The questions, answered plainly
The same handful of questions come up on every market, and most of them are about the difference between the transport being safe and the money being safe. These are the ones that come up most, in the order they usually come up.
Before the first visit
- How do I get to Mars Market?
Through Tor Browser, with one of the three addresses on the mirror list. A normal browser cannot resolve an onion address, so the first step is always the browser.
- Do I need a VPN as well?
Not for the market itself, because the onion layer is the tunnel. A VPN in front of Tor is a matter of taste and of what your own network exposes, and it adds a step that can fail. The market works with Tor alone.
- Is the address in my bookmarks still right?
Maybe not. The set of live addresses changes, and a bookmark from a year ago may point at an address the operator retired. The current set is on the mirror page, and a bookmark to that page is safer than a bookmark to a single address.
Logging in and the account
- Do I need an account to browse?
No. The storefront is browsable without logging in, which is why a page like this one can show the addresses safely. You only log in to buy, sell or move money.
- What if I forget my password?
The recovery phrase you saved at registration is the only way back in. The storefront cannot recover an account out of band, which is the whole reason the phrase is shown once and only once.
- Is my IP visible to the market?
Not directly. You reach the hidden service through Tor, so the market sees the exit of your circuit, not your address. The practical leak is the browser fingerprint, which is why the slider stays on Safer.
Buying
- How do I know the vendor is real?
The feedback and the shipping time on the listing. A long feedback history with a high positive rate and a shipping time that matches your region is the signal. A new vendor with a low bond is the one to read twice.
- What if the item is not what the listing said?
That is a dispute, and the escrow page walks through the window and the proof. The listing and the vendor’s feedback are the evidence that survive it, which is why reading them before you buy is the whole game.
- How long does shipping take?
It is on the listing, and it varies by vendor and by region. A vendor that ships to your country in a week is a different bet than one that quotes three weeks, and the number is the one to weigh against the price.
Money and leaving
- How do I get my coins back out?
Withdraw from the wallet menu to an external address. Most leave within the hour, at the network fee the coin charges. The payments page has the confirmation counts by coin.
- Should I leave a balance on the site?
Only as long as you need to. A balance that sits is subject to whatever happens to the market, and the exit page is the honest account of what that means.
- Is the market going to shut down?
Nobody knows, and the ones who are certain are usually selling something. The signs to watch are on the exit page, and they are the same for every market of this kind.