MatrixWatch
May 19th, 2003, 06:39 AM
Some of the information in the first two paragraphs has been adapted from "Matrix-News.net", a site that provides discussion forums for the matrix community.
History of the Matrix Sites
Some time around April 2002, a new form of buying electronics was born. EZ Expo launched a system based on a straight line matrix where you can get some very expensive stuff for a very small investment. The website rapidly gained popularity and now has hundrends of people on their lists. Websites have come and gone, merchants have frozen hundreds of thousands of dollars and still the strong survive. There was a point when EZ Expo and one or 2 other websites were the only matrix sites out there, and when ten people could cycle in one day. This has all changed. Today, there are over 100 matrix sites offering cash and prizes to those who are willing to take a little risk.
What is a "Matrix"?
This is basically how a matrix scheme works. When someone makes a purchase on a matrix site, that investment goes into the "pool" of the matrix. Once the required number of purchases is made for that specific item, the first person in line "cycles" and recieves the "free gift".
Example: this example is based on a 5 person matrix with a price of $100:
Person #1 pays: Becomes the one currently cycling. Pot becomes $100.
Person #2 pays: Pool becomes $200.
Person #3 pays: Pool becomes $300.
Person #4 pays: Pool becomes $400.
Person #5 pays: Pool becomes $500.
Person #1 "cycles" and recieves free item (worth $350), website takes $150 profit and Person #2 moves to currently cycling position.
Person #6 pays: Pool becomes $100.
Person #7 pays: Pool becomes $200.
Person #8 pays: Pool becomes $300.
Person #9 pays: Pool becomes $400.
Person #10 pays: Pool becomes $500
Person #2 cycles" and recieves free item (worth $350), website takes $150 profit and Person #3 moves to currently cycling position.
Matrix site total profit is now $300, and a total of 50 more people will need to join the matrix for Person #10 to receive their $350.
What is the problem with this?
For person #50 to receive their $350, 250 people must join the matrix. For person #250 to receive their money, 1250 people must join the matrix.
This is the problem with most of the lists out there today. The lists are too long, and 98% of the people are ripped off. In fact, as of May 8, 2003, the EzExpo website listed 3,731 names in the 50" television matrix. Rather than being a 5-person matrix cycle like the example above, this matrix on EzExpo is a 50-person matrix. The #10 person on the list needs to wait until 500 people join, number 100 on the list needs to wait for 5000, etc. All the while, the list starts growing larger and larger.
Bob Sullivan, MSNBC reporter, wrote about this in his Jan. 28th article:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/862999.asp?cp1=1#BODY
Auto-Cylcing, and multiple-name entries
Auto-Cylcing, and multiple-name entries are a couple of issues that matrix sites appeal to when they counter argue the above details. They claim that the massive amount of people needed to join is minimized by the fact that most people make mulitiple entries at a time. This is true. On many of EzExpo's lists you can find some (not all) names entered two, six, and even ten at a time. This does not deal with the real issue though. The lists are still going to be long. The 50" TV matrix listed above needed 5000 names to cycle the #100 spot on the matrix list. Even if each person decided to enter their name in 5 times, 1000 people would still be need to cycle the 100th persson from the list.
Auto-Cycling is another factor brought up by matrix-site fans and owners alike. However, this idea does not work as expected. The way it works is that a general "auto-cycle" fund is set up in order to cycle people through a matrix list faster. So, if 100 people were needed to cycle someone off a list, the auto-cycle fund could be used to pay for 20-30 of those spots. Here is why it does not work as well as expected. There are anywhere between 5 to 20 matrix lists on any given site. Some are 5-person matrix lists, others are 50-person matrices. Which one does the site apply the auto-cycle fund to? These funds do not normally get very high either. To cycle someone off some of these larger matrices would take hundreds of thousands of dollars. A typical auto-cycle fund is between $500 to $8,000. I believe that these auto-cycle funds were created as a way to lure people into thinking that these long lists would cycle much faster. In truth, there is no answer to the problem of these endless lists, where the vast majority will receive nothing.
