|
Multilevel Marketers
Going Platinum
Going Platinum
Inc. was
initiated in
Lancaster, Penn., last August and promises that its multi-level
marketing program can "turn a $3,000 per month Going Platinum income
into well over $30,000 per month!" But I read all over the news groups
that this is not true. I read on Deja News that this is a scam.
But it was
mainly their delay in launching made a lot of
people start calling them a scam.
Going Platinum
charges an initial membership fee of $25.
And the
business sounds great. As Going Platinum describes
itself, "It is a full-service ISP, Internet Gateway, Search
Engine/Directory,
Shopping Mall, Virtual Office, and just about anything else you can
think of, all rolled into one easy-to-use site."
But in truth,
there is no Internet mall. Although Catalan once
announced that it would open before Christmas 2000, and then on
January 15, the mall now has no stated launch date. This false launch
date has made many that were waiting furious.
It seems to me
that in the absence of a functioning mall,
Going
Platinum's only significant revenue source is new paying members, who
enroll other new paying members.
People who
enroll 39
other payers are promised as much as 40 percent of the profits from the
money those 39 people paid. This is called "Going Platinum."
Members who do
all of this, however, may be surprised to find
that
they are entitled to little, if any, of the promised money. A lengthy
"Membership Fees" document explains that Going Platinum will subtract
a "monthly fee," up to the amount of a member's estimated payouts.
For a Platinum
member with a full Organization of 39 other
members,
that would mean you have to pay Going Platinum a whopping $6,125 per
month. Sounds to me like you're losing money instead of making it.
Another concern
is the fact that the Going Platinum was paying
commissions through CompuBank, a respected online bank in Texas. But
the
WorldWideScam site posted a message from CompuBank saying the bank
ended its relationship with Going Platinum on Feb. 1.
Going Platinum
confirmed this on Feb. 21, in a message to
members that
was also republished at WorldWideScam's site.
The horror
stories of earlier Internet malls that collapsed
will
hopefully scare away potential members from multi-level programs like
Going Platinum.
Going Platinum
claims it pays you referral
fees and commissions based on the amount of time that you and your
friends surf and make purchases on the Internet. It is designed to turn
every Internet session into an income-producing event. But again, I'm
still a little skeptical about dealing with this company.
I think
their announced launch date was the first sign of
trouble brewing within this organization. The launch was delayed, and
delayed, and delayed! That's when I first began to think Going Platinum
is a very risky business. Plus I wasn't sure I could trust an Internet
Provider that allows their members to spam the usenet.
|