The Subway and Haircut argument

[brokepoker]

I have seen a argument posted here several times and I am going to attempt to stop it right now. The argument goes like this.

How are Matrix sites different than when subway gives you a free sub after you purchase 12 subs?

The followup to that is..there is no law that says I cant give away a Playstation instead of an extra sub sandwich.

Here are the answers to those two arguments.

Matrix sites are different because the 'prize' they are giving away has a much greater value than the product being purchased.

The LAW covering a Subway type giveaway states that the item purchased must not be of SECONDARY value to the prize or incentive.

What people fail to realize here is that this nation has had some VERY SMART lawmakers in the past. They have thought of almost every possible scam and scenario. Believe me, if you invested in one of these ponzi scams, you are covered by existing federal and state laws. No matter how tricky the wording is on the matrix site. It doesn't mean squat. What means something is the laws on the books to protect consumers. You will find there are plenty of them and matrix sites are nothing NEW. They are fully covered by the existing laws.

If you have been taken in by one of these scams, contact your attorney general and complain. When enough people complain, the state attorney general will act. The website will be shut down. The owners assets will be taken into recievership and the money left over will be returned to the victims. Not lawyers. The AG loves this because of all the juicy publicity he gets for fighting scams.

If you participated in one of these things. Open your eyes. You have been scammed. The laws on the books are there to protect you and prevent people from taking advantage of each other. It is one of the things that makes this nation of ours so great.

[uwantme]

When you make statements like this its all fine and dandy, but I require proof. If what you say is correct show me the laws. Dont just say there are laws blah, blah ,blah show us the exact laws that say you cant give away a prize wprth more than the initial purchase, and any other laws you say apply. If you know they are out there just copy and paste them with your post to support what you say. Thats all I ask.....

[amagic2u]

uwantme how come every time someone makes a point that is valid you demand that they show you ? There is on line sites that will let YOU go and read any law that has been passed. I think you just like to disagree with every one but yourself. Now I will admit that I dont know all the right words to say and that does seen to upset some of the fourm purest but at least Im trying. We all know how much you love the matrix and are even getting one for yourself so dont you think it would be in your own intrest to go look up some of the laws that will help you do your very own matrix the right way [not that there is a right way to lie steal and cheat] but Im sure you know that. well on second thought I guess if you get away with it there is a right way. but you can challenge me I know you will but at least if you tell me the law is wrong you will have to go and cut paste and copy it to your reply as I will want you to show me in print that I was wrong ok ;)

[uwantme]

amagic you must not read very much of this forum.... I agree with many members of matrixwatxh just as much as I disagree with them.. I also support matrices but not all of them and there are several aspects I do disagree with like the e-books and endless lists. And the site Im going to open appearently doesnt qualify under the matrix status since I will be selling tangible goods at below market price and I have a cut off on my lists, which seems i will just be running a promotion for my website not running a matrix, another good piont of getting your facts straight......

but The point to this whole forum is proving what you say.. For example matrixwatch says matrices are wrong, supporterss say they are okay... My point to everyone is quit saying stuff- talk is cheap. Show me the money.. When you make claims back them up.. Prove your statements. If you cant provide hard evidence to back up your claims then you are spouting off little more than hot air, and your post becomes worthless to a degree.. We are all quilty of psoting things without having the evidence to back them up but if your going to make a statement as strong as brokepoker you had better have something to back it up..

Anyway I did do some research and found this at the FTC:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/free.htm

Its the federal laws concerning free gifts.. State laws can and probably do vary.

However I could find nothing in there that says what they value of the free gift has to be.. The only thing I could find that would pose a problem to a matrix site is

a: the item you are selling to get the free gift most be at the retail price. Meaning you cant jack up the cost of the item your selling to cover the expenses of the free gift.. Now everyone knows the value of the e-books is very arguable and there are sites out there who do sell them for way more than they should. This is not all sites and once again it comes down to seperating the good from the bad.

b: it states you cannot run a free gift promotion longer than 6 months in a 12 month period and is must be at least 30 days inbetween promotions. Almost all sites violate this but Im not sure how that works on a state to state level. Because I know like the subway, blockbuster, haircut promotion run all year round without any breaks so there must be a different system invovled in that. I will keep looking and post as I find them...

[poorme]

Believe me, if you invested in one of these ponzi scams, you are covered by existing federal and state laws.

Ponzi onwers usulally loses. Many cases can be searched from Google.

[hurley9192]

I think that the subway thing falls under a different law because there are hundreds of different places that run these where if you buy 10, you get one free...like car washes, most eateries, etc. I don't think it's promotional thing.

I agree with the argument though.

If it's too good to be true, then there's probably something wrong with it. There is no such thing as a free lunch...unless you are in the 5% of people that cycle on matrix sites. :D

[MaxPower]

Brokepoker is absolutely correct... I don't think that he should have to cut and paste proof. His statement is logical and easily makes sense to anyone who understands everyday laws.

Uwantme... even you would have to agree that it would seem much easier to find the laws that prove brokepoker to be correct rather than it would be to prove the statement wrong.

A law should only be shown if it is to defend a hard to believe statement. Besides... I would not want to see too many laws "cut and pasted" on this forum... laws tend to be long and/or boring. They would just unessicarily cram up this board... much the same as all the quoting that goes on... don't get me wrong... quotes are just fine... I just do not like reading the same thing more than once if I got it the first time. Especially when people quote eight lines for a lame one line response (especially when it is the post directly above your new post). I mean... just reference the statement that you are talking about... I know how to scroll back up the screen. This has not been done thus far in this thread... but I'm sure that you all know what I am talking about.

-just my opinion though.;)