MLM (again)

Yesterday, I was asked by a friend to discuss something. He said it was VoIP business. In the end, I found out. He was going to ask me opinion about an MLM(Pyramid scheme, I’d say).

How it works :

There is a mother company that’s providing VoIP service. You first must join member with them. The requirement is what? Pay s$3,000 and you get a handphone, wireless adapter, and business centre (nothing but a name only).

Now, it’s your turn to recruit member under your “business centre”, and they, too, will pay S$3,000 and sad to say you get only %10 or less and the mother company keep the rest. However, if your member recruits other member and you still get money from your member’s member. The list goes on and on…

And this is a pyramid scheme with VoIP technology as candy wrapper. Why? When the market saturated with all the “business centre”, your member’s member’s member’s (continue 10 ten times) cannot get any member. Voilla, they can’t recover their S$3,000. And the mother company can now happily pack their back and leave, perhaps change to other name or announce bankruptcy.
If you think you’re a pioneer and you will gain, then congratulation you’re helping the mother company to cheat money.

Psychic

“Aren’t you a bit surprised that the only message that the dead seem to be able to give to us is someone had a nickname Miss Piggy? And they can only tell us that, you know, I had a heart condition?….I want to hear just one of the psychics today tell me when is there going to be the next bus bombing in Tel Aviv so we can avoid going on that bus.”

–Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, on “Larry King Live,” March 6, 2001