History Main / BlackMarket

* In the second and the third game of ''VideoGame/{{Richman}}'' series, cards are sold in places called black markets while items are sold in item shops. That said, the black market and the shopkeeper look pretty normal, and so are their prices - they are all in reasonable amounts of coupons like items do.

** Mexico has similar markets, especially in the cities on the border with the United States. For twenty pesos (about $2 USD), one can buy a DVD of a movie that's still in theaters, a soap opera, concerts taped from Mexican television, you name it. In some cases, these movies have the "in theater experience" built into the movie - that is, they were taped in the actual theater, and you can occasionally see the outline of the chairs and people walking to/from their seats in the bootleg copy of the movie.

-->--''Literature/CitizenOfTheGalaxy''

* In ''Anime/{{Monster}}'', Johan runs one of these.

** In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Random Thoughts", an ostensibly peaceful telepathic race has a black market in violent thoughts. The Crisis of the Week occurs when [[HairTriggerTemper B'Elanna Torres has a violent thought]] illicitly stolen, which leads to a murder for which B'Elanna is held [[ThoughtCrime legally responsible]].

'''Opening narrator:''' '' I really got to know it in the classic period of the black market. We'd run anything if people wanted it enough and had the money to pay. Of course a situation like that does tempt amateurs.\\

* ''LetsPlay/EmpiresSMP'' Season 2: There exists one that's accessible under Chromia's outpost on the Greatbridge, dedicated to selling misellaneous goods and contraband items, including and not limited to custom hats[[note]]Which are ''technically'' not banned, but it's against the Sheriff's law to steal or wear another player's hat, a law which is mostly ignored as most players are fine with others trying on their hats with their consent[[/note]], Sheriff toys (in Joel's case)[[note]]Which were banned for showing "disrespect" to the Sheriff[[/note]], and various treasures that Scott has robbed from the items' rightful owners.

* The people of Ceres slums largely survive in ''LightNovel/AiNoKusabi'' by relying on goods from the Black market. Unbeknownst to them save a key few, it is actually run by [[spoiler:Iason, the top ruling Blondy]].

* Many of the worlds of ''Franchise/StarWars'', in both ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]'' and [[Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse canon]] have a fairly extensive black market. In fact, in the short story "The Perfect Weapon," readers learn that the bounty hunter Bazine Netal was taught by her master that ''every'' planet with sentient beings had a black market on it, if one knew where to look.

A subcategory of Black Market are the underground channels for buying goods and services in prisons. The items on the prison black market might be everyday items that are easily available in the outside world, but in jail, they are contraband that'll get you thrown in solitary if you're caught with them.
Items that are legal outside jail but contraband inside include cell phones, cigarettes and liquor. Illegal items are sold too, such as drugs.[[note]]Necessity is the motherof invention, and when it comes to prison smuggling, there is an impressive repertoireof techniques. Accomplices outside the jail put contraband in tennis balls and throw them in, hide them inside gifts, and even fly small items in with drones.[[/note]]

This is often the case in fiction as well, but sometimes you will encounter a ''literal'' Black Market, a [[WelcomeToEvilMart covert shopping emporium]] complete with merchants hawking their dubious wares from established stalls. This latter type is often a subset of the BazaarOfTheBizarre, with ''everything'' for sale and the outright illegal stuff lurking around the edges. The black market goods may be offered in a [[SecretShop private, invitation-only section]] of a [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub innocuous-seeming front business]], which looks normal except for the 6'4" {{Bouncer}} at the door.

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

[[folder:FanWorks]]

-->'''Opening narrator:''' ''I never knew the old Vienna before the war with its Strauss music, its glamour and easy charm. Constantinople suited me better.''
-->[Scenes of black market goods changing hands]
-->'''Opening narrator:''' '' I really got to know it in the classic period of the black market. We'd run anything if people wanted it enough and had the money to pay. Of course a situation like that does tempt amateurs.''
-->[Dead body seen floating in the river]
-->'''Opening narrator:''' '' But, well, you know, they can't stay the course [[FriendInTheBlackMarket like a professional.]]''

* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', District 12 has the Hob, which operates out of an abandoned coal warehouse. [[spoiler: Until it goes up in flames]].

* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': It's implied that Motsuc's Customization shop is part of a black market and that he is the one who sold a [[spoiler: [[SlaveCollar prison runed maid outfit]] to Tahart Ligo.]]
-->'''Basilard''': ''"Team, let's go before I get an urge to ask Motsuc where he got these items.”''
-->'''Motsuc''': ''“I assure you I run a legitimate business!”''

--->'''G'Kar''': The money to buy these weapons comes from the life savings of those Narn who were able to escape the Centauri occupation. It is a limited resource, purchased with blood. If it should be squandered, or stolen, be assured that while your body might one day be found, it could never be identified from what's left.

* ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'' has a Black Market level, which features one of every kind of shop (but not automatically every type of item in the game) plus one very expensive unique item, the [[spoiler: ankh, which acts as an extra life and helps gain access to the City of Gold.]]
* In ''Videogame/StarTradersFrontiers'', the Black Market, which you gain access to from various Contacts, such as [[VenturousSmuggler Smugglers]] or [[ArmsDealer Weapons Dealers]], provides an excellent means of selling illegal goods, especially [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum Xeno Artifacts]]. Furthermore, it can be used to bypass the [[AllianceMeter Rep]] penalities from trading into a Trade War or Trade Ban.

* In ''Webcomic/ChampionsOfFaraus'', Skye and Rom go looking for the [[MagiciansAreWizards Stage Thief]] at a literal market a fair distance away from the city of Vickerton. Skye points out the sign outside the market, reading “You can’t prove anything” is the opposite of inconspicuous, while Rom points out that at the very least, they ''[[ExactWords aren’t]]'' advertising “stolen stuff for sale”.

--> '''Janel:''' "I want to know how you resell stolen bull semen... is there a bull semen black market?"
--> '''Jessica:''' "I don't know how you fence bull semen."
--> '''Janel:''' "Somebody's like, you know, I could get these cows knocked up legitimately, or we could hit the black market."

[[folder: Western Animation]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* Related to black markets, a grey market is the legal trade of goods outside distribution channels that are authorized by the owner or trademark owner. These typically consist of trade in goods where a party buys a product in one region where there is a price or design advantage. The party sells the goods in another country below the cost of an equivalent product, but still at enough of a markup to make a profit off the sale of the goods.

-->'''G'Kar''': The money to buy these weapons comes from the life savings of those Narn who were able to escape the Centauri occupation. It is a limited resource, purchased with blood. If it should be squandered, or stolen, be assured that while your body might one day be found, it could never be identified from what's left.

* ''Series/BabylonFive'': A substantial black market exists on the station dealing in a variety of items, despite the efforts of station security to stamp them out. During the Earth Alliance Civil War Captain Sheridan and Commander Ivanova turn to the black market to help bring in needed supplies by providing smugglers with upgrades for their ships along with pardons for relatively minor crimes they were being sought for.

** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'': The Ferengi bar owner Quark ran the black market on [[=DS9=]], then known as ''Terok Nor'', during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. The Bajoran Ibudan ran black market medical supplies through the station during the occupation. After the Cardassians left Quark was still involved with black market activities.

* Franchise/StarTrek: Various black markets appear throughout the franchise.

* Likewise in the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Random Thoughts", an ostensibly peaceful telepathic race has a black market in violent thoughts. The Crisis of the Week occurs when [[HairTriggerTemper B'Elanna Torres has a violent thought]] illicitly stolen, which leads to a murder for which B'Elanna is held [[ThoughtCrime legally responsible]].

In RealLife, the term is generally used to describe the encompassing gestalt: a collection of individuals and covert operations which can be spread across a wide geographic range, dealing in goods which may be entirely illegal (such as hard drugs, military weapons, human organs, human trafficking), or legal but regulated (such as prescription drugs and rationed goods, such as [[BlackMarketProduce meat in WWII Britain]]), legal but people want to evade taxes (cigarettes) or entirely legal but acquired illicitly (such as stolen goods or goods that FellOffTheBackOfATruck). As well, illicit services are available, ranging from [[TheOldestProfession prostitution]] to off-the-books plastic surgery.

The archetypal example probably being the vast array of illicit transactions which occurred in [[UsefulNotes/TheHomeFront Great Britain during World War II]]; in that particular case, it was rationed food, clothing, textiles, cigarettes, gasoline, nylons, and real and forged ration books which were being bought and sold.

In RealLife, the term is generally used to describe the encompassing gestalt: a collection of individuals and covert operations which can be spread across a wide geographic range, dealing in goods which may be entirely illegal (such as hard drugs, military weapons, human organs, human trafficking), or legal but regulated (such as prescription drugs and rationed goods), legal but people want to evade taxes (cigarettes) or entirely legal but acquired illicitly (such as stolen goods or goods that FellOffTheBackOfATruck). As well, illicit services are available, ranging from [[TheOldestProfession prostitution]] to off-the-books plastic surgery.

This is often the case in fiction as well, but sometimes you will encounter a ''literal'' Black Market, a [[WelcomeToEvilMart covert shopping emporium]] complete with merchants hawking their dubious wares from established stalls. This latter type is often a subset of the BazaarOfTheBizarre, with ''everything'' for sale and the outright illegal stuff lurking around the edges. The black market goods may be offered in a private, invitation-only section of a [[LegitimateBusinessmensSocialClub innocuous-seeming front business]], which looks normal except for the 6'4" {{Bouncer}} at the door.

HonestJohn, TheScrounger, TheRat, and obviously the FriendInTheBlackMarket will often be found thriving in this environment (and possibly an undercover
cop doing TheInfiltration), but they'll just be manning one of the (literal or metaphorical) stalls; the ultimate power will usually be in the hands of TheSyndicate. Unless it all comes full circle, and the whole thing is just another branch of TheEmpire...

