New Ponzi Scheme On Ebay!!!!!!!!!!!!

[spinningwheels]

It is run by http://www.97cents.com/index.php

To see the 100+ auctions http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewSellersOtherItems&userid=97cents*com&completed=0&sort=3&since=-1

[uwantme]

This is the same type of auction peterdragon talked about in thris thread:

http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=292

Maybe thas where the seller peterd was talking about got the ideal from... WoW already 100+ auctions, at least most seem to be by the same seller. You shouldnt have that much trouble stopping him peterd..

[spydrman]

It may attract quite a few buyers for such a low price, but it will take a ton of people to pool enough money to buy each person the gift. The person(s) who receive any gifts from this site are truly lucky because the odds are against you on this one. This seller has a new account and a ebay store open already, which could be a waste if these auctions do get shot down.

[uwantme]

To be honest Im still a little confused on exactly how these auctions work. Anyone want to take the time to break it down into full detail for me would be much appreciated...

[Agent|Star]

This is an interesting one...
Aganst policy is this?
Its a twist off matrix.... I'm sure eBay does not want this to continue... huMmm did you see this on that 97cent site:


Answer to: How do I add credits to my account?

You can instantly add any number of credits to your account by clicking here (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2943987914).

Wow whoever is running this "scheme" they know coding! and are damn good lol... This site appears to be like a lottery... Everyone buys into it and pitches in 97 cents... Only 1 winner will come out of that and all the monies collected will buy the winner the item... If there arent enough people pitching in 97 cents then all monies collected gets refunded back...

I might be wrong but thats how I interpreted the site.... Am I right?

[Agent|Star]

Oh wow check out there terms...
Heheh note where I made BOLD text...

_________________________________

Membership Requirements

Membership in 97cents.com is available to anyone meeting the following requirements:

You have a functional email address.
You have an active eBay account.
You have an active PayPal account.
You are over 13 years of age.
________________________________


eBay doesn't allow users under the age of 18, unless in conjunction with supervision of parents or gaurdians.

[damion]

Based on the DNS info and a little research I have come to the following conclusion:
Either they are in a huge office park (and neglected to give the suite number) or they are in a business box. My definition of a business box is a place that offers a box for you to use as a registered physical address, when in reality, is nothing more than a postal box.

Either way. I do not believe they are being very forthcoming with their business information and have a hard time believing that they will last more than a few weeks - if that long.

Damion

[peterdragin]

Is this guy in for a education.

The auctions HAVE been reported.

Did you read the questions and answers page, you need to read it. http://www.97cents.com/questions.php

This guy has some crazy ideas on how you will win his auctions.

I haven't listed any auctions on ebay for a long time now but 97 cents won't pay the auction listing fees will it ?

I checked the site over and it must have just opened because there is no one on any of his lists, I guess you would call them lists. The site is registered in Ca. Beverly Hills that is. 90210

The way he is stating how it works it is a plain and simple lottery.

[hurley9192]

I reported him as well. There are over 176 auctions running by that seller right now. He has 0 feedback though.

[concerned]

WOW, talk about a big time scam. This guy is funny. In his FAQ page, most of the answers say that they are already covered in the TOS. WHAT THE HECK DOES THE TOS COVER? It says absolutely nothing.

Secondly on his auctions, he states that the auction must comply with the TOS on his site. WHAT HAPPENED WITH FOLLOWING THE TOS ON EBAY?

Finally, it looks like ebay just canceled all of his auctions. I was reading this thread, and followed the link that peterdragin provided, and read the auction. About 3 minutes later, I went back to that link to refer to something that he stated, and all of his auctions were gone. Pretty quick action on ebay's part. They must have canceled all of his auctions and probably shut down his account. How else could they have shut down 100+ auctions at once.

GOOD JOB Peterdragin on this one.

