What a Darknet Market Is
A darknet market is a shop that lives on the Tor network. You reach it through an onion address in the Tor Browser, you pay in cryptocurrency, and the trade settles through escrow. It is a storefront, not a mystery, and the mechanics are the same as any online shop, just with more on you to get right.
Why it runs on Tor
The market is on an onion address because the address hides both the server and the visitor. The server has no fixed, findable home, and your traffic routes through relays before it arrives. That is the protection a normal domain cannot give, and it is the reason the whole thing lives off the clearnet.
What is actually sold
The categories cover the usual ground. Substances, digital goods, services, and a smaller miscellaneous section. The region filter keeps you from seeing listings that will not ship to you, so the catalogue adapts to where you are rather than showing everything to everyone.
How a purchase settles
You deposit coins, you order, the amount moves into escrow, the vendor ships, you confirm, and the escrow releases. The platform holds the money until you confirm, which is the part that separates a market from a gamble. Everything after that is the same as any shop, just slower on the physical side.