free stuff without referals

[Dreamer]

http://www.couponsandoffers.com/scripts/o6004.asp

I remember doing "research" on the free iPods. Ok, it wasn't really research it was passing time. The problem was trying to find 5 people to satisfy everything. But I couldn't find horror stories of people doing everything and getting nothing. Ocassionally I'd hear something...but well.

Anyways, I googled electric scooters. I live 1/2 mile from work and sometimes I'm just too exhausted to walk home having an electric scooter would be really good for me. I ended up finding this site, and it sounds good.

I don't have to refer anybody. No problems there. I have to complete 6 offers. 2 from first group, 2 from second group, and 2 from a final group. There is lots of different "free" products you can get, but this one is $800, so its about right.

I decided to go for it. I satisfied the first group than I realized I could see the options of the next 2 groups without doing anything. If anybody does this, I recommend checking out all the groups before you do anything to make sure you can afford to do it.

There are a few freebies. But, it seems like all the offers are some kind of subscription type service. For instance, the offers I did was 6 dvds for $.99 you see, than like 5 books for a penny or something silly. The second group I bougt a free trial of mood pills and diet pills or something else I forget. S/H was $6 but after 10 days they are going to send me a months supply for $40. Now, to satisfy the offer I only need to stay for 7 days, but well. I don't know. The last group I subscribed to the new york times and applied to a discover card. The other offers on that page was an unsecured credit card for $129.99, or a satelite system. Expensive stuff.

Anyways, you need to fulfill all the offers and request your free gift within 90 days. They say it takes 4-8 weeks for the sponser to confirm you met their requirements, so who knows whats going to happen.

I'm not trying to push anything or advertise anything. But I wanted input on if anybody tried a similiar program and if they had any problems. Since this is something I am actually doing (Cheap DVDs are good, books are good, ok maybe the pills were a waste, but other than that...) I'll post what problems I ran in.

But the free iPods site seem to pay off if you manage it. It would be interesting to see if these pay off if you can satisfy all the offers yourself.

http://www.couponsandoffers.com/scripts/s1204.asp = List of "free" products.

[mercinary]

sounds just like freevideogames.com, which has been discussed before.

-Merc

[Dreamer]

oh has something similiar been discussed? I'll have to find the thread :) Darn, I was hoping that I was the first one to find this type of site.

[jokach]

An interesting thing you can do is to try and see if the money you have to spend on the different offers (all added up over the long run) exceeds what you pay normally for an electric scooter. I know the 6 DVDs for $.99 cents is probably something like you have to buy 1 or 2 at regular price (which their regular price is like 3 times the normal price).

It just seems too good to be true ... usually things like this get you one way or another, it might not 'seem' like you're paying so much for these offers, but in the long run you do.

just my thoughts ........ (we did discuss this somewhere on MW at one time) ...

jokach

[Dreamer]

Your right about the prices added up. But, like with the DVDs, I normally buy a couple a week anyways so I have something to watch during my days off. I think I need to buy like 5 more in the next 2 years at full price than they'll be happy. Chances are, i'll just pick 5 movies next month that I want, buy them, than I'll be done.

But, what is also important for anybody considering this type of system, is not only will you be spending more satisfying the offers than if you just purchased the product outright (the total cost of everything when said and done), but will you be spending more than a similiar product. That is, I want an electric scooter, but I'm not going to spend $800 on one. $300 max, or $400 if its really good. I know nothing of this $800 one.

I read one of the threads for the freegame thing and it sounds very similiar. I think that system you needed credits or something silly. So obtaining the proper numbr of credits may never happen for some people. Getting the proper number of referrals for the free iPods and other offefrs is harder than most people think. But, I'm interested to see why they might disqualify me in the end.

Back to sleep I go.

[Dreamer]

Ok, things don't sound right.

I went to check the progress of my "gift" to see if any of the sponsors said I fulfilled the agreement yet. Its been a couple days, but I thought I'd check.

Guess what? Heck, I'll just quote the screen:

Congratulations, You've Qualified!
Prepare and Mail Gift Redemption Voucher

To get your gift, please complete these five easy steps:

1) click here to generate a security verification email
This step is for your protection and allows us to confirm you identity. If you haven't done so already, click here and we will send a personalized Security Verification Email to the address you originally used to register.

Before submitting the request for the security request verification email, please make certain that all SPAM FILTERS are turned off to ensure that you will receive the message with the confirmation link to the Gift Redemption Voucher.

2) Follow the Link in the Security Verification Email
In the Security Verification Email, you will find a link ot follow to generate your Gift Redemption Voucher.

3) Update Contact Information
Once you've followed the link in the Security Verification Email, you will be taken to a short form that will allow you to update your contact information, if necessary.

4) Print Gift Redemption Voucher
Once you've followed the link in the Security Verification Email, you will be taken to a short form that will allow you to update your contact information, if necessary.

5) Mail It!
Drop the Gift Redemption Voucher in the mail to us, and we will process it as soon as possible.

Ok, before I go any further, I just wanted to give the status of my "orders".

- New York Times: Email verification stating my sunday delivery should start soon.
- Bottle of something: Already been charged to credit card.
- Next bottle of something: Already been charged to credit card.
- DVD club. Been charged with shipping confirmation.
- Book club: I don't think i have any response from them yet.
- Discover card: email responce saying it will take another 30 days to decide if they want to give me one.

So, let me quote a few things from their terms page.

* For Discover Card offers, the card must be activated by making a purchase, balance transfer or cash advance in order for the offer to be considered 'completed'.

(e) Remain an active member for the duration of the time it takes the sponsors of all the offers you've completed to report back to us of your successful completion of their offer. Typically, it takes offer sponsors up to 8 weeks (but usually 4 - 6 weeks) to report to us that you have completed their offer.

Ok. How did I finish it within a few days? Something doesn't sound right. But, I'm almost there, I guess. So, I clicked on the security validation link (about a dozen times. Here is what I get:

Please check your email for the gift redemption email. Click on the link contained in the email to continue to redemption process!
We've been getting reports from users that their ISP/Email provider is blocking the emails we send to their email address as spam.

If you don't receive an email within 2 hours or have questions, please contact us by clicking here

Hrmmm...I'm getting their bi-daily emails. Heck, I even adjusted my spam filter to low, and added the domain to my safe list. Still nothing. So, I clicked on the link, it was a basic form, and it said it will take 24-48 hours to get back to me. I'll post again after I get it, or on monday, whichever comes first.

