We just love strolling the Dark web, especially Darknet Markets considering how they make up for the most of it. The items and products listed are in most cases unbelievable. Elite Market is one such marketplace which we will be discussing in this Elite Market review.
Note that we do not promote trading or getting involved in any Darknet market activity. We simply like to “browse” and that’s all. Trading is strictly illegal and you should refrain from it.
Anyway, the features which make or break a marketplace and its future are all one and the same. Those same features are what we’ll be discussing in this Elite Market review.
Elite Market Overview
Elite Market may not be as old as some other marketplaces in the industry, however the features do not seem to show a lack of experience.
Here’s everything that the marketplace consists of:
- Primary URL: elite6c3wh756biv7v2fyhnoitizvl2gmoisq7xgmp2b2c5ryicottyd.onion
- Registration: Required for purchases.
- Security: 2-FA/ Login phrase/ 6-digit PIN / Mnemonic Code / PGP / Escrow.
- Vendor Bond: USD $150.00
- Currency: Bitcoin only.
- Products: 1296
Let me add, I’ve totally seen marketplaces with a lot more time and yet not half as good features.
Elite Market User-Interface
Let’s say you’ve never been on a DNM (Darknet Market). Would you be able to use Elite Market with ease? That’s what this section is all about.
So as soon as you land on the site, here’s what you’re greeted with-
The best part about the market is that it can be accessed without registrations. All the available products and the entire website is available without doing anything else.
The top-bar slightly differs from other marketplaces, but is in no way harder and still completely easy to understand.
Product-tabs offer a number of details about themselves. Which include price, payment type, reviews and everything else which makes choosing or rejecting products easier.
Clicking on the products takes you to the order-page. Simply clicking on “Buy now” and proceeding with the transaction as on any other marketplace is all that’s required to make a purchase.
In a nutshell, basic internet knowledge is all that’s required to access and use Elite Market.
Available Products
Being a Darknet Market, it obviously would sell what your local retailers won’t, or can’t. But even then there are (and should be) restrictions.
Let’s see how well it compares to the other marketplaces in the industry then? As of today it has exactly 1296 products and this number is growing at an exponential rate.
(% based chart of all available products).
The available products are in the following categories – Drug, Fraud, Jewels, Software, Guides & tutorials, Security & hosting, Porn or Adult Porn etc. Drugs has dominated DNMs since times immemorial, and the same holds true in this case with its 292 listings.
Then there’s “Fraud” with 222 listings followed by Guides and Tutorials with 163 listings to be exact.
All the other products have two-digit stocks quantitatively. For e.g. “Digital Goods” has 64 listings, while 24 Jewels are available. Counterfeit items have 83 products in the category, and 25 products are also listed in the “Other” category.
Chemicals too are allowed for the most part, unless they’re fatally harmful to people. As for Porn, only legal porn is allowed. Under-age nudity or even “Prostitution” isn’t allowed.
Weapons are another item not allowed on the marketplace. But then again these items are banned almost on every other marketplaces as well.
There even is an Autoshop which can be used to buy/sell cards faster. In a nutshell, the marketplace isn’t very well populated when it comes to products but does cater to basic needs.
Buyer Requests
It is the only DNM we’ve seen in our entire lifetime which allows buyers to “request products”!
It’s like a public message box and allows buyers to request anything. For e.g. you can send a request which says –“Is anyone selling Spaceships”? You totally can be a lot more specific with your requirements.
This feature in my opinion breaks all boundaries that its product-stock may otherwise have. Despite its low number of products, you can always request what you need and in most cases should find it (unless you request Spaceships, ofcourse).
Security
These marketplaces have to be pretty secure by themselves, cause there’s no cavalry coming when things go wrong.
Elite market offers the following security features for now:
- 6-Digit Pin.
- Mnemonic code.
- Login phrase.
- And 2-FA authentication.
This covers almost all the security features generally expected with one such marketplace. Starting with the 2-FA which prevents unauthorized logins. In case when the 2-FA is compromised there’s a 6-digit PIN as well.
The PIN makes sure no major financial changes can be made without the PIN even when the password and/or the 2-FA is compromised.
There’s the login-phrase which is set during registrations. This is displayed on the user’s dashboard everytime they login. It helps recognize the real marketplace and not fall prey to phishing attempts.
The Mnemonic code is slightly more rare and hence is all the more impressive. It’s a random string of words which is kind of a password. It needs to be stored exactly as it is, and then can be used to recover accounts in case access is lost. It also is required in order to change passwords or changing the PIN on Elite Market hence adding more security.
All in all, the user accounts aren’t getting lost and when they are, there are easy recovery options.
And obviously, PGP can be used for communications and availability of escrow protects both the parties from being scammed as well.
Accepted Cryptocurrencies
This is the one factor on this Elite Market review which wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be. The marketplace is limited to “Bitcoin” only.
No other form or type of Cryptocurrency is accepted. Sure, BTC is more than capable of providing an anonymous, secure and trustworthy payment structure. But then again, it has its own limitations.
If nothing else, just for the sake of “options” atleast one or two other coins would make things easier.
Vending/Selling
The marketplace allows vending/selling. The registration process for both the accounts is the same, later users need to go to the “Vendor Dashboard” from the top-bar and activate their accounts for vendor privileges.
Being a comparatively newer marketplace, it’s currently offering vendor bonds for as low as USD $150.00 in Bitcoin.
This bond unlike some other marketplaces is non-refundable. In my personal opinion, that’s desirable and would prevent potential scammers from signing up.
Furthermore, Elite Market doesn’t offer F.E (Finalized Early). This further keeps scammers at bay as they have to deliver products before getting paid.
Search-Panel
At first-glance, we thought the search-feature was really disappointing. It only looked like a text-box and nothing else. But then we found the toggle-button which brought up more search filters
The “Order By” is basically like the “sort” option. You select how you wish the results to be shown. High to low prices or vice-versa, New offers, most-viewed, featured etc.
The “type” filter lets you select if you want a physical product, digital product, auto-dispatched product or something with unlimited stock.
You also can specify the source and destination possibilities. All in all, you can not only use the filter to reach your products faster, but also source them from safer and closer locations!
Elite Market Pros and Cons
Based on our experience and this Elite Market review, here are the primary Pros & Cons of the marketplace:
Pros:
- Super easy user-interface.
- Ships everywhere, no geo-restrictions.
- Advanced search-filters.
- Autoshop
- “Buyer-Request” feature.
Cons:
- Slightly lower number of products.
Final Verdict – Elite Market Review
So far throughout this Elite Market review, we feel everything is pretty impressive except the product-stock, don’t you agree?
Especially the security features. Every single feature that DNMs generally employ for securing user accounts is available. The marketplace also has quite a few unicorns, for e.g. the product-request feature, the Autoshop etc.
It’s pretty transparent with the stats of its vendors, and also displays a “top-vendor” list which eliminates scam possibilities extensively.
Is it the best ever Darknet Market? No, not yet. But does it have all the right ingredients to be one someday? We suppose so.
Disclaimer – This Elite Market review is exclusively for educational and research purposes. Darknet Market trading is illegal. Always use a VPN in addition to Tor browser to even browse the marketplaces.
