Why are drug dealers so serious about customer service on the web, when they are so bad at it offline? The reason is that a Dark Web marketplace such as the Silk Road or Evolution is much more like a conventional market than a network economy. Sellers advertise their products openly, and buyers are free to compare the full range of prices being offered. Buyers and sellers alike can trade with everyone else in the market, rather than just with the people they know. This means that the need for a “network” vanishes—which in turn means that there is no longer much of an incumbent advantage.
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