So, I googled the site and scam, and came up with some info. I couldn't find anybody who got their product. I found a forum where people were talking about testing some software. Im not sure what that was about, but I'll post some forum information on them. Than I found sites, like scam.com, and other forums that said it sounded like a scam, but, well...i couldn't find one person to say one way or another. It is probably a scam, though.

On the second or third page I found matrixwatch and an iPod thread. Well, I was the first to mention this site, as little as I know, so I clicked on the link, and somebody had posted the new FAQ for the iPods stating the part where you have to remain active during the free trial, or something. Basically, the point of the thread is that the iPod deal they are starting to crack down on those who cancel right away.

But, people have received their iPods. Same company. So, how are they making money?

Well, for the iPods, there was some analysis for that and the number of people who sign up that won't get anything. If they charge $50 per sponsor, they can pay for the iPod. But, for this deal they claim the gift is worth $800, and I only need to satisfy 6 offers. Is the NewYork Times really giving them $150 because I signed up for sunday service? Wow!

Something isn't right.

Ok, earlier I mentioned I can receive their emails. But not the security one. What is in their bi-daily emails? more offers for free stuff. Lots and lots of free stuff. But, going back to their terms:

A.9) ONE GIFT PER MEMBER OR HOUSEHOLD. Limit of one (1) gift per member or household. A single member or household may only redeem 1 gift from eMarketResearchGroup. In the event that sufficient offers were completed by the member to qualify for multiple gifts, the member may redeem only 1 gift among the gifts he/she has completed the offers for.

If i can't get more than one gift, why are you spamming me with offers for more than one gift?

One final problem;

D.1) There are conditions in order for eMarketResearchGroup members to receive a gift. eMarketResearchGroup members must have cookies enabled. eMarketResearchGroup members must not disable javascript pop ups in their web browser. eMarketResearchGroup members must access the sponsor site through eMarketResearchGroup. These conditions are mandatory so that the sponsor will know that the eMarketResearchGroup member used eMarketResearchGroup to reach the sponsor site. You agree that all redemption processes shall be done through the Redemption page on eMarketResearchGroup.

That really doesn't sound right. I understand about making sure to click thru the site, however, there are trackers that tell site owners how the person got to the site, if it was thru a URL (and what it was) or directly (by typing the url in the browser). Either way, it probably shouldn't be too difficult to code the link to show where it came from.

Its like day 3 and I'm smelling scam so badly I need to open the windows in here. I was going to pay a little bit more to stay with the offers a month or 2 longer so I'll get the free gift, but I'm not going to waste anymore money past what they require. At this point I doubt I'll get anything.

[jokach]

Please post what happens, I think presenting to others what the series of events is in these 'free' product programs is definitely good for the group!

I have to agree that it doesn't look like a well run program, seems the left hand isn't sure what the right hand is doing.....

jokach

[sisco50]

Please post what happens, I think presenting to others what the series of events is in these 'free' product programs is definitely good for the group!

I have to agree that it doesn't look like a well run program, seems the left hand isn't sure what the right hand is doing.....

jokach

Isn't it possible that the program is designed in this fashion intentionally? The left hand may very well know what the right hand is doing. What it is doing is, it is not delivering very many free gifts.

[Dreamer]

Well, no responce to my email. I am still getting their bi-daily email product testing offers but I am unable to get the security email. Their form said 24-48 hours they'll resond, but no luck their either. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I did email them on Friday, I think, so I'll wait until wednesday to see if they will respond.

Maybe, perhaps, this is the scam. That people will do the offers, the sponsors will pay the company, but the company will make it almost impossible for us to receive anything. Kind of like what Greg is doing - ignore everybody at all costs, and maybe pay off the biggest complainers (so long as its not too expensive).

Normally, I'd chuck this into the scam department already, however, it is from the same group that did the free iPods.

Here is my own update. I got those 2 bottles of pills. $5.95 each. Those offers said I only need to be a member for 7 days, so when the 7th day comes around I'm going to cancel their offer letting them know the reason I am canceling is because I feel that I was scammed with that site. But, if I do get my ""free product" than I'll buy another month of their stuff. This way I can avoid paying $40 more per bottle, tell them that if i'm getting scammed they are also getting scamed.

My DVDs are on the way. Hopefully I'll receive them today. This check I'm probably just going to buy the 5 dvds, or whatever columbia wants, and cancel it so I don't have to worry about it.

My New York Times started yesterday. I wonder when I'm going to receive it. I'm going to cancel with them also with the same explaniation. I have no problem receiving it for 6 months, however, I'm starting to believe I was lied to.

The book club finally charged my credit card. So, I wonder if I'll be getting those anytime soon.

Still nothing on the Discover card. My credit is so shot that if they offer it to me, I'll take it, but I doubt they will.

Before I go to work today I'll email them one more time asking for my security validaction email. There is no way I completed all my offers yet, but they claim that I have, so I'm going to jump on it now. I want a answer from them...any answer. I want that email so I can continue with the process or I want a responce from them stating that I didn't complete the offers just yet.

All in all, the referal system seemed to work out because of the mathamatics involved. This non referal system only seems to be working out by ignoring the participants. But, its still early, so lets see what happens.

[Dreamer]

Ok. My redemption page has been updated, but I'm still not sure if I I want to believe this thing works. Within a week they said that I completed my offers and I was unable to contact them afterwards. They didn't even say that the page I received was sent in error. Nothing. But here is my update anyway:


Current Status: Redemption Requirements Not Met
Our records show that you have not yet completed the minimum number of offers required to receive the gift that you originally requested.

Our records indicate that you are in the process of qualifying for a Clever Scooter which requires completion of: 6 total partner offers. You will also need to meet the page requirments which is 2 offer(s) on top offers page 1, 2 offer(s) on top offers page 2, and 2 offer(s) on top offers page 3.

Based on sales data provided to us by our partners, at this time our records indicate that you have not completed the required number of offers to qualify for your Clever Scooter If you feel that this is inaccurate, please be aware that there may be some delay between the time you complete an offer and the time that information is provided to us by our partners.

To continue to qualify, click here to return to our website and select from the available offers.

Again, we may be waiting for additional sales data to be reported to our database from our partners. In some cases, this can take 4 - 8 weeks.

