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hallsofvallhalla wrote:wow thats crazy, whats so special about those states?

Don't know but the cheap skate in me would be unhappy unless i find a way to use this loophole...

hallsofvallhalla wrote:wow thats crazy, whats so special about those states?

I believe the law in those states prevent companies from requiring a payment to enter a contest because of multi-tiered contests. You used to see them a lot back in the late 80s and 90s. In fact, there was one multi-tiered contest that used to regularly advertise in old EGM magazines. They gave you a small, very easy quiz and said you could send it in with $10 to win $10,000. One of my neighborhood friends entered, and then they sent him another quiz, saying he has almost won ("there are only 200 people still in the contest"), and told him to send in $20. This kept going for 2 or 3 more rounds, and each time they asked for more money (up to $100) and kept saying "there are only 25 more people in the running". The number of people still in kept decreasing to make the person think they were outsmarting everyone else. Finally, his parents would not let him enter anymore. That's how "multi-tiered" contests work, and they are illegal now in most states. I guess those states take it a bit further and make all pay-to-enter contests illegal.

man why didnt i think of that scheme first!

hallsofvallhalla wrote:man why didnt i think of that scheme first!

They are very powerful, honestly. Once a sucker is a few payments in (maybe around $400), and another one comes asking for $100, it is hard for them to just forget it and throw away the money they have already sunk into it. They just figure that they need to send in the next request of money to keep it going.

The scheme is also alive and well in different areas. A lot of those calls people get saying they won a trip to Jamaica or something like that are those same schemes. They will start off by asking you to send in $10 - $20, but I have heard in the end they are asking for $400 - $500 before finally telling you that you lost to someone else who was also supposedly playing.

Interesting scheme... and I know several people that would easily dive into that sort of thing Im not cruel enough to do that to them though, damn consience...

neronix17 wrote:Interesting scheme... and I know several people that would easily dive into that sort of thing Im not cruel enough to do that to them though, damn consience...

They prey on the elderly mostly, now. They never really use this scheme to go after middle-aged working people. When it was in the video game magazines, most of their readership was around 10 - 14 years old, and saw the picture with the big-screen TV, SNES, Sega CD, 3DO, Jaguar, Game Boy, Game Gear, VCR, Stereo System, etc. and lured them in by saying they would win it all. Again, preying on people who aren't using the best judgment.