Two Ways OpenBazaar is Safer and Fairer with BlockStamp
A couple of weeks ago, we announced the launch of the BlockStamp’s No-Cuts OpenBazaar Listing Explorer (NOBLE). Moving forward, we will be continuing to improve its UX and make it more useful in general.
The primary reason we launched this app is to offer a full, uncensored view of all the listings in the OpenBazzar marketplace.
But it also offers a list ranking optimization feature. Obviously sellers will be the main users here.
But there are two more factors involved here that benefit everyone — both buyers and sellers — in this marketplace.
First, the BlockStamp NOBLE app’s rank optimization feature offers a great way for sellers to establish credibility with potential buyers.
It doesn’t cost anything to list a product or service for sale on OpenBazzar.
- That’s good because it means the market is truly free. There is no middleman taking listing fees or cutting into seller’s margins somehow.
- But it also makes it easy for scammers to post fake listings. All they need to do is punch in a few details about a product or service that they have no intention of providing. And then wait for some sucker to send their money.
Ideally, a vendor would have a way to show that they have “skin in the game.” And now they have it!
By burning a few BST to promote their product in the BlockStamp listing explorer, vendors can demonstrate that they take their listing seriously — and that buyers should as well.
Obviously this isn’t foolproof. A scammer could theoretically burn some BST on a fake listing.
But that isn’t economically rational — and anyway scammers tend not to think that way. They love easy money and hate upfront costs, no matter how small.
Second, we are actively supporting the OpenBazaar “Verified Moderator” concept to complement ranking optimization.
You can read more about OpenBazaar Verified Moderators here.
Generally speaking, this system allows buyers and sellers to make moderated purchases that can be reviewed — in case of any disputes — by a moderator that OpenBazaar has officially recognized as such. These moderators manage escrow accounts from which funds are disbursed
The OpenBazaar team takes a fairly liberal view of what someone needs to do to be verified. Essentially, a moderator needs to have clearly documented service policies.
Then the market will decide on which moderators’ policies are the best ones. Buyers and sellers are free to choose which Verified Moderators’ services they use!
So here’s what we’re doing:
- We will be directly offering our services as an OpenBazaar Verified Moderator. See our OpenBazaar profile here.
- We have prepared some arbitration policies that we hope will inspire other moderators to borrow, adapt, or build on as they see fit. We will be posting the details soon. In brief, there are two levels of arbitration. Level 1 involves minimal moderator involvement (this is the ideal scenario) and fees. Level 2 involves more moderator involvement and significant fees to make sure all parties take the matter seriously — and encourage buyers and sellers to stay at Level 1 :)
All of that means that if you’re interested in an OpenBazaar listing that
- the vendor has burned BST to promote in the BlockStamp OpenBazaar Listing Explorer and
- is moderated by BlockStamp or another moderator with solid arbitration policies,
then you can be quite confident that it is legitimate and you can safely proceed with your purchase!
Stay tuned for more details and a breakdown of best practices for buyers and sellers using the BlockStamp OpenBazaar Listing Explorer.
Make sure you’re part of the BlockStamp social community and feel free to ask any questions there!
About BlockStamp:
BlockStamp is a Bitcoin blockchain fork hosting an ecosystem of fair play apps, including a true-odds multiplayer crypto gambling platform, a decentralized marketplace listing optimizer, and a private messenger with sword-in-the-stone encryption (launching soon).