Our records indicate that you have completed the following offers:

* Books Online - Book of Month ( Top offers page 1 )
* CHDVD - S&H - A HV ( Top offers page 1 )
* FeelSerenity ( Top offers page 2 )

To further assist you, our records indicate that you have clicked on (but may not have completed) the following offers:

* Video Professor ( Top offers page 1 )
* Blockbuster Online DVD Rental ( Top offers page 1 )
* A.D. Kessler ( Top offers page 1 )
* USA Platinum Plus ( Top offers page 2 )
* Nexiderm ( Top offers page 2 )
* Bargain - Incentive - 7 Day Hold ( Top offers page 2 )
* MyDailyDose ( Top offers page 2 )
* Robert Allen Incentivized ( Top offers page 3 )
* Discover Platinum Clear Card ( Top offers page 3 )
* New York Times ( Top offers page 3 )

Ok, now MyDailyDose and FindSerenityNow were both $5.95. They are both owned by Urban Nutrition. I'm not trying to bad mouth them, but I noticed I got one credit for one and didn't get the credit for the second. Ok, I guess that seems logical. I mean if they are paying for my scooter, than there should only be one offer per company. HOWEVER, if I remember correctly, a few days ago I got credit for mydailydose and not the findserenitynow.

What I've also noticed is offers are changing. I'm not sure if they are cycling in and out. Maybe that is their gimick. Charge for advertisement banners and charge for clickthrus. Either way, I'm not sure how they can send out such expensive products. But, I think I also I read that the products could be refirbished or a similiar item. Now, if the offers are rotating out, and my assumption is correct that those offers were switched on mine would suggest that the offer must be "active" when you redeem it. Now, if they don't rotate and just get replaced, will we still get credit. Anyways, I'm going to check out my status everyday to see if my suspecion is correct.

So, the mydailydose I completed and didn't get credit for (not current on page). New York Times I subscribed to the Sunday edition. I didn't get credit for that. Also, I heard from discover and they denied me (big shocker). So, I'm assuming the New York Times should come thru for me ($12.50/month). So, I guess I need 2 more.

I canceled those 2 bottles subscription. I'll fulfill totally the books and dvds in a month.when I have money. This week I'll figure out the cost of completing the obligations.

[ycchen]

Dreamer, Thanks for the update. It's really fun to read! :)

[Dreamer]

Thank you for your sarcastic response :P Wait, maybe your as bored as me. I think thats it. Now, where is a coin to figure your if sarcastic or not? :P

Its not really meant to be entertaining. But, it sounds like a scam to me. I think anybody who actively participates in these forums believes its a scam. I can give up now and cry scam, or I can see if I can survive this silly system and "prove" its a scam. And, if I'm proven wrong, so be it. But, in my defense, my participation in this "system" doesn't require me to scam others. So, I can either be a sucker selling my life out for a dream that won't happen, or I can sell my life out for something I probably don't really need :P

Ok. It doesn't look like the offers changed at all. The other day I saw an offer for eharmony.com. I figure that would be an offer I would complete since they offered an unconditional money back guanantee. I dont' see it anymore. Maybe it was on the first page.

But, if anybody goes thru this process, let me give you some pointers.

1. Use a throw away email address.
2. You probably need to be accurate on your name and address on all that fun stuff. If your going thru this process, don't make stuff up. Last thing you want to do after you wasted all your time completeing offers is to be denied because you claimed you were Santa Clause.
3. You have to start off going thru like 10 pages of "offers" Would you be interested in free air travel? etc. I marked one yes and the rest no. So, mark all no unless its something your really interested (I think I marked one yes). So far this hasn't gotten the best of me yet.
4. Before completing any offers, go to the third page of offers. You can do that without doing the first 2 pages. If you see 2 offers there you might complete, than start there and see if there are 2 from the second page.
5. Here is one I should have done. Only stick with offers you know about. Like blockbuster or columbia house, and stuff like that. Those stupid pills have my credit card number on file now. Are they a legit operation? Probably. But I never heard of them, so if they are a scam company I might have problems down the line.

Those are a few suggestions, but for this boring post I'm going to post the few offers for the last page. See how difficult it is to complete:


Robert Allen - $20,000 in 90 Days
Picked from Regis Philbin's TV audience and taught wealth building strategies by NY Times best-selling author Robert Allen, Pat Watson was $20,000 wealthier after just 90 days! Now, for a limited time, Robert Allen is looking to teach YOU!

Discover® Platinum Clear Card
- 0% Intro APR
- No Annual Fee
- Up to 2% Cashback Bonus® Award
- Cool, Clear Design
- You must activate your card by making a purchase, balance transfer or cash advance to complete this offer

Save Lots of Money on Your Phone Service
Make UNLIMITED calls to anywhere in the USA & Canada for only $24.99/mo. (or $14.99 for 500 Minutes) with Vonage - The Broadband Phone Company!

New York Times - Home Delivery
With convenient home delivery, you can start each day with all the news, the views, the wit and the wisdom you expect from The New York Times. Save 50% on the first 12 weeks when you order today!

Prestige Platinum Card
For Users with BAD CREDIT:
- INSTANT $7,500 Unsecured Credit Line
- No credit checks or credit turndowns
- No employment verifications
- Improve/Establish your credit!
- To Qualify, you must have an active checking account
- To complete this offer, you'll need to pay a $149.95 Card Membership Fee

Free DirecTV System
Get a Free DirecTV system for up to 4 rooms plus a Fre DVD Player when you activate your DirecTV installation with Expert Satellite (Place your order online to ensure that you receive credit).


Ok, lets go down the list. The first one people of this forum shoudl appreciate. It looks like a $39.95 eBook package. I'll find out if I get resale rights to it. I'll probably be doing this offer cause its "cheap". Shoot, I need to respond within the next 57:30 mins, 57:29 57:28. If anybody is interested in this, here is the link:
http://www.esioffers.com/campaigns/rga_hi2/index.html?link=2515&tl=1&version=1&oeid=

Discover card - applied for. Failed miserably. No supprise.

Phone company - I got a cellphone. Can't even use it if I could. Is Vonage even a recognizable name anybody?

New York Times - Subscribed to Sundays only. $12.50 a month. Still waiting for their confirmation so I can cancel. (damn, I hope Im not breaking any rules in terms and conditions here!)

Presige Platinum Card - $149.95. Ok, I might consider doing something like that if it was legit. I'll explain more later. Its not a visa or mastercard (as far as I can tell) so who would accept it?

