YTB a Card Mill?
'I'm not running a pyramid scheme' - were falser words ever uttered?
"A Bermuda Sun investigation suggests that most people investing in YTB in the U.S. make their money by recruiting new subscribers, rather than from selling travel.Mr. Furbert - who plans to launch YTB in Bermuda next month - denied yesterday that the company is a pyramid scheme.
The Bermuda Sun investigation also revealed that U.S. travel organizations are beginning to back away from YTB, calling it "a card mill" because its agents lack bona fide travel credentials.
Cheryl Hayward-Chew, vice president of Meyer Franklin Travel, confirmed travel suppliers are beginning to refuse discounts to YTB. She said people should do their research before signing up and warned that the people who are likely to make the most money are people at the top - those who buy in early.
There is heated debate on the Internet as to whether YTB is a pyramid scheme - whereby the money of new investors ends up in the hands of those at the top. "
Want to guess how this ends?
Comments
Ok, the whole debate about a pyramid scheme always comes up.
My question. A real estate broker hires 7 sales agents under his brokerage license and receives a commission under each one of them. Is this a pyramid scheme?
McDonald's starts a franchise in the 20th century and receives royalty checks from all of their franchisees for life. Is this a pyramid scheme?
A President of the United States hires 21 members in his cabinet. The President leverages the brightest, smartest folks he can muster to fill these demanding needs. The cabinet members shine and the President goes down in history as the greatest ever. Is this a pyramid scheme?
Answer (to all) YES.
See, there are legal and illegal pyramid schemes and the simple question to ask is this?
Is there a product or service being offered and sold?
YTB Sells travel and they sell lots of travel....source....226 million of travel.
http://www.theytb.com/how_much-travel-did-ytb-sell-in-2006/
Illegal pyramid schemes have been determined to offer NO service or product. If there is no value, then it is illegal.
In summary, many things in our universe are pyramids, the real question is which ones are you part of?
Posted by: ytb | February 14, 2008 12:42 AM