What would you do if invited to a pyramid scheme?

[breadfighter]

Personally since he's an old friend I'd go to dinner with him.

Spoiler

Then uppercut him into bolivian

 

[deviake]

I had a friend try that on me a decade-ish ago. I told him straight up it sounded like a pyramid scheme. He got defensive and tried to explain how it's not. I meh'd his explanation.

Coincidentally, we're not friends anymore and haven't been in many moons.

A friend trying to sell you on a pyramid scheme is either woefully naive or duplicitous, in which case they're not much of a friend.

 

[HelloJapan]

 

[DrVanNostrand]

You brought me here to sell me amway?

 

[Darello]

I will not participate in it.

 

[babycart]

Mummify the bastards.

 

[Blowing Dixie]

Or if you have been in that situation, which many people have, what did you do?

Yea, one of my friends once got lured into what he saw as a very lucrative deal. Something about paying 1500 dollars and getting 10x that in return.
When he said that he was going to a meeting about it and asked if I wanted to tag along I said "I dunno, sounds very much like a pyramid scheme", to which he responded "yes but it's not, they say a lot of people get that wrong". "Who's they?" I said. "The people in the meetings." At this point I was 100% sure it was a scam and suggested that we go for some beers instead.
So we had some beers and during the discussion it came out that he had in fact already payed those 1500 dollars. I just shook my head and said "live and learn".

 

[Alphaboy]

"You do realise I'm poor don't you? I thought you were taking me for a hot meal out of pity. You are paying for it right?"

Nice!

 

[Alphaboy]

I had a friend try that on me a decade-ish ago. I told him straight up it sounded like a pyramid scheme. He got defensive and tried to explain how it's not. I meh'd his explanation.

Coincidentally, we're not friends anymore and haven't been in many moons.

A friend trying to sell you on a pyramid scheme is either woefully naive or duplicitous, in which case they're not much of a friend.

I dont think naivity alone is enough to end a friendship.

 

[Alphaboy]

Yea, one of my friends once got lured into what he saw as a very lucrative deal. Something about paying 1500 dollars and getting 10x that in return.
When he said that he was going to a meeting about it and asked if I wanted to tag along I said "I dunno, sounds very much like a pyramid scheme", to which he responded "yes but it's not, they say a lot of people get that wrong". "Who's they?" I said. "The people in the meetings." At this point I was 100% sure it was a scam and suggested that we go for some beers instead.
So we had some beers and during the discussion it came out that he had in fact already payed those 1500 dollars. I just shook my head and said "live and learn".

How to tell if something is a pyramid scheme...

Rule 1 - They swear they aren't a pyramid scheme.

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

Finish the meal and then never speak to them again

 

[zapataxiv]

I would go all in

Buy a pair of ray bands and a nice bright red suit. Have all my meetings in Italian restaurants in the back room. Important talks held outside while walking “walk talks”. Poster on the wall of the office that says “our bugs have ears”. Painters union local in the back pocket trash removalnint the front. Russian slip in the city wife with the th kids in the suburbs. Clubs in Miami, coworkers in Sicily.
You know pyramid scheme shit.

 

[deviake]

I dont think naivity alone is enough to end a friendship.

I didn't say it was, but at a glance I can see why you thought that. What I meant was if they're duplicitous then they're probably not much of a friend. Even then I said nothing of ending the friendship over that, that's up to the individual.

My former friend and I aren't friends any more for other reasons.

 

[Clippy]

Same thing I do when I'm at Wal-Mart and they offer me their credit card when I'm just trying to buy a plum, I tell them the benefits of my credit card and suggest they sign up for that