DirectTV - Hrmmm...I live in a room for rent...I'm moving in with my brother in his trailer in a few weeks.. I doubt I could use this.

Ok, for those credit card offers you might see...make sure its a major player. Visa, mastercard, etc. I'm sure most of you know this scam, but in case some dont here is what it is (I'm not accusing this offer as being one of them, but other offers)

A $7500 unsecured card sounds great. No credit checks, no nothing. Just pay $150. For people like me with bad credit this sounds good. I wouldn't mind paying a big fee for a credit card to start to rebuild my credit. So, I send them the $150 (or if I'm stupid enough I provide them info to take it out myself) and in a few weeks I get my awsome double platinum ultra card!

Wait, nobody accepts it...Well, thats not entirely true. You can use your super duper diamond gold card to buy stuff from this catalog. Thats it. Nowhere else.

Now, I've never fallen for this, but I'm wondering. I set up a checking account. Put the $150 in there, pay for this offer, close the account. Whats to stop me from buying $7500 worth of their useless crap, have it shipped to a PO Box or a dummy address and just not pay for it? If anybody does this scam, please respond to this boring post :P

Enough killing time for tonight.

[Dreamer]

I know everybody has been deserately trying to get on MW lately just to read my fascinating thread! :P So, I won't bore you any longer...now onto the boring part!

Everyday I've been checking my page to see if NY Times or mydailydose has been included yet and checking the offers page to see if thats changed yet. Nothing has changed. There goes my whole theory. But, it was a good waste of time coming up with that theory, so I'm not disappointed! ;)

Anyways, I checked my bank statement. -$38. Apparently one of those pills decided to charge me for a month after I requested not to receive anything since I'm in the process of moving and haven't sampled their samples yet (like Im going to sample it anyways, but hell, I gotta admit, this is a good excuse of getting out of stuff...).

So, I emailed the company asking them to give me my credit for mydailydose and to undo charging my card. I said if I don't hear from them soon I will contact my bank, do a chargeback (thanks MatrixWatch - I've never heard of a chargeback before coming here. I guess I got something out of this site! Now, can anybody tell me where I can buy a new laptop for under $20?), and if they continue to try to charge me I'll file a fraud complaint. Normally I love empty threats, but this I need to do.

But thats not the greatest part of this ordeal of last night. When I went to email customer service it was a form. The form popped up on a no-resize page with the submit button at the very bottom. Since my computer chair is my bed 5 feet away, I have my monitors at 640x480. I suppose I could have readjusted my resolution to get that button on my screen. At first I used firefox. Couldn't find a submit button. So, I had to switch over to IE, drag the window to the very top of the screen as high as I could, and minimize my task bar. There it was. Why do they go thru such lengths to prevent people from emailing customer service?

Even the textbox was probably 8 lines...bigger than these quick textboxes. They could have made a 4 line text box and made the window smaller. So, why did they do that? I'd imagine most computer novices would have a 640x480 resolution. i'd imagine that some probably don't know how to minimze the task bar. Or, that they simply forget to find a submit button and close the window. Either way, why make it so difficult to contact customer service? Answer: They don't want people to cancel their subscription.

So, next suggestion for anybody interested in these programs. You can buy these prepaid visa cards. I know I had one from 7-11 from awhile ago. You just buy the card and add funds when you need to. I purchased some things online this way before with no problem. It was great until 7-11 stopped carrying them a couple years ago (it was only a promotional thing). I think the local rite-aids also have them...not entirely sure, but I'm sure you can still pick them up. Use them for these subscription services so if they ignore your cancelation requests you just don't have to pay.

Now I wouldn't recommend trying to screw over legit offers. I'll be fullfiling my book of the month and dvd club because I could use those. No problem. Even the NY Times I'm sure they'll honor a cancelation request. But for offers you've never heard of, try to find a prepaid visa. I think I should look into that before I buy that eBook collection where I can make $98,000 in 2 hours just scratching myself and farting.

[an8888]

I think you miss one point here, Dreamer. The reasons why so many scam out there are people do think they can get good stuff for nothing or cheap, and people cannot learn from mistakes. I believe scammers are really in love with people like you.

When will you go to stop searching such offers and stop supporting those scammers?

[ycchen]

I haven't figured out if "free IPOD" program is a scam or not. Unlike matrix, or doubler or HYIE, or PIP which are all 100% pyramid/ponzi scheme -- thus SCAM.

What Dreamer is doing is to really look into the "free IPOD" scheme by testing the scheme in person. Personally, I would consider that as a service to our anti online scam community by making the process transparent. Then, we can make our own judgement on whether it is a scam or not, isn't it? :)

[Dreamer]

I think you miss one point here, Dreamer. The reasons why so many scam out there are people do think they can get good stuff for nothing or cheap, and people cannot learn from mistakes. I believe scammers are really in love with people like you.

When will you go to stop searching such offers and stop supporting those scammers?

A few things.

1. I am looking for an electirc scooter to get me short distances. I am looking for something that is durable, that will work well, etc. I'm not looking for something free. My max I wanted to spend on something like this is $1000. But, since I know little about these types of things, I am still researching what is best.
2. I have yet made a "mistake" online in this regards.
3. I'm sure scammers don't like me since I don't typically fall for scams. Even a ligimitate business I might turn away from if it sounds scammy to me.
4. I don't support scamemrs.

Why am I doing this?

eMarketResearchGroup is what is behind the free iPods, I believe. When this system was introduced to MatrixWatch I was very much trying to find sites of people getting scammed and lied to, etc. But, if custoemrs jumped thru the hoops they got their gifts. So, people are getting stuff.

Why am I going thru with this? Well, if its 100% complete scam, and there is a whole bunch of fine print I didn't read, the only person who loses is me. I'm not introducing anybody into these systems. Its not a requirement, and as far as I can tell there is no way I can even do so.

I am choosing products I can use. DVD club. I buy lots of DVDs already. Why not? Book club - if I can find good books, no problem. New York Times - Boy what a scam paper they are!

I'm not promoting this system. And I hope that people don't think that I am. But if people come across these sites that offer free products to test and keep, maybe they'll come across this thread and see what kind of success/failure I've had.

