Image via Complex Original
Silk Road closed down exactly one month ago today in a much publicized ceasure by the FBI. It was the go-to place for illegal things on the web, and was known as the "Amazon of drugs." It functioned because it didn't work like any of the websites you're used to going to. To get to Silk Road, one had to connect through the Tor browser, which is far different than using Chrome or Internet Explorer: it's anonymous and automatically hides your IP address. (If you tried going on a Tor website using another browser, it wouldn't work.) Once someone connected to Tor, they logged on to Silk Road and bought their goods using Bitcoin, an anonymous Internet currency. A good system, until it all came crashing down. But Silk Road was just one site, and there are a few others that are trying to be Silk Road 2.0: here are The Best Alternatives to Silk Road. Oh, and don't do drugs.
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Deepbay
One of the newer markets to hit the scene since Silk Road went under, Deepbay has been on a marketing blitz in order to pick up some of Silk Road's users who might be shopping for a new place. It is still trying to add more listings, but vendors have been sending out their contact info in case some users need their product ASAP. Also, their spammy Twitter account isn't hard to miss.
Brainmagic
Not much has been advertised about Brainmagic, but its specialty is psychedelics, like LSD and DMT. Brainmagic is one of a group of other smaller sites that have sprouted up, many by former Silk Road vendors, who are looking to sell their product themselves. Many of them (because they are small) have limited choices. For example, as Brainmagic sells psychedelics, another newer Tor site will sell only marijuana.
Sheep Marketplace
Sheep Marketplace has 14 categories of goods that users can browse. One of their biggest categories is drugs, which has upwards of 850 products available, like marijuana, cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, and other psychedelics. The site also features categories such as money, logistics, sex, software, diamonds, gold, and digital goods. Who knows, you might even find your own stolen credit card numbers on there.
Craigslist
This shouldn't be a surprise, unless you've never gone exploring on Craigslist. You can find men and women soliciting themselves for money, drugs, and other illegal things for sale on the site—if you know how to look for it. Some things are plainly posted, and some others are disguised, i.e., marijuana being listed as "Mary Jane."
RAMP
RAMP, an acronym for the Russian Anonymous MarketPlace, is Russia's leading Silk Road alternative. It was founded just last year, and has about 6,000 members in its forums. Users post threads with info about their products and usually include photos to show the quality of a particular product, from marijuana to amphetamines. Hey, it's Russia. You never know what you might find in this place.
Black Market Reloaded
Black Market Reloaded was one of Silk Road's biggest competitors. It was founded in 2011, and ups the ante a little over what Silk Road offered by selling illegal drugs, but also weapons, counterfeit documents, and other contraband. It's believed to be the second most successful online black market behind Silk Road's success.
