Topic: OpenBazaar - decentralized eBay - page 3. (Read 41770 times)

when we will have the upcoming release?

but that implies trust which is what we are trying to remove.

I guess in #3 you have a rep system to combat trust, so either way designs are identical #4 and #3 however #3 is just so much easier on the technical side and does not involve third parties.

In this design you have to have a rep system for escrow and you have to have third parties.

Use a trustworthy escrow if you want to trade with a stranger.

Agents can collude with one of the parties to do the same thing

Unfortunately thats true, and there is no way to prevent it...

Escrow agents can't run off with the bitcoins. The transaction will have a multi-sig transfer. The escrow agent only determines if the money goes back to the buyer or on to the seller.

There will be scammers everywhere unfortunately. Even the top marketplaces like ebay and amazon cannot get rid of scammers.

^ We'll all see once it rolls out.  This is one big 'experiment' at this stage.  Just because there's this possibility of people scamming people doesn't mean it's not an endeavor worth going for.  I think this is a big step forward for humanity.  We are in a middle of another tech revolution.  See how the big banks of the establishment fear it?

It's cool that there will be another marketplace on the market. I wonder if there will be less scammers than this forum.

Well is very interesting to know how they will handle the question of trust even with a system reputation that some escrow can make a scammer can get in do all deals at begining and scam anytime.

Its a subtle issue but one that is more complicated than you may think. A trustless escrow has its own issues with incentives, for example

1) requiring a buyer to double down and hold coins in escrow until offer goes through and seller accepts/buyer recieves means seller doesn't have to send item, can scam users (especially if he can create new addresses/names/identities to sell on a decentralized marketplace).
2) requiring seller to double down has problems with bad buyers claiming they didnt recieve when they did
3) requiring seller and buyer to double down is ok, but merchants will hate having to hold coins in hostage for process to complete... and what happens with shipping parcel is lost for real? This is where an escrow agent can help to determine best course of action, although if the seller can prove to the buyer that it was lost then the buyer can request a refund and seller can agree and all coins go back to original sources
4) an escrow agent can handle the situation but ofcourse you must trust escrow agent doesnt run off, although he has incentive to not do so to build up his reputation.

A reputation system can arise from the seller/buyer handshake's which might make #3 the best choice over #4, although there is no wrong answer. With #4 you dont have people holding coins in escrow so merchant adoption will be better, but buyer adoption will be lacking cause of complications with dealing with an escrow agent that  buyer probably pays for. #3 is free to use, no escrow fees so its the cheapest solution and is trustless so I choose #3 and what I am going to implement in Syscoin's next release on ethereum.

There is no limit on the number of escrow services. They are as decentralized as the shops.

Decentralized eBay, centralized escrow?

What's the point? Am I missing something, but you may as well use an exchange if you will have centralized escrows.

I do not see any wrong in seeking for escrow. It protects buyers. As you mentioned when more people offers escrow service then we can find a cheaper escrow. Many people hate here escrow. I do not understand why. Bitcoin will grow even with escrow. No need to hate it.

The OpenBazaar platform does not have fees and you will not be required to pay any fees but for the escrow service there will be a fee and most people will likely opt for the escrow service.

The developers are planning on offering an escrow service.

So there will be fees, just not as much as eBay and PayPal. And there will be competition for providing that service which will drive the price down.

Developers need to eat the same as the rest of us, and the core developers say they have received funding from somewhere. They go on to say they have formed a company. IMO that could be a weak point that could be attacked. If a government wants to shut OpenBazaar down they can sue the dev's company, or put pressure on it some other way. It won't last long without developers who are prepared and able to keep fixing problems as they crop up.


https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenBazaar/comments/3cko74/update_openbazaar_developer_efforts_are_focused/

I don't get it, so OpenBazaar will get no fees? Then where does the guy that runs the business get any profit from? from advertisement somehow? There must be a way in which they are making profit to bother enough to develop this thing imo.

Yep. As I've said, in order for these businesses to prosper, people should support and use the platform. No fees in shopping is a big plus, knowing that you could further adjust your budget without worrying on paying some extra fees.

I'm pretty sure a decentralized marketplace with no fees and no restrictions will work big time. Hopefully you will at least give it a try 

It will, only if people support it. One of the main reasons why a bitcoin business shuts down is because of people not supporting the project/business. With that said, businesses like this will prosper and continue if more and more people who have bitcoins spend theirs on such a platform.