I don't want something for free or cheap. I'm willing to pay a little money and some headache time to show how a system works. Got another system that is questionably legal? I'll test it. Thats all I'm doing. Testing out a system that I think most people here would agree sounds scamish. Now, if I get my product to "test" thats not an endorcement. Just the outcome of a test, whether it be in our favor of this forum or the systems favor. I don't know the outcome. I figure I got about 70 more days to bore you guys with :P

[sisco50]

"I haven't figured out if "free IPOD" program is a scam or not. Unlike matrix, or doubler or HYIE, or PIP which are all 100% pyramid/ponzi scheme -- thus SCAM."

I know about matrices, doublers, HYIPs. What is a PIP?

[Dreamer]

http://www.moneymakergroup.com/index.php?showtopic=1957


Basically what is going on is that you are loaning this company your money to invest with. In return, they give you "units" each worth $25. These units of $25 a piece have a shelf life of 6 months total in which they will produce a 2% daily gain for you and then they retire. Though these units are worth money, the money that they are worth can not be withdrawn from your account, because it is being used (it is considered a "reserve fund"), BUT, what is withdrawable is the 2% daily interest that is gained on these units. I hope this isn't to confusing I'll try to map it out in numbers.....

It takes $450 to open an account. Of that $450, $425 will be used to purchase 17 units for your account, $10 will go to your referrer, and $15 goes toward administrative expenses. Each of these 17 units will then pay you 2% or about $.475 each per day- that's $8.08 total per day (only when the market is open- Monday-Friday and no holidays). At the end of the month, reinvestment occurs, but only at the levels that you set them at- I suggest setting reinvestment at 100% for probably about the first year if you really want to see good growth from your account. So, say you set it at 100% the first month, when it comes time to reinvest, the 2% that you have earned for the month will be enough to buy you 6 more units giving you a total of 23 units and will also pay your referrer $10 and the $15 admin expanse fee. These 23 units then go through the same process of earning you 2% daily, but now that 2% is equal to a little over $10 a day.
Now, as I mentioned, units do have a shelf life of 6 months. At that point, that number of units is subtracted from your account- so 6 months from the date you open your account, you will lose 17 units, but it won't affect the growth of your account because before expiring, it helped produce several more units!
I hope that explains it a little better, but truely, numbers speak louder than words in this case, so check out this simulator:

http://www.jollypipster.com/simulator.asp?entry=local

Those will give you a true idea of how fast things grow. Just pop in some numbers, you will be amazed!

As for the problem with payments, I believe that things have been shut down for the evening since they are performing some database cleaning (at least that is what it said in the forum).

Here is the link to the forum as well:

http://forum.pureinvestor.com/phpBB2/index.php

There is a lot of good info there, especially in the FAQ/Help section. They lay out what PIPS is all about real well in the PIPS 101 threads. Hope all this helps! :wink:

Hopefully big sis won't get hubby to chase me down and threaten me for quoting her. She likes to threaten people if sh doesn't get money.

[ycchen]

I think we might need to start a new thread on PIP, so we do not hijack the origional issue. Here are a few good sites if you want to learn more about PIP.

http://www.thinkfn.com/artigo.php?id=107

http://www.pips-scam.com/

[Dreamer]

hijack this thread? It might make it better! ;) Anyways, today will be another boring update :)

[sisco50]

I think we might need to start a new thread on PIP, so we do not hijack the origional issue. Here are a few good sites if you want to learn more about PIP.

http://www.thinkfn.com/artigo.php?id=107

http://www.pips-scam.com/

Don't start a new thread on my account. I see the links are pretty much a platform for "incognitus" to spout off his views and I won't be wasting much time reading that tripe.

[ycchen]

I just found out that you are a big fan of PIPS over the moneymakergroup forum, and invest a couple of thousand dollars in PIPS. I hope you make a right decision. Well, if this PONZI scheme (of course, you will disagree that PIPS is a ponzi scheme) continues to grow, you will make it to the top of the ponzi anyways. As long as you are part of the early birds (assume that the pyramid structure continue to grow), it really does matter whether it is a pyramid scheme or a legitimate investment/loan/broker company, isn't it? :cool:

Just my curiousity, have you make any profit so far? Are you planning to reinvest more in PIPS in the next 3 months?

[sisco50]

You must have been reading old posts I believe. I never invested a couple of thousand dollars. I was going to at one time. The money I did spend I can easily forget about if I must. However, I am earning my daily interest without fail so far. I have no reason to spend any more money there. I was not an early bird at all. Not even close. But that didn't matter as there is no making it to the top, as you say. PIPS is not what people in that arena call a typical HYIP. Most people that spout off about PIPS being a Ponzi have no idea of what the program is or how it works. If you go to sites like the two referenced in your above post to do your due diligence, your recearch will never get off the ground. All those morons can do is spout off but they can not produce one single fact as to why they think PIPS is a Ponzi. All of their information is incorrect. They do in fact have an agenda tho. They are pissed because they were banned from the PIPS forum for TROLLING there. Plain and simple.

I still think starting a new thread here for PIPS will be a waste of time and space. Other sites that have done this found that the thread ends up being a testimonial thread.

[ycchen]

You must have been reading old posts I believe. I never invested a couple of thousand dollars. I was going to at one time. The money I did spend I can easily forget about if I must. However, I am earning my daily interest without fail so far. I have no reason to spend any more money there. I was not an early bird at all. Not even close. But that didn't matter as there is no making it to the top, as you say. PIPS is not what people in that arena call a typical HYIP. Most people that spout off about PIPS being a Ponzi have no idea of what the program is or how it works. If you go to sites like the two referenced in your above post to do your due diligence, your recearch will never get off the ground. All those morons can do is spout off but they can not produce one single fact as to why they think PIPS is a Ponzi. All of their information is incorrect. They do in fact have an agenda tho. They are pissed because they were banned from the PIPS forum for TROLLING there. Plain and simple.

I still think starting a new thread here for PIPS will be a waste of time and space. Other sites that have done this found that the thread ends up being a testimonial thread.We never seems to agree on anything, which is fine :D It's a free country and everyone have the freedom to express his/her ideas.

PIPS is a pyramid/ponzi scam and it will collapse sooner than you are willing to admit. In any cases, let us know when you were able to withdraw your principle from PIPS, and also when you begin to make profit. I really hope you can do that before it collapse.

PIPS is full of lies, and soon you will see the true color of this PONZI scheme. Let the time speaks for itself. :cool:

[sisco50]

ycchen

lol Maybe it is a good thing that my transaction never went thru on that money I tried to add last August. Who knows? I will now use that same money to buy my wife a Christmas present that she wants and needs.

