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{{EngvarB|date=January 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2014}}
A '''matrix scheme''' (also known as a '''matrix sale''' or '''site''', and as a '''hellevator''', '''excavator''' or '''ladder scheme''') is a [[business model]] involving the exchange of money for a certain product with a side bonus of being added to a waiting list for a product of greater value than the amount given.<ref name=oftpress>{{cite web|url=http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2005/161-05 |title=Matrix Website Scheme stopped by Office of Fair Trading |access-date=5 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314233701/http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2005/161-05 |archive-date=14 March 2007 }}</ref> Matrix schemes are also sometimes considered similar to [[Ponzi scheme|Ponzi]] or [[Pyramid scheme|pyramid]] schemes.<ref name =msn1>{{cite web | url = http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078957 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140106134324/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078957 | url-status = dead | archive-date = 6 January 2014 | title=$150 plasma TV site faces lawsuit | website = [[NBC News]] | access-date=5 August 2006}}</ref> They have been called "unsustainable" by the United Kingdom's [[Office of Fair Trading]].<ref name =oftpress/> A matrix scheme is also an example of an 'exploding queue' in [[queueing theory]].
==History==
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==Operation==
{{Section citations needed|date=July 2023}}
The operation of matrix schemes varies, though they often operate similarly to pyramid or Ponzi schemes.<ref name="msn2">{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna3078976 | title=$150 for a plasma TV? A bad bet | website=[[NBC News]] | date=28 January 2003 | access-date=5 August 2006}}</ref> Some of the former participants of these schemes consider them to be a form of [[confidence trick]], although others are happy with their purchase.
To move upward in the list, a person must wait for new members to join or refer a certain number of people to the list. This is accomplished through purchasing a token product of marginal value: usually e-books, cell phone boosters, screen savers, or other software CDs/DVDs. When a pre-defined number of people have purchased the token product, the person currently at the top of the list receives their reward item, and the next person in the list moves to the top. The rewards for those at the top of the matrix list are usually high-demand consumer electronics, such as portable digital audio players, high-definition television sets, [[laptop]]s, and cellphones. Reaching the point on the list where one receives the expensive goods is termed "cycling".
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Additionally, the amount of time needed before a given individual will receive the product in question is often mistaken. In a matrix in which 10 people must sign up before cycling, the first person to join only needs nine additional sign-ups to cycle, but the second person needs 18 additional sign-ups: eight more for the person above them, and then 10 more for themself. The third person on the list likewise needs 27 additional signups: seven for the person on top of the list, 10 for the person directly above them, and then 10 for themself. The number of people required continues to grow for each new person joining the list. For the 10th person to cycle a total of 100 people would have to sign up, 1000 for the 100th, and so on.
Through this process, the matrix scheme generates substantial profit for its organiser. At the time of its popularity, for example, a PlayStation 2 cost a maximum of $299. After selling 10 $50 e-books, the organiser could make $500, and could purchase a PS2 for $299 to send to the first bidder while retaining a $201 of capital in return. But the schemer must take in consideration the actual price of an e-book which could be around
==In queueing theory==
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