A Black Market is an established "underground" economy which deals in the transfer of illicit goods and services, the exact nature of which will vary wildly depending on era and location. TheEmpire may be actively trying to stamp it all out, or taking its cut under the table and vigilantly [[BigBrotherIsWatching looking]] in some other direction. The stuff for sale may be [[ShopFodder worthless crap]], [[SchmuckBait lethally dangerous]], [[{{Unobtainium}} genuinely useful]], or, most likely, a mixture of all three. But you're going to pay through the nose, and when you arrive to pick up your purchase, it might be a good idea to [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption come armed]]. Or send [[FriendInTheBlackMarket someone who knows what they are doing.]] As there are no price stickers, [[DoYouWantTo Haggle haggling]] is used to arrive at the price.

A Black Market is an established "underground" economy which deals in the transfer of illicit goods and services, the exact nature of which will vary wildly depending on era and location. TheEmpire may be actively trying to stamp it all out, or taking its cut under the table and vigilantly [[BigBrotherIsWatching looking]] in some other direction. The stuff for sale may be [[ShopFodder worthless crap]], [[SchmuckBait lethally dangerous]], [[{{Unobtainium}} genuinely useful]], or, most likely, a mixture of all three. But you're going to pay through the nose, and when you arrive to pick up your purchase, it might be a good idea to [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption come armed]]. Or send [[FriendInTheBlackMarket someone who knows what they are doing.]]

In RealLife, the term is generally used to describe the encompassing gestalt: a collection of individuals and covert operations which can be spread across a wide geographic range, dealing in goods which may be entirely illegal (such as hard drugs, military weapons, human organs, human trafficking), or legal but regulated (such as prescription drugs and rationed goods), legal but people want to evade taxes (cigarettes) or entirely legal but acquired illicitly (such as stolen goods or goods that FellOffTheBackOfATruck). As well, illicit services are available, ranging from prostitution to off-the-books plastic surgery.

* The various "businesses" running on the TOR anonymity network. Located in the so-called "deep web" (the part of the internet that cannot be reached by regular search engines), the traders are protected by some of the most powerful encryption softwares publicly available and transactions are done via Bitcoin, a (practically) untraceable digital currency, or other cryptocurrencies. The most famous of the TOR shops are/were Silk Road and The Armory, specializing in illicit drugs and weapons, respectively. If you look a little harder, you can find just about ''anything'' you want down there, from pirated video games to child porn to hitmen for hire, legality be damned.

* Pretty much anything that's technically legal but has a lot of restrictions on it can easily become a part of this. Cigarettes / tobacco is a good example. With the taxes so high on packs of legal cigarettes, there's a thriving black market in people who buy cheap tobacco from stores, roll in tubes and then sell it. This also applies in general to stuff in the United States that has only been restricted in certain states, or just certain locales. If you want to have fun, try also searches for stuff like "black market light bulbs" (incandescent bulbs being phased out) or "black market plastic bags" (e.g. the California ban on plastic grocery bags.) Fireworks is another good one, for example, certain states have laws saying you can buy certain types of fireworks, but can't set them off, or vice versa.
* Services are available in the underground economy. Some are illegal (prostitution). Other services are legal, but sold in the black market to evade taxes (home renovations done for cash).

In RealLife, the term is generally used to describe the encompassing gestalt: a collection of individuals and covert operations which can be spread across a wide geographic range, dealing in goods which may be entirely illegal (such as hard drugs, weapons, and military gear), or legal but regulated (such as prescription drugs and rationed goods), or entirely legal but acquired illicitly (such as stolen goods or goods that FellOffTheBackOfATruck). As well, illicit services are available, ranging from prostitution to off-the-books plastic surgery.

A Black Market is an established "underground" economy which deals in the transfer of illicit goods, the exact nature of which will vary wildly depending on era and location. TheEmpire may be actively trying to stamp it all out, or taking its cut under the table and vigilantly [[BigBrotherIsWatching looking]] in some other direction. The stuff for sale may be [[ShopFodder worthless crap]], [[SchmuckBait lethally dangerous]], [[{{Unobtainium}} genuinely useful]], or, most likely, a mixture of all three. But you're going to pay through the nose, and when you arrive to pick up your purchase, it might be a good idea to [[ViolenceIsTheOnlyOption come armed]]. Or send [[FriendInTheBlackMarket someone who knows what they are doing.]]

In RealLife, the term is generally used to describe the encompassing gestalt: a collection of individuals and covert operations which can be spread across a wide geographic range, dealing in goods which may be entirely illegal (such as hard drugs, weapons, and military gear), or legal but regulated (such as prescription drugs and rationed goods), or entirely legal but acquired illicitly (such as stolen goods or goods that FellOffTheBackOfATruck).