In the mean time, I can withdraw the amount of money in my account at any time now as it has now increased to 3 fold. I will opt to wait until the new year before I even consider a withdrawal. I do not want to worry about taxes for this year as I have already planned 2004 and do not want to change anything for the rest of this year.

In regards to never agreeing on anything. lol That is not really true. I actually agree with you on a lot of things. But in the case of PIPS being a Ponzi, school is still out on that one. If what you say comes to fruition regarding this program, I will be the first to say you were right. :) If you are wrong, I will realize a tremendous return on a minimal expenditure over a period of time. Either way, there will be no hard feelings on my part. I promise. :)

[ycchen]

In the mean time, I can withdraw the amount of money in my account at any time now as it has now increased to 3 fold. I will opt to wait until the new year before I even consider a withdrawal. I do not want to worry about taxes for this year as I have already planned 2004 and do not want to change anything for the rest of this year. I will visit Malaysia next year, so I will try to drop by one of the PIPS's office and see if I can find a bunch of stock brokers busy dealing forex, and make MORE than 2% profit DAILY :) Who knows, it might be real, and if so, it will be the MOST profitable company in the human history :cool:

Thanks for your feedback on your own experience.

Your principle has tripled?! Wow, good for you. How come? If you join in September for whatever amont, the profit rate should be the principle X 180% (90 DAYS X 2%). I might be wrong, but the it should be nearly double, but not triple. Again, I might be wrong because they are using compound interest.

In any cases, PIPS is equivalent to doubler that garantee to double in every 2-3 months.

[sisco50]

I joined in July originally, and the number of days you are looking for is 54 trading days I believe. Later. :)

[ycchen]

Okay, that make sense. If I were you, I won't wait for too long to cash in. I won't wait more than 2 months. :)

[Dreamer]

Its been awhile since I updated because I finally finished moving a couple weeks ago and I started a new job. But there were updates pending so I thought I'd take care of it.

I tried going to eMarketResearchGroup.com to check the status of my gift. I think the page is down. I can't get there anymore. What happened to it? Maybe that will be where my future updates go. Maybe they are still there.

In any case, at this point I want to state something obvious:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is (ok, that was way to obvious, but that isn't my point).

If it seems legit, and you dont' see anything that really stands out as being wrong, remember, you can satisfy your end of the bargin and that doesn't mean that they will ever satisfy their end. They might not be in business long enough to send your gift.

Will I sue? Nah. Most people won't. Me personally I figured it was a scam to begin with but just wanted to test it out. Its like filling out rebate forms. You can fill them out to the letter, make sure everything is 100% accurate and legible and reread it 400 times to make sure you fulfilled your end, but in the end, you might get that rebate, you might not.

So, here are my experiences I"ve had.

I've been billed for a months of the New York Times already...haven't seen one issue yet. I'll be emailing them for a full refund and shame them for getting involved with a scam site.

The DVD club I'll keep. I buy enough DVDs that that doesn't bother me.
The book club I'll keep...just cause.

But, here was the major update I've been meaning to post for a while now. The main reason I'm posting it now so people have an idea what companies will do to get more money out of you.

Those pills. I had 10 days to cancel it. I believed I canceled it on day 6. Day 14ish (I can get the exact days if anybody cares, but thats besides the scam) I look at my bank statment online and see they charged me for my first months subscription. Hey, thanks! So, I fire them off an angry email. I'm in the process of moving, I purchased your pills cause I thought they would be good for me (just keeping the lies going) and if they won't cancel my subscription until I move I will not do business with them.

3 days later I fire one more angry email threatening something or other. I contact my bank also. If anybody runs into a similiar problem with their bank, here is what mine said:


The Check Card purchase of $39.95 that posted to your account on 11/18/04 was made at Intl Nutrition Inc. If this is an unauthorized purchase you can dispute this charge by filing a claim. Please be aware that when you file a claim our first step is to terminate your current check card and issue a new card. You would receive a new card in 7 to 10 business days. This process is necessary to prevent future unauthorized charges.

If you do not wish to terminate your card, please contact the merchant directly for reimbursement.

I'm sure credit cards work the same. So, if you might do business with a company that you aren't sure of, than don't use a card you can't afford to deactivate at a moments notice.

Finally, those stupid pills replied to my first email to them saying they just got the message and its already been processed. But, if I'll put "return to sender" on the package they'll refund me. My opinion is they should refund me first, and if they don't receive the damn package recharge me. Thats how other companies done to me in the past. In fact, the last problem I had with a seller on amazon he said keep the product and sent me a quick refund including the shipping costs. I'll let you know if I ever receive that money back.

So, why did I mention this part? Well, un unlegit business will pretend like they didn't receive your cancelation request until after they charge you, go ahead and cancel it for you than in hopes your just too damn lazy to send it back. I bet that works like a charm all the time. Ok, I lost $40 on this...I'm just happy to get it over with, so maybe I'll forget to send it back. Rat bastards.

Ok, next thing...the reason I tried this "system" out because I could have sworn it was the same people that did the freeipods and alot of people got their free ipods.

Next rule...just because it looks like a legit site or it has a legit sounding name doesn't mean they'll come thru with their end of the bargin. This site could have just used the good name of a marketing group that actually paid out products so they piggy backed on their name to scam people.

Well, now time to email those damn pill companies seeing if I can get back my money, email that newspaper cause I never received anything, email the bookclub...just trying to. No, I'm not expecting any kind of refund from anybody, however it doesn't hurt to try. If they are a legit business, they should honor it, and I'll send out their props so people know they have good customer service.

For now, here is an interesting link:
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?t=770

And here is an intersting post...

Re: eMarketResearchGroup.com
The owner of Emarket Research Group is a small company called Niu Tech, LLC, a North Carolina company. According to filings with the North Carolina Secretary of State, the owners of the company, and the titles under which they operate are as follows:

President: Niuniu Ji
Vice President: Chunguang Li
General Manager: Yuandong Ji

These three individuals are a family. Niuniu Ji is the son of Chunguang Li and Yuandong Ji.

The following address and phone number are registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State.

200 Bristol Court
Greenville, NC 27834
Phone: (252) 756-0804

There is also a cell phone number: (561) 843-1552

Niuniu Ji has also reported the following address and phone number:
21706 Cromwell Circle
Boca Raton, FL 33486
(561) 955 – 9065.

