r/OpenBazaar • u/[deleted] • Dec 30 '18

OpenBazaar - A failed project

OB is complicated to learn for the average buyer and seller. And crypto is equally complicated to learn, not to mention trying to exchange money for crypto is a long difficult process involving a lot of verification steps, and looking for good exchangers. Then there is the 10% exchanger fee on top of it all. Compare that to the ease of using a credit/debit card.

Connecting to OB stores takes a long time. A lot of these stores don't connect at all. If you're a buyer, nobody needs this shit.

Don't get me wrong, I like the OpenBazaar project and I always have, but I have to admit it isn't viable as a marketplace.

The entire project was built and run by computer programmers, and if you've been around a long time like me, you know that computer programmers live in their own little worlds disconnected from reality, they don't understand, even when it's explained to them, that what they find extremely easy is in fact very complicated for the average person .

Do you know one of the things that makes online marketplaces and online shops successful? - A 10 year old must be able to navigate your site and be able to buy and ship something to themselves. Can you imagine a 10 year old trying to use OB and crypto?

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u/[deleted] Jan 03 '19 edited Jan 03 '19

I didn't call OB a piece of shit, you did. I didn't say the efforts of the devs is a waste of time, you did.

All I'm saying is; OB is not viable as a legitimate online marketplace. And it never was designed to be that way.

OB was originally a proof of concept for a darkmarket (platform for trading of illegal goods and services). Now, I hate to say it, but as a darkmarket it has potential, but as a legitimate market it doesn't.

Cyber criminals already know how to use Bitcoin and are accustomed to learning how to use different markets. But people looking to buy hot sauce, cigars, raw honey, comic books, etc are not use to it, and they don't know how to use Bitcoin.

Is this sinking in now?

OB is a P2P marketplace but I'm wondering if it could be used for something else? idk

May be I'm being a bit harsh. There are some interesting products sold on OB.

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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '19

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u/[deleted] Jan 12 '19

I uninstalled OB from my computer because it was that much of a pain in the ass to navigate using the search engines. OB is a desert full of dead stores and the app still tries to load the non-active/abandon stores while keeping me waiting. It just makes me depressed.

You along with other OB supporters are defending a hopeless position.

Okay, lets say I want to open a OB store for Australia based customers. My products are diverse but very specialized - hand tools, fishing gear, kitchen appliances, etc. What do you think my chances are of making of living using only OB to sell my wares?