mason pearson
|
No it is not gambling, it is selling a dream that does not exist. Even if it is call a multilevel marketing plans. There are many out there, seems vitamins are a big player in the multilevel scheme.
The problem with a pyramid or a multilevel plan is simple. I sounds good. All you have to do is get 12 of your friends and neighbors to buy into the plan. Then each of them get 12 of their friends and neighbors to buy into the plan. You make money from everyone in your group and all those under your group. The new groups that started under you get the same thing and on and on. Easy huh? The problem is by the time you reach 12 levels down you have more than the population of the ENTIRE WORLD.
Try it, get a calculator and do 12 times 12 , 12 times. Unless you have a scientific calculator it will not go that high..
If you want to find out more about pyramids read about the Ponzi Scheme. It was , I think, the original scheme. |
|
Matthew O
|
No, because it's stealing. It's fraud. "Investors" are told that they will get paid off from the money coming in by new suckers. Obviously, it is impossible for everyone to get paid, since paying off the first people always requires the money from new suckers coming in.
It's not like gambling; it's dishonest. It's theft. |
|
wizjp
 |
because stealing money from one investor to pay off another is fraud. |
|
Lauren
 |
because all of the money funnels to the person at the top of the pyramid. It's basically fraud and stealing because there are promises of earnings that are never seen by anyone but the higher up person. |
|
hotpepper
|
Because only the people at the top of the pyramid are making any money. Most pyramids schemes, you're really not selling anything, someone is profiting from nothing. |
|
sydney_22_f
 |
Because the people who come in later in the scheme are usually the ones who will be out of money... ...get shafted.
The pyramid only work for the first few levels. When interest is lost the last guys have payed for nothing. |
|
mommy2kaleb04
|
its because the scheme is a business model that is unsustainable. That means the pyramid will grow to a certain degree before it's unmanageable (needs people to keep joining in and usually paying money, but at some point you're not going to get enough people to join anymore).
So the pyramid essentially collapses at that point and what do all the people at the bottom get? nothing. They've just been scammed for their money. |
|
Sherilynne B
 |
It is not like gambling, in gambling there is a chance to win, where in pyramids there is no chance. |
|
E. F. Hutton
|
Not specifically.
Only if the exact activity within it is illegal.
Many "home show" products, financial services, door to door sales, insurance, are "pyramid systems", whereby as more people "sign on" to the program the hierarchy of the company grows. A district person gets new sales people under them, the district person gets a cut of the sales...and so on. They are by definition a pyramid system. The term scheme usually comes in when the activity is illegal.
Receiving a commission for recruiting people is not illegal at all. There are laws governing exactly how such a process is implemented. |
|
piet lul
|
it is a sure way to lose your money. |
|
antoinebachmann
 |
- because they're like gambling. But even less "fair" than in a casino, because while in a casino the odds are vastly against you winning out, at least they remain constant. Whereas in a pyramid scheme, the later you come in, the higher the risk you'll end up losing it all
- because they're dishonest. Many participants are actually quite gullible and do actually believe that the scheme will work out forever, and make them rich. And that there is no risk involved.
- because they use peer pressure and other coercitive tactics: typically you'll have a group meeting, a winner will say how great it was and how rich he/she became, and the newcomers will be invited to give their cash on the spot, and any hesitant newcomer will be put under pressure / humiliated, the kind of tactics that can work quite well w someone who to start with was gullible enough to come to such an evening
- because they can cause misery for the losers, some of whom will have "invested" all their savings. I know what you're going to say, if this is bad then shouldn't all gambling, all lotteries, also be banned? But that's another debate.
Take care |
|
Dr. Deth
|
because you don't get anything for the money you are paying - no product or service - it's just a recruiting fee and if you can't recruit any other sucker, then you're out your money and your branch of the pyramid collapses |
|
mikegreenwich
|
It's a scam. The people who get in early get money and everyone else gets screwed. The schemes don't generate any money, just redistribute money from new members to old. Because the number of members increases exponentially, they must, and do, fizzle out quickly, leaving the vast majority of participants a lot poorer. |
|
HeavyD
|
Many so-called pyramid schemes become Ponzi schemes -- go to wikepedia and read about what a Ponzi scheme is. D |
|
Lee
|
Because it really only benefits the person at the top of the pyramid! |
|
ME
|
because it is just redistribution of money without any actual production.
the top of the pyramide will make a massice amount of money without producing anything and as the pyramide go down people will make less money, then equalize then the lower most people will just loose. and so people in the bottom is paying money for those on top of them and they don't take anything back or atleast they don't take an equal value product. and so it is just a matter of cheating in which one party take the other party;s money in return of nothing or something that has a lower value |
|
▲ßûІІѕ vÅŸ ßèÄÅ—Ñ•â–¼
|
because it's not a legit business practice and it produces absolutely no valuable goods. |
|
voluntarheel
|
After reading these answers it sounds to me like Social Security is a big Ponzi scheme and its legal. |
|
pohl4846
 |
In an illegal pyrimid scheme you get paid commission for recruiting people. |
|
atruthhurt
|
not sure |
|
Kumar S
|
yes |
|
X.L. AVENUE
|
not sure |
|
:] cutie pie
|
not sure! |
|
ADRIAN, HE'S SO HOT!
|
not sure |
|
| |
|
Homepage 
Financial
Forum 
Investing 
No Spam
Adult 
Gambling
Unfinished
Deception
Plagiarism
Not English