[MatrixWatch]

Yup,
I checked out his seller account and it stated:

"This seller is not currently offering any items for sale"

[peterdragin]

YES !! he is already NARUed !! With all the people who reported him he got kicked off right away.

He even changed his seller id to (user999999101) . I sent him a message with the ask seller a question and all that came back was a form letter telling me how to register at the website.

If this guy comes back with another seller id he will be easy to find, we'll see if he does.

Thanks Guys and Gals

[uwantme]

Originally posted by uwantme
To be honest Im still a little confused on exactly how these auctions work. Anyone want to take the time to break it down into full detail for me would be much appreciated...

Anyone want to take the time to do this... I want to understand how this works...

[concerned]

Originally posted by uwantme
Anyone want to take the time to do this... I want to understand how this works...

It doesn't matter, all of his auctions are canceled. From what I could gather, you pay $3 for a credit. Then a prize is given a value in terms of credits. You submit your credits to them and asked to be placed on a list. Only those on the list are allowed to bid on the prize at ebay, nobody else.

OK, now here is part of the catch. For something like a Plasma TV, he would require about 500 people to submit 3 credits each. That would make about $4500, which would be needed to make money off of this. Once there are enough people on the list, he opens the buy it now option on ebay. The first person to purchase the auction at $.97 wins the auction. Remember, you have to be on that list to be able to bid. Basically you are buying a chance to bid on something. He even uses the word "WIN" a lot. This is definately a lottery.

[matrixfriendly]

I searched around for somethings and found several linking back to his site.

[peterdragin]

I just checked his site and it states no live auctions on Ebay at this time.

[matrixfriendly]

They are not listed by him apparently. They are people trying to push the site. He is operating with onsite signups only now. I talked with him earlier and he pretty much knew this was coming so he made other arrangements.

[peterdragin]

Well try this go to his website and try to sign up !!!

ALL the links to sign up are DEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[peterdragin]

If you go there NOW it says website has ceased operations !!!!!!!!

matrixfriendly I thought you said you talked to him, Well I DID !!!

[matrixfriendly]

I did talk to him. I guess he did not have a backbone afterall. I do not want to change the subject of this thread, but there is no other way to approach without getting the thread closed for no reason. Your userid is inappropriate and shows no respect for anyone on the site or the site itself. I am sure you seen the thread I started by now. Do you not have to play by the same rules as everyone else? We can take this converstation on to a new thread if you want, but I am sure your group will close it.

[MatrixWatch]

Matrixfriendly,
You were warned earlier today about this, and I even gave you a little space to cut it out, and you haven't. Obviously, you were looking for trouble. You are now on suspension. You can view a full report in the forum rules section if you need the details.

http://www.matrixwatch.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=20

9. No other behavior that would be deemed obviously unacceptable
This includes blatant disrespect to the administrator, moderators, or members.

[spinningwheels]

I can just imagine the wasted time the guy had coding the flash in his auctions. All for not. Hehehehehe.

[spinningwheels]

He made the mistake of buying credits to be entered and pooling the money. He should have least given an ebook..........kidding.........Ill admit I like the idea he had. If he was smart and straightforward he should take the operation offshore, it would be an instant hit.

I see it this way for all you matrix haters. Many of you pay $$$ in your state lotteries and once your numbers are in your chances of winning is out of your control. With this site you actually had control of winning the product (Fastest Hand Contest)

I would put in $3 just to see if my gator program is faster than everyone elses, lol. I think it would be fun.

I can almost guarantee that the one site that works this same idea with a different marketing approach would be the next big thing since the Sportsbook or Casino

Here's how you make this site legal in the US. Members sign up for free, you offer them free online gaming (like pogo) When a customer sees 10 '30 second' ads he receives 3 credits. Now the 10 ads generate $2.00 for the site (From the advertisers) Then you can pool the money and run the "Fastest hand' contest.

If anyone wants to run with this go for it.

[MatrixWatch]

We could do it here for fun on Matrix Watch..