Higher up the chain reputation is still everything, they don't deal with anybody who has 'paper' floating around showing they colluded with the authorities at some point. It's common for gangs to distribute paperwork on each other that gets leaked from investigations/court proceedings/prisons. There is no escrow in real life either, so reputation is the sole currency to set up exchanges with any criminal above selling baggies at a nightclub.

> Would you buy a toaster oven from someones cargo van on the side of the road in a shady street or prefer to purchase it form Amazon?

Locals who know the owner of that cargo van will quite often prefer that source, as evidenced at least by the very fact that the van is still there selling toaster ovens. That's a form of reputation-based purchase, too.

> No.... You buy from a dealer in a club or somewhere else

Have you ever bought drugs? When you move to things like pills, and don't have the ability to test yourself, the dealers reputation or trust with you is paramount.

Im sure you could start a whole school of just reminding people of those simple statements.