Email addresses for Niuniu Ji include nxj9@po.cwru.edu or webmaster@freedonation.com.

I think that's probably the most direct contact information. But here's more:

Niu Tech LLC registered the name Emarket Research Group in Florida. The address in Florida for Emarket Research Group aka Niu Tech LLC (for whatever it's worth) is:
NIU Tech LLC,
6001 BROKEN SOUND PARKWAY, 2ND FLOOR,
BOCA RATON, FL 33487.

The mailing address for Emarket Research Group is:
PO Box 7448,
Delray, FL 33482.

The registered agent for NIU Tech for service of process in Florida is:
Homer P. Appleby,
3245 Saint James Drive,
Boca Raton, FL 33434.
His phone number is 561-997-6484, ext. 123.

To file a complaint against the business with the North Carolina Department of Justice, follow the instructions at http://www.ncdoj.com/consumerprotec..._complaints.jsp.

Niu Tech LLC registered the name "Emarket Research Group" with the Florida Secretary of State. To file a complaint with the Florida attorney general's office, go to the Attorney General's website:http://myfloridalegal.com/ Click on "Consumer Protection." Then click on "How to File a Complaint or Check on a Business."

I trust most of this will be removed by the mods here, but if they keep a backup copy somewhere if the original thread gets deleted (on scam.com) than there is a backup here.

And, for those of you reading this that think this thread is just about this one site, its not meant to be. It looked legit before I did it, I did my own research, and I was willing to take a chance. The most important lesson is because you fulfill your end of the bargin (completing offers, cycling, getting the # of newbies) doesn't mean that they'll complete their end. Read the terms...they usually try to protect their arses by saying "We reserve the right to not give you crap" or something.

[Dreamer]

Ok, Im rounding up this discussion either this post (If I'm super bored) or will split it up in two posts.

New York Times has not told that site that I completed their offer. According to my first post on Nov 2, its been about 2 months since I signed up. The catch is you have to do that within 90 days have all offers completed and submit your request for your free product. I did contact NYT and they did give me a full refund of 2 months worth of papers. I said I didn't receive a copy (which I didn't) so thats why I was canceling. I just hope a roomate didn't steal it or something. NYT got no money from me.

Those damn pills. I mailed them back to them (eventually like a week or 2 after the fact) and they refunded my $39.95. No problems.

I contacted my bank and because I am such a wonderful customer (no i didn't slip them a 5 dollar bill to say so), they reversed the overdraft charges from the NYT and the pills and reversed 2 weeks worth of level 2 overdraft charges (first time I have been in the hole for more than a few day). That added up to $91 they gave me, though they admited that it wasn't their fault.

DVD club. I checked my email and I found out that it was a few days before I could cancel my next months pick. So, I went ahead and canceled it. Havent heard of the movie and well...being broke and all.

Book club. I have no clue.

So, what did this failure cost me? Membership into a book club that I probably wouldn't have done other wise, but Im not going to complain. I can always find good books. Membership into a dvd club that would probably save me money over the life of the club since I buy too many DVDs to begin with. And I got really awsome movies to start anyways. Like $12 of these stupid daily sample pills. Hey, thats a jack in the box meal for me when Im hungry.

[Dreamer]

Final thoughts:

1. The biggest problem with this system is there is a time limit to cash in the prize. The very first day I completed 5 out of 6 offers. At around the 2 month mark I only got credit for 3 out of those 5. Even if I wanted to continue there is no way I can complete another 3 offers before the 90day time limit.

2. Offers are considered completed and given to the site by the offer holders. That means there is nothing you can do about it. I would prefer to have the NYT give me an invoice after 30 days (or however long) with a code on it to give to the site so I show the site myself that I completed the offer.

There are too many things going against you. Not only do you have to complete the offers exactly but there is no guarantee that the offers themselves will give you the credit you need. And, by the time you find out that they aren't planning on acknowledging that you completed the offers its too late to complete more offers.

This step is one step above freeipods. While I have been doing this I didn't have to convince anybody to sign up, and I hope that this boring thread will cause people not to gamble in this.

I originally thought this system was good because I was in control over the offers and I was willing to pay money for the offers so I could get my gift. However, my main problem is that I had no control over making sure the offers fulfilled their end of the bargin and gave me credit.

Now, remember that first time when the site said I had completed my offers? I tried so many times to contact them but never received a response. I dont even know if there is a person in charge. No way to conatct them. But, what about if I ligimitately completed the offers. WEll, I've been on forums where people completed all 6 offers, their page showed it but they got a message saying something like "You still need to complete 0 more offers" or something to that effect.

If I find ANYBODY ANYWHERE that received ANYTHING from these types of sites I'll post the link here. But over the last 2 months I've been looking at this site, I haven't found anybody who got anything. Ive found people who have completed all the offers but not received their product.

So, the moral of the story is that there is no way to make the site hold up their end of the bargin, and there is no way to make the sponsors hold up their end of their bargin. This isn't just for emarketresearchgroup but for any system out there that has a time limit. I would stay away from thoe. If I fulfil my end of the bargin in 9 months I should be able to get my gift. So, capping the time limit isnt trying to help the customers.

[Treybee3000]

I get emails from sites like that all the time. I never had any faith in them. However freeipods.com does work.

[ycchen]

I get emails from sites like that all the time. I never had any faith in them. However freeipods.com does work.

Do you mean that you had received the "free Ipod"? Could you kindly show a picture of your "free Ipod" as a testimonial? Thank you.

[Dreamer]

i think sigx can show a picture of his free ipod. So, I'm not doubting it works. Thats why I tried out this site. It had the same name as the sponser (if you will) as the free ipod - emarketresearch so i thought it might be legit.

If you haven't already read thru my boring posts, you might want to see step by step my "successes" with this system. The only I didn't do was stick thru the program, because I was not getting credits for the offers i did complete and I haven't heard of a single person who got their product, and I've heard of people who said their redemption page said they need zero more offers to complete.

I cannot and I willnot recommend these types of systems.

1. There should be no time limit.
2. You should be in charge of getting the credits from the offers.

I personally didn't waste much money in my research, but well...there is no reason why it will work for anybody

[Treybee3000]

My best bro got the ipod. I know for a fact it works, he got it back when the site first opened tho and they only offered ipod minis.

