Of course, with ordinary commodities in which it is easy to tell good from bad, a good name cannot survive consumer dissatisfaction with the product. But what the mafia or political parries sell are nor ordinary commodities. We have already seen that reputation is the asset the mafia values most. Its benefits are enormous since once a reputation exists in the protection trade, it is scarcely necessary to produce the real thing. Reputation, so long as nobody challenges it, is the real thing.

DEFINE: This explains how reputation functions as the actual asset in non-commodity markets, where the product can't be easily verified.

Diego Gambetta, The Sicilian Mafia The Busi…, loc. 374