History of the Matrix Sites
Some time around April 2002, a new form of buying electronics was born. EZ Expo launched a system based on a straight line matrix where you can get some very expensive stuff for a very small investment. The website rapidly gained popularity and now has hundrends of people on their lists. Websites have come and gone, merchants have frozen hundreds of thousands of dollars and still the strong survive. There was a point when EZ Expo and one or 2 other websites were the only matrix sites out there, and when ten people could cycle in one day. This has all changed. Today, there are over 100 matrix sites offering cash and prizes to those who are willing to take a little risk.
What is a "Matrix"?
This is basically how a matrix scheme works. When someone makes a purchase on a matrix site, that investment goes into the "pool" of the matrix. Once the required number of purchases is made for that specific item, the first person in line "cycles" and recieves the "free gift".
Example: this example is based on a 5 person matrix with a price of $100:
Person #1 pays: Becomes the one currently cycling. Pot becomes $100.
Person #2 pays: Pool becomes $200.
Person #3 pays: Pool becomes $300.
Person #4 pays: Pool becomes $400.
Person #5 pays: Pool becomes $500.
Person #1 "cycles" and recieves free item (worth $350), website takes $150 profit and Person #2 moves to currently cycling position.
Person #6 pays: Pool becomes $100.
Person #7 pays: Pool becomes $200.
Person #8 pays: Pool becomes $300.
Person #9 pays: Pool becomes $400.
Person #10 pays: Pool becomes $500
Person #2 cycles" and recieves free item (worth $350), website takes $150 profit and Person #3 moves to currently cycling position.
Matrix site total profit is now $300, and a total of 50 more people will need to join the matrix for Person #10 to receive their $350.
What is the problem with this?
For person #50 to receive their $350, 250 people must join the matrix. For person #250 to receive their money, 1250 people must join the matrix.
This is the problem with most of the lists out there today. The lists are too long, and 98% of the people are ripped off. In fact, as of May 8, 2003, the EzExpo website listed 3,731 names in the 50" television matrix. Rather than being a 5-person matrix cycle like the example above, this matrix on EzExpo is a 50-person matrix. The #10 person on the list needs to wait until 500 people join, number 100 on the list needs to wait for 5000, etc. All the while, the list starts growing larger and larger.
Bob Sullivan, MSNBC reporter, wrote about this in his Jan. 28th article:
http://www.msnbc.com/news/862999.asp?cp1=1#BODY
Auto-Cylcing, and multiple-name entries
Auto-Cylcing, and multiple-name entries are a couple of issues that matrix sites appeal to when they counter argue the above details. They claim that the massive amount of people needed to join is minimized by the fact that most people make mulitiple entries at a time. This is true. On many of EzExpo's lists you can find some (not all) names entered two, six, and even ten at a time. This does not deal with the real issue though. The lists are still going to be long. The 50" TV matrix listed above needed 5000 names to cycle the #100 spot on the matrix list. Even if each person decided to enter their name in 5 times, 1000 people would still be need to cycle the 100th persson from the list.
Auto-Cycling is another factor brought up by matrix-site fans and owners alike. However, this idea does not work as expected. The way it works is that a general "auto-cycle" fund is set up in order to cycle people through a matrix list faster. So, if 100 people were needed to cycle someone off a list, the auto-cycle fund could be used to pay for 20-30 of those spots. Here is why it does not work as well as expected. There are anywhere between 5 to 20 matrix lists on any given site. Some are 5-person matrix lists, others are 50-person matrices. Which one does the site apply the auto-cycle fund to? These funds do not normally get very high either. To cycle someone off some of these larger matrices would take hundreds of thousands of dollars. A typical auto-cycle fund is between $500 to $8,000. I believe that these auto-cycle funds were created as a way to lure people into thinking that these long lists would cycle much faster. In truth, there is no answer to the problem of these endless lists, where the vast majority will receive nothing.