Guides for Buyers on SamSara Market

SamSara Market is the official Dream Market replacement that launched after Dream Market shut down. These are the guidelines for SamSara Market buyers and users.

For buyers, the guidelines can probably be distilled down to three things: FINALIZE YOUR ORDERS; Be honest; and Use good judgement.

SamSara Mirrors

First you need to visit one of SamSara Market’s official mirror addresses to sign up. They can be found below.

The first rule is set in all-caps-internet-screaming type because so many buyers forget to come back and do this. If you forget to come back and click “Finalize”, then the vendor doesn’t get his money for two weeks. This is not good. If someone took the time to discreetly package illicit merchandise and get it to you through the post, then show them the common courtesy of releasing their funds on time.

“Rule Number 2”

Rule #2 presents a good time to digress for a moment. If you are new to this, whether as buyer or a seller, please consider this:

The dark-net is not a strictly anonymous network, but rather pseudonymous. People will tend to use nyms/handles over a period of time. In the end, your reputation is determined solely via your actions.
It is possible for trust to be earned between individuals who do not know each other only when both parties consistently fulfil their obligations. Because we are naturally wired to be skeptical of people we do not know, strangers have to go above and beyond to gain our trust.
The most sure way of doing that is by means of under-promising, over-delivering, and doing things on time. This helps us maintain a trusted network of pseudonymous individuals who have mutually beneficial business relationships.

On a pragmatic note, look out for the green trusted vendor symbol. This is our stamp of approval of a good, trustworthy vendor who has history on the markets. Vendors who have earned FE means they can bypass the escrow holding period. This is only given to the most trustworthy of vendors. But remember, you are taking a risk by doing this, as your funds cannot be returned if you finalize early and something goes wrong. So as rule #3 states, use your judgement.
Payment

In order to be able to make purchases you must use Bitcoins. You will see your bitcoin deposit immediately after you have send bitcoins to your Saṃsāra Market wallet address. Deposit confirmation time depends on the congestion of the blockchain network, but usually takes about 45 minutes for 3 confirmations.

Here is a good tutorial about how to use Bitcoins.

Learn PGP

To protect yourself you should prefer secure encrypted messaging with PGP. Especially when you leave your postal address you are encouraged to encrypt those informations. Saṃsāra Market supports automatic encryption of your messages.
All vendors support PGP and have specified a public PGP key on their profile. If you encrypt messages using their public key, then you can be sure that only that vendor can read your messages, thereby ensuring your post address is safe in the event your messages fall into enemy hands. Here are the usual guides on how to make use of PGP (link to clear-net archive site)

Windows: PGP Tutorial For Windows
Mac OS X: The best PGP tutorial for Mac OS X, ever
Linux: Gnu PrivacyGuard How-To

Escrow

Escrow is the most common method of making purchases on the dark-net. When you order a product using escrow, then the money is not directly transferred to the vendor after the checkout process, but it is held by the market until you confirm that the package has been received. This way you do not have to worry about being scammed by a seller and can be certain that you will get your package or (at worst) receive your money back. When you receive your package you can finalize the order on the shopping cart page by hitting the “Finalize” button. Only then is the vendor paid.

Order process

Go to your wallet page and make note of your deposit address. Send funds using whichever off-market wallet you like. When your deposit has been confirmed then you may order the products you like (assuming your balance is sufficient). Whenever the vendor sees your order he will accept it and you will be notified. You will be notified again when he or she ships.

While you have open orders which have not been finalized, then we require you to check your messages at least once every three days, in the event that the vendor has a question.

Once you have received your package, then you must finalize the order. With this step the escrow is released and the vendor is paid the funds they are owed. Please be descriptive when leaving feedback as it helps other buyers and helps maintain a high-quality market experience. You can update the feedback and rating after you have finalized. When leaving feedback for an order you should not need to give negative feedback until after you have contacted the vendor and given him or her a chance to resolve the problem.

In case of issues

If for example, you do not receive the order after an adequate time, and you have utilized escrow, then do not worry! Simply open a dispute and your funds will be returned. Please contact the vendor first before you open a dispute. Please be honest when you open a dispute. Do not dispute if you have received the package. You will find the dispute link from your order detail page, which is linked on your cart/orders page (the icon with the shopping cart).

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