\[Offering\] Four Point Escrow

[zerodrama]

We have a problem:

In order for sellers to get purchases they have to have generic products everybody wants. That’s why ebay is mostly a seller oriented business. The reverse is an uphill battle. No seller is likely to have exactly what an individual wants. Having a want section simply does not work without forming groups of people. Ebay does that with its groups section, which it does not advertise. That would be nice, but it would also fragment the community here. The forum subgroup concept does not work well for visibility.

So let’s hack this chinese finger trap.

I am offering escrow service, but in a unique way:

1. Both sides pay a portion of the fee
2. I take into account the risk of the trade and the risky side pays a larger amount of the total fee

So far this is still a three point interaction. Let’s make it four.

3. It makes more sense to use less risky currencies and by the same token it makes more sense to sell common items over less common ones, so I will offer escrow rates that encourage use of more reliable (such as not under DDoS/51% attack) coins.
4. Based on market price movements and successful sales, I will purchase items from the marketplace or put coins in reserve to keep things moving smoothly.

The truth about the marketplace is that on any site, not just ours, is it will need a minimum of activity to find its rhythm. The marketplace needs to be run like a store that actually sells items. It’s not going to take off if it is just a pretty flea market. It needs people willing to research what items actually sell on other sites.

I have a few other ideas. With this approach, I’m willing to take some risks to allow faster exchanges.