So somehow I was surfing around eBay this afternoon looking at Cubs tickets when an idea struck - why not see if I can find an AVIC-N1. When I typed the model number and hit search, a ton of auctions from $.99 to $5.00 came up - way too good to be true for a product with an MSRP of $2000.
The description for each auction was almost identical; Bid on the auction and be sent a URL with information on how to buy an AVIC-N1 for $99.95 - yet another deal too good to be true. This was going to be a mystery no Green Machine could solve, so I downed some Scoobie Snacks and went on a quest to Google myself an answer.
A quick 10 minutes later, I had my answers:
The website: http://www.membergifts.co.uk
The bait: Cheap-ass Gameboys and car audio electronics.
The catch: A Ponzi scheme. You start as a level zero when you first sign up. To move up the ladder you must bait people into registering for the website. The more people you get, the higher you move up the ladder. Oh, and you have to buy their e-Books to move up, too. .. at $25 a pop. This may technically be a 'Straight-Line Matrix', but Ponzi sounds cooler.
I'm sure this isn't the only website doing this sort of thing, but it just goes to show that if you see a deal that's too good to be true... it probably is.
Posted by Austin at September 08, 2004 04:20 PMCockeyed.com had an investigation on these pyramid schemesa while back.
Posted by: Janine on September 13, 2004 08:47 AM