Businessmen hoping to hook holiday shoppers are offering what they say are deep discounts on illegal goods, continuing a new tradition of Black Friday blowouts on the black market.

The current constellation of so-called darknet markets -- an ever-evolving cast of successor sites to pioneering drug bazaar Silk Road, which was taken offline in 2013 -- features vendors eager to take frenzied shopping to the bank.

“Why wait for Black Friday or Cyber Monday? We wanted to GIVE THANKS to the community by gifting our GRAMS, TEENERS and 8 BALLS of Cocaine and Crystal Meth for 20 [percent] off,” vendor aeirla writes on the AlphaBay Market, offering 3.5 grams of cocaine for $240 and the same amount of methamphetamine for $120.

GoddessOfGanja, another vendor on AlphaBay Market, is promoting a variety of marijuana and pharmaceutical deals, from morphine pills to 2-gram cannabis samples -- some of which are cross-listed on the smaller Python Market.

The holiday season's high-intensity sales pitches have taken hold across the deep web, with offers of free shipping and warnings of expiration dates on limited time offers.

“Keep in mind these deals will NOT last, This goes away the DAY AFTER BLACK FRIDAY,” writes vendor AddyOrZubsolv, who is hawking the prescription stimulant Adderall and marijuana on the Crypto Market.



“You are basically getting 5 pills for free with every order! Get them while they last!”

AddyOrZubsolv's supposedly stupendous deals -- such as 20 30-milligram Adderall pills for $300 -- however, are unlikely to attract people who can save money using their health insurance or appealing to open-handed classmates diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder.

Darknet markets, in theory, offer a reliable shopping experience for customers who can read product reviews and eliminate many risks of buying drugs on the street. Sales are made in bitcoin and the markets are accessible only through the anonymous Tor browser. Purchases are shipped using ordinary delivery services.

But risks remain and transaction participants occasionally are arrested. Market operators and dealers, too, periodically victimize patrons by closing shop and stealing payments or -- as recently alleged on a sub-reddit frequented by darknet market community members -- selling heroin laced with deadly fentanyl. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Some of the Black Friday offerings appearing this week on the markets are unlikely to spook the general public. On AlphaBay, for example, a vendor is selling boxes of 25 Cuban cigars -- with a purported market value of $500 -- for $200.

But other darknet vendors undoubtedly need a reason-for-the-season talk, such as a grinch selling stolen credit card information under the name t1t2shop2 on AlphaBay.

“BE READY FOR BLACK FRIDAY AND CHRISTMAS SHOPPING !!” they write. “THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO SWIPE AND MAKE $$.”

Vendor Drkillahh, too, is offering with a 50 percent discount stolen credit card information “fresh right from [a] local European store.”

Though honesty clearly is not its strong suit, Drkillahh also advertises sets of three marijuana brownies for a special price of $25, promising they're "the perfect solution for when the stresses of life have you feeling sour."

Darknet markets come and go, but Carnegie Mellon University researchers estimated earlier this year they overall have relatively stable sales of $300,000-$500,000 a day, with users simply shifting platforms when individual markets are seized or voluntarily shut down.