[Treybee3000]

i did mine, but i tried to cheat the system, and well i have 4 and i trieed to do the last one myself and well they found out, so my account is on hold. But since then i have moved to a new house, so i might give it another shot by opening another account. Its what i get i spose.

[Dreamer]

Ok, I went to look at my bookmarks and noticed that the redemption page was bookmarked, so I decided to check it out. Lets see, I started this thread on November 2. Now, I'm not sure how far into this site I got (days wise). Maybe I got into it at the beginning. Maybe the site was 6 months old. Anyways, that doesn't matter too much.

Assuming 30 days in a month, 90 days should take me to February 2nd. Subrtacting 2 days (31 days in december and january), my 90 days is up January 31st.

Anyhow, I clicked on the page, and put in my address. A few things. My email is no longer found (???) and its now new company:

Incentiverewardcenter
14545 J Military Trail #189
Delray Beach, Florida 33484

Now, when I went to check out the bookmark it was clearly emarketresearch not incentativerewardcenter. But, the pages are identical...just a simple name change. So, whats the big deal?

As I said, i never got credit for half of my purchases. I could not contact the company. Other people have mentioned that their redemption page showed that they had 0 things left to do. And, even when I had a few days left to take care of everything, the site is down...not entirely down, but changed over to a new name.

[jokach]

I thought I would revive this thread because I have seen such a decline in the people advertising 'get a free ipod'. I remember the days when yahoo and ebay were FULL of people advertising these, and every website out there had signatures and posts from people referring people to freeipods.

Has this system finally broken down? Have all the branches finally been broken? Or are there so many branches that it just doesn't work anymore. I know there are alot of other 'free' stuff sites out there, but they don't seem as popular .. i'm wondering if its a trend or not.

Just curious if anybody has an opinion on it ............

jokach

[Salsa]

My primary familiarity with this marketing system is from the enormously popular Plasma TV from Rewards Venue (http://scam.com/showthread.php?t=2803) thread at scam.com--which currently stands at 2,771 replies and 72,519 views.

I looked at it a couple or three months ago, just out of curiosity, but could not stop. I read the entire 1,300+ posts (at that time) in one sitting--and then it was dawn. It was such a great adventure story! I haven't been back only because the thread has grown faster than I care to keep up--and I know that if I start, again, I won't be able to stop!

My (dated) synopsis is that it was working for those folks, 100%, and they were getting something like $2,300 plasma televisions for around $300, more or less. (I dare not even peek to confirm that.) I think that about eight people had gotten their televisions by then, and they provided proof with pictures. The number of people coming aboard, however, seemed to be growing exponentially near the end of my reading, so who knows how long that can be kept up or how much harder the promoters must make it to succeed at winning a reward.

For the people who I am familiar with, however, the key to their success was to know how to work the system and to jump through all of the hoops--and there are a lot of hoops! Of course, creating all of those "unnecessary" hoops is how the promoters can afford to give away such fantastic rewards and still remain in profit because most doubtful or uncommitted players will simply give up or accept a lesser reward that they have already qualified for.

The thread's posters, however, did an excellent job of documenting their moves and figuring out strategies for working the system while not abusing it--at least too much. :) None of them accepted a lesser reward, and one guy, as I recall, got his TV in less than four weeks--while many still hadn't gotten theirs after very much longer. That, of course, would cause others to review his documentation, adapt, integrate, etc.

Perhaps one of the most poignant reflections was from Jeannine111, the thread starter, when she finally received notice that her television had been shipped. Her largest regret was that she had allowed herself to be worried and obsessed by the process for the entire time, wasting so much time on worry. After learning the system, she could have gotten the same results in perhaps a half-hour, a couple times a week, instead of letting it rule her 24/7.

Fair warning: while it was working 100% for these people, it's likely that there are some less legitimate companies offering similar rewards--and even Rewards Venue may have fallen off the wagon by now.

If anyone dares to read the most recent 1,400+ posts, please let me know what's happened!

Salsa
_______

[dlbizopps]

Rubbish

[jokach]

If you feel what is posted here is rubbish, at least back it up with some facts so that you at least look somewhat credible. You are entitled to your opinion, and we welcome it here, but if all you are going to do is post nonsensical garbage in our forums, please go elsewhere.

jokach

[concerned]

If you feel what is posted here is rubbish, at least back it up with some facts so that you at least look somewhat credible. You are entitled to your opinion, and we welcome it here, but if all you are going to do is post nonsensical garbage in our forums, please go elsewhere.

jokach

Hey Jokach, what do you expect from Alan of YMMSS. He has always shown himself to be very childish around here. Welcome back Alan. Goodbye Alan.

[Dreamer]

As the creater of this thread, and pretty much the only person posting to it, I dont see how it is rubish, since it was step by step of what worked and what didn't work. I didnt post it 6 months after the fact lementing I didnt get anything. I think the first day I tried that scam I started the thread.

So, this thread is not biased. Maybe people who were successful could probably point out where I went wrong...but nobody has posted any helpful hints on this thread for better results.

[Deso]

Dreamer,
Helpful Hint
#1 - Dont get involved with these Free-stuff websites.
#2 - Ignore the Many Faces of Alan
#3 - Keep Posting the great stuff you do.

Your posts are very informative to me who, I know by my own admission, am a complete newbie to recognising scams. I only know now since being on this site that I have been a victim many times over, putting failure down to my lack of enthusiasm, time etc, when all the time its been the "Get rich quick" scheme thats been designed to make me fail.

More power to your typing fingers!! :applause:

[Dreamer]

I dont remember what it was that I was trying to win. I think I was looking for alternative methods of transportation besides good ole public bus. I wasnt looking for a giveaway, but I was looking to see where I could buy it.

Now, when I saw that site, I thought...its worth a shot. I'm still part of the DVD club. I could have done the book club...honestly, i thought that even if I never got anything it was worth a shot since the "advertisers" I was using would be things that woudl benefit me (except those stupid pills, but those were cheap).

Its just amazing that somebody that immature could come and say what this thread was about was rubish. Maybe he was too smart to fall for it. I could care less. My goal was to try to get something that I wanted, and if it worked, and I didnt have to drag 5 former friends with me, I wanted people to know it works.

Forget it...i"m not even this bored :) thanks for your kind words. I'm also a newbie here learning about these scams, but luckily there are alot of bright people here, both pro and con, that answer even my stupid questions :)