being set the buyer is refunded the difference from the escrow balance automatically.
Fees are set at 5% of the total order value completed through the escrow process.
BuyersBuyers can make informed decisions on which vendor they wish to use, all product details are included in the listings including any refund policies, early finalization policies, and product feedback from other buyers and which crypto-currencies the vendor will accept.
Buyers can cancel their order at the click of a button if they do not wish to accept additional terms set by the vendors. If a vendor requests part or full early finalization of an order, the buyer will be notified through their inbox, buyers are also notified of any discounts added by the vendor directly to their inbox with the discounted amount being refunded directly to the relevant crypto-currency balance.
FeedbackThe FreeMarket offers two separate feedback systems, one for the vendor and another for the purchased product.
All feedback ratings are a maximum of 140 characters long (just like a tweet).
Feedback does not have to be completed until the item has been shipped and the escrow balance has been finalized.
Product feedback will remain with a listing until the listing has been permanently deleted by the vendor. If a vendor becomes out of stock on a product they can deactivate the listing until they have more stock available to ensure they keep all previous product feedback.
Vendor feedback is there to provide an insight to the buyer as to what dealing with each particular vendor is like.
Feedback scores are set as +1 for positive feedback, 0 for neutral feedback and -1 for negative feedback.
EscrowAll orders are made through our onsite escrow service, the buyer can finalize the escrow balance in full or in part before the item is shipped at the request of the vendor.
Escrow disputes are something we wish to avoid to ensure both the vendor and the buyer has a great experience using The FreeMarket, however in the real world disputes do and will always happen. When a dispute occurs that cannot be settled between the buyer and the vendor, we shall follow the terms agreed to at the time of purchase, these terms are set out clearly by the vendor and displayed throughout the buying process. Buyers have the free will to decide themselves if they believe the terms offered by the vendor are to their satisfaction. If they are not, do not use the vendor. We understand that not all policies will cover every scenario and should the dispute require moderation, The FreeMarket will always be fair to both parties after reviewing each case separately.
Financial ExchangersNot everyone has the knowledge on how to use the mainstream crypto exchanges and some people like simplicity, we have a section of the marketplace dedicated to financial exchanges. All crypto-funds being promised by an exchanger or buyer will be required to be placed into escrow. The vendor/exchanger can set their additional commission at the time of the listing being made to ensure the amount of currency being offered for exchange doesn't need changing every time the crypto exchange rate changes. No percentage fees are added by The FreeMarket on completed exchanges, a $2 listing fee is the set price for each listing made by an exchanger.
Service OfferingsWe are currently developing a section of the marketplace that is solely focused on service providers and freelancers to ensure the core marketplace doesn't become full of people offering services. All service offerings have the option to use our onsite escrow service to ensure security for both the provider and the purchaser.
This section is still under active development at the time of writing and more details will be released once a final decision has been made.
GamingThe FreeMarket will include an official onsite lottery, each ticket will be sold for $1.00 (or the equivalent based on the buyers default currency). To enter the lottery you can pick 4 numbers between 1 and 35. Every Sunday we will randomly request an individual number from random members once 4 unique responses have been received, the winners will be notified and will received an equal share of the jackpot. In the result of no winners the jackpot shall roll over to the following Sunday. No commission is charged or taken from the jackpot fund in the lottery.
SupportWe have enough team members and developers to provide constant 24/7 support.
SecuritySecurity and confidence is the most important factor when it comes to sending crypto coins anywhere. That is why we have implemented several security features in the backend of The FreeMarket to ensure that if any vulnerability are discovered and exploited by someone with ill intent, damage is confined and recoverable.
We could launch the site 2 weeks earlier than planned but we wouldn't have time to test all aspects of the website and its security features. We will not launch early just to get launched for the sake of launching either early or on time without all of our testing being completed.
There is not a single wallet held on our webserver, they are all held on separate servers to ensure the highest possible level of security for everyone’s coins.
We fully understand that most websites are not perfect, so to ensure that if vulnerabilities are discovered they get reported to us, we shall be offering high bounties and a hall of fame listing to anyone that finds vulnerabilities or major bugs within our systems. These bounties are set based on the level of the vulnerability found and the potential consequences. We will have a mirror of the website with dummy data listed for people to attack at their leisure to try and discover vulnerabilities. Anyone wanting to obtain the .onion address for the testing site you can request this information through our support system on the main website.
For peace of mind we suggest that you do not keep large balances on you FreeMarket account until you have established trust of both our systems and The FreeMarket team. We understand trust and respect is not a given it is something that we must earn over time.
Auction Listings (Future)We have plans to implement further modules to The FreeMarket including an Auction marketplace, we shall only implement this feature once we have enough traffic to make it a viable option for vendors to list items on an auction basis.
ConclusionWe look forward to providing a new marketplace platform for both existing and new members of the crypto community, we are also more than happy to answer questions and receive feedback both positive and negative. If you have any suggestions as to features we should offer then please feel free to let us know.
We shall keep everyone informed of the changes to the launch date and changes to the functionality of the website.
