Have you ever joined a pyramid scheme before?

6 replies
Have you ever joined a pyramid scheme before?

Here is my story.

One time in college, I was approached by an attractive girl on campus, asking me if I wanted to make some real money. Being a naive freshman, I said okay why not.

I filled out a form, and later that night she took to a "meeting" at another college campus. There were about a hundred people all dressed up nicely (think professional business wear). We were then brought into this room where a handsome, groomed man was about to give us all a "demonstration"...

This demonstration was so cool! We got to see fancy cars, rich houses, people smiling, and the "rich, luxurious" lifestyle that the average people don't get to experience. To say the least, I was very excited, especially when he yelled, "Welcome our newest member! He just made $50 in this week and he's moving up!" There was a loud applause!

Since the girl who brought me here and her friends next to her did clapped, I clapped too...

The power point never showed any of us in the room, how to make the money in order to achieve this rich, luxurious lifestyle, but it guaranteed if we join, we would have a chance to break the 9-5 work force and retire very young age (in our twenties). The guy "didn't want to be working while he was too old, and really wanted to enjoy spending time with his grandmother.

What I did learn was that it was a system based on commissions and tiers. But the pictures of the Lamborghini's seem to be more appealing.

When the meeting ended, it was time to go home for all us us.

"So, how does this work?" I asked.

The girl told me that we would have to pay $300 to get "the program" which taught us how to recruit others in here. By the time we recruited 2 people, we would have our money back, just like the guy who got the applause earlier in the day. This sounded very easy, so I agreed.

During night, her friends drove us back to my campus. They waited in their truck at the curb (a guy and another girl), while the girl who brought me to this meeting, walked to the nearest ATM machine on campus.

During the walk to the ATM machine, I didn't know what happened. I was about to give $300 dollars to a person I had just knew for barely a week. My parents had just sent me to college, paying for my living expenses. And even though I felt excited, the entire time there was something inside of me that didn't believe this was too good to be true. It couldn't be this easy. The entire presentation felt sort of "shady." Although I was right in front of the ATM buttons, a part of me told me to not do this. The girl next to me looked at me.

I was pressured, but I also could feel a part of her knew what I was going through. With a hesitant voice, I told her that I didn't want to go through with this.

"I'm sorry, but I think I need the $300 for college."

We had just spend about 6-8 hours going through this entire process for me. And here I was telling her this right before the end of the night. I felt guilty. I felt guilty for backing out of my words.

"That's okay," she said.

"But won't your friends get pissed at you?"

"No, I'll just tell them I got the money."

"I understand... thanks."

Fast forward year later. I ask the girl how's the business going. She told me that she quit. Quit? Why? She was so enthusiastic in the project, and her ability to approach people in public. She told me that the entire business broken down. I nodded and understand, giving her a sad face...

Inside though, I was the happiest man alive! For once in my life, I had gone against my temptations and listen to my gut feeling. It seemed like she was a different person from the day we first met. As for me, I was just happy I didn't make the wrong decision that day.

The point of this story is that I believe society now a days is starting to look for "get-rich-quick-schemes." This was 5 years ago when I was in college.

Now when in public, I will get approached by people who want me to "take a survey," a survey just like the one I took back when I was a freshman. I know what these people on the streets want and their motives, because they are overly friendly, eager, and frankly, desperate and sad. I sort of feel sorry that these people have been "suckered" into this these programs and I'm glad that I didn't become a part of it when I was younger.

The lesson I learned was trust your intuition. I trusted my intuition at the time, and through that one decision, I later did more research and learned that pyramid scheme is a scam is masked in false beauty and happiness.

What are you thoughts? I would like to know. Have you ever joined one before or been approached by these type of people? What do you think about how society is headed in this direction with the myriad of scams these days around the world? What can we do to improve this situation or do you think pyramid like schemes are okay? Please share with us below.
#joined #pyramid #scheme
  • Profile picture of the author Kenster
    This is a powerful trait you have...not to give in to pressure and to let your rational side trump your emotional side. This is something a lot of people dont have. At that ATM, the pressure would have made them crack. Its hard to stand your ground to pressure salesmen (or attractive girls that are selling you something) so good on you.


    I haven't been involved in anything like this but thanks for sharing your story.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1281001].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JustinP
    Wow. Good story!

    I have been burned by these kind of "programs" in the past. It was all done through the internet but it was the same idea. Conference calls with "wealthy" investors, photos of their various resorts in warm locations, etc...

    I was burned for way more than $300 too... but it was a good lesson learned.

    What I learned...

    At the time, I asked myself why I was willing to invest in this ridiculous program against my better judgment. The real answer was that I was unhappy in my career and I thought if I could earn HUGE money, I could quit and still be secure.

    The solution then, was to find a career/business that I was passionate about. Which is exactly what happened. So in the end I am grateful for being scammed in a pyramid scheme because of the valuable life lesson I learned.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1281044].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author OhTanner
    those freexbox360.com..yea those are pyramid schemes.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1281442].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author OhTanner
    maybe not idk.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1281445].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shirland
    The appeal of getting in on the ground floor of opportunities will always have catch people eyes. I remember back in the days in New York when the true pyramids scheme of you put in like $2500 and you get back $25000. The main schemer just collected everyone money and left town. That was truly the biggest something for nothing scheme. There was no product, no system, no plan just $2500 was supposed to snowball to $25000 miraculously.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1281664].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Tristan Lee
      Hey Kenster, exactly man.

      It's hard to stand your ground against good pressure salesman. For example, I don't like it when I enter a clothing store and the worker follows me around, stares at me picking out the clothes, and then asks me, "Do you need help with anything?"

      "No, just looking around."

      "Okay, take your time." (Continues to stand there).

      Hey JustinP.

      Thanks, and thanks for sharing your story. I think both of us learned valuable lessons from the actions we took - one from almost being scammed and another from being scammed.

      Hey OhTanner.

      Thanks for giving us that insight. I never knew those URL's were pyramid schemes.

      Hey shirland.

      Man, that's even more insane than what I mention. As you said, the main scheme just collected everyones and left town. At least there was actual hope involved in the one I shared. I wonder how many people felt for those $2500, $25,000 pyramid schemes...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[1281831].message }}

Trending Topics