Don't Click Here For A Free iPod 594
fermion writes "Do you wonder what all those free iPods links are about? Do you wonder why apparently rational Slashdot users would use their .sig line to push an offer that seems little more than a thinly veiled pyramid scheme? Answers to these questions can be found in this NYT article (personal information, with no free iPod, is required). The plan itself seems simple. Rat out your friends to advertisers, and get a free gadget. The firm in question, Gratis, Inc, gets a bounty on each customer. The firm claims to have a revenue of $15 million in 2004. They claim to give away 500 iPods a week. If, as the article claims, each contact earns a bounty of around $50, we might presume that 1 in 12 contacts get a free iPod. This firm seem fairly upfront. Another firm mentioned in the article, Consumer Research Corporation, seems much less so. As always, read the fine print."
Where this thread is going: (Score:5, Funny)
while we're at it... (Score:5, Funny)
Jerry
http://www.syslog.org/ [syslog.org]
Question (Score:5, Funny)
No, not really.
Can these guys be jobbed? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Read this carefully (Score:5, Funny)
You are an idiot. You can't even karma whore on Slashdot properly.
Ed McMahon (Score:2, Funny)
sound familiar?
-haffi
Re:Because it actually works... (Score:5, Funny)
Well, thanks for scamming the scammers, scammer. Hopefully "Gratis, Inc." will go out of business as fast as AllAdvantage did a few years ago. If anyone remembers them. :)
If anyone (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I will remember to mod down those suckers (Score:5, Funny)
Re:while we're at it... (Score:5, Funny)
Wrong site? (Score:5, Funny)
What slashdot have you been reading, exactly?
Re:I will remember to mod down those suckers (Score:5, Funny)
Re:it's a scam (Score:1, Funny)
Ditto! (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Read this carefully (Score:3, Funny)
yeah you must really be psyching those evil supermarket dudes out!
having trouble guessing (Score:1, Funny)
Re:I will remember to mod down those suckers (Score:1, Funny)
I'll stick with my... (Score:5, Funny)
FreeDryerLint.info [freedryerlint.info]
I created this site to put in my sig on various sites after getting annoyed by all the freeipod referal links)
Re:Because it actually works... (Score:2, Funny)
Re: Time is money (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Read this carefully (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Read this carefully (Score:5, Funny)
Think about it. We'd drive the poor sap crazy that tries to do the actual data mining. "Here he is buying $500 worth of groceries in upstate NY, and 6 minutes later he is buying peanut butter with foodstamps in florida!"
Of course, how long before the cease and desist letter was mailed?
You can make more people (Score:1, Funny)
I am sure there are lots of slashdotters ready to sign up for that program...
Get you free iPod here - the easy way (Score:1, Funny)
Moral of the story: If you want something, buy it you cheap prick, don't beg like some highway offramp whore.
Re:Read this carefully (Score:5, Funny)
So this guy goes into a bar ... (Score:1, Funny)
Moral of the story: Begging for a free iPod makes you no better than a truck stop whore.
Re:Read this carefully (Score:1, Funny)
This is
Re: Time is money (Score:3, Funny)
is it hard? do you have to go outside?
Friends don't hawk Ponzi-Pods! (Score:3, Funny)
It has little to do with the reality of the iPod, or the cost of the iPod. But has everything to do with the offensiveness of the distribution mechanism.
Which is why I systematically 'Foe' everyone I see hawking ponzi-pods.
Re:If anyone (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Read this carefully (Score:3, Funny)
Sure, from the first person you would actually get 1+50+50*50=$2551, but on the last part you would lose... Since you would only get $51 from them, sure you would have some money left after the first round but if all the people wanted an ipod you would get $2551+50*$51=$5101 for 51 ipods.
But it wouldn't matter since they wouldn't (or even had) get 50 friends to sign up, but anyway!
What a waste of storage and bandwidth this message was.
Re:There really are ways to earn free IPODs (Score:1, Funny)